Kamala Harris Kicks Off Night 3 Of Democratic Convention With A Surprise Live Appearance Before Acceptance Speech
“Hey everybody, it’s me, Kamala.”
The history making Vice-Presidential nominee for the Democrats broke from tradition tonight with a pre-speech appearance at the party’s virtual convention.
More from Deadline
Less than two hours before Kamala Harris is set to give her acceptance speech as the first woman of color on a major American political party ticket, the California Senator injected some live drama into the proceedings with her cold open and a call to vote.
“Before I go onstage tonight, I want to talk about the importance of voting,” Sen. Harris said after a remote Pledge of Allegiance. “So, I think we need to ask ourselves, why don’t they want us to vote? Why is there so much effort to silence our voices? And the answer is because when we vote things change,” the potential next Veep to potential POTUS Joe Biden added.
“When we vote, things get better when we vote we address the need for all people to be treated with dignity and respect in our country,” Harris continued. “So each of us need a plan, a voting plan. Joe and I want to make sure you’re prepared,” she added, outlining a voter assistance program from the campaign.
“I’ll see you a little later tonight,” Sen Harris concluded, before passing the spotlight over to the Night 3 moderator Kerry Washington. Acknowledging the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on this election, the Scandal star and activist called the shindig an “unconventional convention,” before telling viewers that “We are fighting for the soul of our country and our lives and right now, that fight is real.”
Leaked just minutes before the Dems’ two-hour TV block began, the presentation with the VP pick saw Harris staring intently into the camera for a nanosecond before breaking into a warm smile. Even with that slightly stunted opening, the Senator’s backstage comments were a strong PR move on a night of heavy hitters like Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 2016 candidate Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former President Barack Obama, as well as Harris herself.
Biden himself chimed in on social media almost right away.
Earlier in the evening, Sen. Harris turned her attention to the Golden State, which has been plagued this week with fires devastating thousands of acres.
Sen. Harris’s remarks from an empty Delaware ballroom tonight will be the highlight of the week leading up to Biden’s own speech tomorrow. You know Harris’ speech and even her brief intro are important – Fox News carried them and they usually only like to listen to Karl Rove during the first hour of the DNC every night.
Best of Deadline
Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.