Mehek Cooke: Democrats are trying to 'reinvent' Kamala Harris at DNC
American Frontier Strategies CEO Mehek Cooke, Wall Street Journal associate editor John Bussey and Democratic consultant Julian Epstein on how Democrats have rallied around VP Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention.
Delegates for the Democratic National Convention voted to approve their 2024 platform without editing the language to reflect that President Biden is not running for re-election.
The 2024 party platform, approved by the delegates on Monday night, explicitly refers to "President Biden and Vice President Harris" and their "progressive agenda" to be implemented over the "next four years."
"This election is a choice between two very different economic visions for America: Donald Trump, who sees the world from his country club at Mar-a-Lago; and Joe Biden, who sees it from kitchen tables in Scranton like the one he grew up around," the approved platform opens.
VP HARRIS PRAISES BIDEN IN SURPRISE REMARKS AT DNC'S OPENING NIGHT: 'WE ARE FOREVER GRATEFUL TO YOU'
![Biden, Jill Biden and Harris on DNC stage](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/1200/675/AP24233218934102.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
President Biden stands with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and first lady Jill Biden during the first day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The entire platform is written with the explicit assumption that Biden is the Democratic candidate and Harris is returning as his vice president.
Mayor Regina Romero of Tucson, Arizona, co-chair of the DNC platform committee, told the delegates that the platform was crafted "prior to the president passing the torch in an act of love and patriotism" but it offers a "forward-looking vision for our party that echoes the voice of all."
Harris delivered surprise remarks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday night and praised President Biden, calling him "incredible" and saying "we are forever grateful" to him.
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![Kamala Harris gestures onstage before speaking during the Democratic National Convention](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/1200/675/DNC-Kamala-Harris-Chicago-Day-1_90.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris gestures onstage before speaking during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
"I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible president, Joe Biden, who will be speaking later tonight," Harris told the crowd at the United Center on the convention's opening night. "Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation and for all you will continue to do. We are forever grateful to you. Thank you. Joe."
Biden himself took the DNC stage on the first evening of the convention at about 11:30 p.m. ET, wrapping up after midnight.
During his speech, the president touched on a variety of subjects, including strong criticisms of former President Trump and the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
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Just over a month ago, Biden was considered the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, having won each Democratic primary race unchallenged. However, after a disastrous debate performance against former President Trump in June, Democrats began mounting a pressure campaign for Biden to suspend his re-election bid.
Axios reported earlier this week that Biden is "stunned" about the circumstances and pressure from within his own party to drop out of the race.
Fox News Digital's Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.