The Democratic National Convention kicked off with a big dose of star power on Monday, with everyone from Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr to former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaking in support of Vice President Kamala Harris. But no one fired up the crowd more than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
“I am here tonight because America has a rare and precious opportunity before us,” she said. “In Kamala Harris, we have a chance to elect a middle-class president because she is middle-class.”
Similar to the early messages of the Harris/Walz campaign, Osaka-Cortez's speech focused on issues plaguing working-class Americans.
“Donald Trump is willing to sell this country out for a dollar if it means lining his pockets and polishing the hands of his friends on Wall Street,” she added. “I personally am tired of hearing how a weak union man thinks of himself as a patriotic woman fighting to uplift everyday workers.”
Osaka-Cortez noted that Republicans have been attacking her former job as a bartender. “They’ve attacked me saying I should go back to bartending,” she said. “But let me tell you, I’m happy any day of the week because there’s nothing wrong with working for a living. Imagine having leaders in the White House who understand that.”
Alexandria Osaka-Cortez also gave indirect support to protesters calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo on Israel. Thousands gathered in Chicago to reiterate their calls for Vice President Kamala Harris to abandon President Joe Biden and support a tougher stance against the Israeli government and its ongoing blockade of Gaza.
Osaka-Cortez said in her speech that Harris “works tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and return the hostages home.”
But it was her stirring affirmation of the value of work and her attacks on Trump for his disregard for the common man that brought the United Center crowd to its feet. And Osaka-Cortez wasn’t the only speaker to do so Monday. Before her speech, United Auto Workers union president Sean Fine addressed the convention, removing his tuxedo to reveal a T-shirt bearing the slogan “Trump Try.”
“On the one hand, you have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who have stood up for the working class,” Fine said. “On the other hand, you have Trump and Vance — two lapdogs for the billionaire class who are just serving themselves. So for us in the labor movement, it’s very simple. Kamala Harris is one of us, she’s a fighter for the working class, and Donald Trump is just a mangy man.”
