Vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz has led fellow Democrats in a political pep rally, vowing he and presidential running mate Kamala Harris will triumph over Republican Donald Trump in November's US election.
The Minnesota governor, who was little known in America 15 days ago, acknowledged he had never given such a big speech but said that as a former high school football coach, "I have given a lot of pep talks."
The packed arena on Wednesday night responded with chants of "Coach, Coach, Coach!"
“We’re all here tonight for one beautiful, simple, reason: we love this country,” Walz told thousands of delegates, adding, “Thank you for bringing the joy to this fight.”
Walz brought his plain-speaking style and small-town values to the national stage, joined by a litany of political luminaries and star entertainers on the third night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Accepting his party's nomination, Walz, 60, said America should be a place where children do not go hungry, health care and housing were human rights, "and the government stays the hell out of your bedroom", referring to Republican assaults on abortion rights and same-sex marriage.
He spoke of preserving the freedoms Democrats say are under attack from Trump, 78, who is making his third major-party run for the White House.
Walz said a second Trump White House would serve nobody except the wealthy and most extreme.
In the audience beside his mother and sister, Walz's son Gus, 17, leapt to his feet during his father's remarks, pointing at the stage while appearing to shout, "That's my dad," and shedding tears.
Harris, 59, will address the gathering on its final night on Thursday.
Media personality Oprah Winfrey joined Democratic former president Bill Clinton and others to press the case that while Trump was for himself, Harris was for the country.
"Next time you hear him, don't count the lies. Count the I's," Clinton, 78, told the cheering crowd at his 12th national convention.
Winfrey - a surprise addition to the program - described herself as an independent voter and said: "I’m calling on all you independents and all you undecided ... Decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024.”
Vice-President Harris emerged as the 2024 Democratic candidate in July following President Joe Biden's exit from the November 5 race and brought the lesser-known Walz to the national stage 15 days ago.
American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder performed, and actor Mindy Kaling joked about cooking with her friend Kamala.
Republican deserters joined Democratic stalwarts in supporting the Harris-Walz ticket, with Wednesday's spotlight on January 6, 2021.
A video showed Trump exhorting supporters that day to be strong and fight before they stormed the US Capitol to try to block Biden's 2020 victory.
Olivia Troye, who quit her White House national security job under Trump after January 6, said the Republican candidate was laying the groundwork to undermine the 2024 election.
Geoff Duncan, the former lieutenant governor of Georgia, told fellow Republicans watching at home they needed to "dump Trump".
"If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024 you're not a Democrat, you're a patriot," he said.
Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who was House Speaker on that day, said: "Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on January 6: he did. But let us not forget who saved democracy that day: we did."
Polls showed Biden, 81, trailing Trump before the Democratic president ceded the party's top spot to Harris; polls now show her besting her Republican rival in several crucial states, as she rides a historic whirlwind in which her campaign has broken fundraising records and packed arenas with supporters.
Biden's support for Israel's assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza, one of the most divisive issues in the party, has not featured prominently at the convention.
The parents of Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, received a standing ovation and chants of "Bring them home" when they took the stage.
Goldberg-Polin, 23, was among more than 200 hostages taken by Palestinian Hamas militants in their October 7 attack on Israel.
"Bringing the hostages home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue," Polin said.
with AP
