Biden,
Hillary Clinton and AOC boost Harris: key takeaways from night one of the
Democratic national convention
First night
of the convention included impassioned speeches as pro-Palestinian protesters
gathered outside
Sam Levin
Tue 20 Aug
2024 01.19 EDT
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/20/biden-dnc-convention-highlights
The
Democratic national convention kicked off Monday in Chicago, just one month
after Joe Biden withdrew his candidacy and paved the way for Kamala Harris to
take over the ticket.
The first
night of the convention included speeches from Biden, Hillary Clinton and
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the
convention. Here are key takeaways from the day:
1. Joe
Biden passed the torch: ‘America, I gave my best to you’
As the
president took the stage at around 10:30pm CT, the crowd broke out into
enthusiastic “Thank you, Joe” and “We love Joe” chants, with drawn-out cheers
that repeatedly prevented him from continuing his remarks. Biden revisited some
of the darkest chapters of the Trump administration, including the January 6
insurrection, and attacked Trump’s vision of America, saying, “He says we’re
losing. He’s the loser.” He earned loud applause for his praise of Kamala
Harris, saying selecting her as vice-president was the “best decision I made my
whole career”, and, “Crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in
the office instead of a convicted felon.”
Speakers
throughout the night heaped praise on Biden. Dr Jill Biden, the first lady,
praised her husband for withdrawing from the race, saying she watched him “dig
deep into his soul” as he weighed the decision. The president said of his
decision: “I love the job, but I love my country more.” Toward the end of his
speech, he said, “America, I gave my best to you.”
2.
Ocasio-Cortez energized the crowd and praised Harris’s ceasefire efforts
Ocasio-Cortez
gave one of the most energetic speeches of the night, talking about her roots
as a bartender and saying: “America has before us a rare and precious
opportunity in Kamala Harris. We have a chance to elect a president who is for
the middle class, because she is from the middle class. She understands the
urgency of rent checks and groceries and prescriptions. She is as committed to
our reproductive and civil rights as she is to taking on corporate greed.”
The
progressive congresswoman and “Squad” member also earned loud applause for
saying that Harris was “working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and
bringing hostages home”.
3.
Hillary Clinton said Kamala Harris will break the ‘glass ceiling’
Hillary
Clinton, the former secretary of state and 2016 presidential candidate, also
gave an impassioned speech, outlining the historic nature of Harris’s
nomination: “I see the freedom to look our children in the eye and say, ‘In
America, you can go as far as your hard work and talent will take you,’ and
mean it. And you know what? On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala
Harris, raising her hand and taking the oath of office as our 47th president …
Because when a barrier falls for one of us, it falls and clears the way for all
of us.”
Clinton drew
a sharp contrast between Harris, a former prosecutor, and Trump who “fell
asleep at his own trial, and when he woke up, he made his own kind of history …
the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions”. The remark
sparked “lock him up” chants, a throwback to the “lock her up” chants Clinton
faced in 2016 at Trump rallies.
4.
Democrats rallied around abortion rights and stopping Project 2025
Speakers
from red states gave personal accounts of the impacts of abortion bans. Hadley
Duvall, from Kentucky, described how she was raped by her stepfather and became
pregnant at age 12: “I can’t imagine not having a choice. But today, that’s the
reality for many women and girls across the country because of Donald Trump’s
abortion bans.” She noted Trump’s previous remarks calling abortion bans a
“beautiful thing”: “What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her
parent’s child?”
Speakers
also repeatedly tied the Trump and the Republican agenda to Project 2025, the
roadmap for a second Trump administration crafted by former Trump officials.
Mallory McMorrow, a state senator from Michigan, held a copy of the Project
2025 document and assailed the plan to “turn Donald Trump into a dictator”.
Congressman Jim Clyburn called Project 2025 “Jim Crow 2.0”. Biden noted that
the project calls for the dismantling of the US department of education.
5. Kamala
Harris gave surprise remarks
Kamala
Harris made a surprise appearance at the convention on Monday night to thank
Joe Biden for his service: “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!”
Harris, who
is due to give her formal speech at the end of the week, electrified the crowd
when she entered the stage, with Beyoncé’s Freedom playing in the background.
“Looking out at everyone tonight, I see the beauty of our great nation. People
from every corner of our country and every walk of life are here united by our
shared vision for the future of our country,” the vice-president said.
6.
Thousands protested outside the DNC
Thousands of
pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Democratic National Convention,
calling for a ceasefire and arms embargo on Israel. Dozens of protesters
appeared to break through one security fence near the convention site and
several demonstrators were handcuffed and detained. During Biden’s speech,
demonstrators unfurled a “Stop Arming Israel” banner, but the speech continued
uninterrupted. There was limited talk of Gaza on the convention floor, though
Biden reiterated his efforts to secure a ceasefire and said, “Those protesters
out in the street, they have a point – a lot of innocent people are being
killed, on both sides.”
The
Democratic party’s official platform released before the convention did not
include an arms embargo, a key demand by uncommitted delegates.
Chris Stein
contributed reporting.
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