DNC Day 4: Kamala’s Coronation

The fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention had its moments — Elizabeth Warren’s early remarks, the Central Park Five, adorable children from the extended Harris family, Gabby Giffords, and yes, at moments Kamala Harris herself in her acceptance speech. But it will be more remembered by what didn’t happen: there was no surprise appearance from Beyonce or Taylor Swift, despite rumors and expectations there would be. There was not even a Mitt Romney or a George W. Bush or another unexpected Republican luminary, despite rumors there would be, rumors that the Harris campaign could have extinguished but chose not to. Instead, bizarrely, there were prime time addresses from dinosaurs like Leon Panetta, and almost proudly anti-charisma politicians like Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina, and Arizona senator Mark Kelly.

Still, Democrats leave here tonight optimistic about their chances. Harris, despite being the vice-president over the past three-and-a-half years, has managed to be the newcomer and the outsider in the race, much as Democrats who win always have: Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter. As one pollster put it to me, the American people have been through a period as tumultuous as any in history: A devastating pandemic, widespread protests around racial justice, an attack on the United States Capitol, the ending of abortion protections,the worst inflation seen in almost half a century. Joe Biden was a reminder of that period. Donald Trump is still a reminder of that period. Kamala Harris is not. When John Lindsay was running for mayor nearly sixty years ago, the journalist Murray Kempton described his appeal simply: “He is fresh, and everyone else is tired.” It is among the truest words ever said about what marks successful candidacies from losing ones, and it is as true for Kamala Harris, and in this race, as it has ever been.

Kamala Harris’s acceptance speech was relatively simple, almost stripped back, but laser-focused on a few objectives: introducing herself with autobiographical details that other speakers have been citing all week; defending herself forcefully against the attacks to come on her intelligence, strength and common-sense policy objectives; and making a clear and concise case against Donald Trump. She did not bother to defend the Biden administration’s record, and presented herself as focused on the future. It will not be easy for Republicans to depict this tough-sounding, highly articulate woman citing traditional American values and speaking to a crowd of flag-waving delegates as a “communist” or a “radical leftist” or unintelligent, as Trump has often done. And while she did not descend into wonkiness, she did describe enough of a policy agenda to create a real debate with Trump and his party.

As for her delivery, the contrast between Harris’s crisp, forceful, coherent and succinct presentation and Trump’s rambling screed in Milwaukee will be grist for the mill for some time. Indeed, this should make Democrats savor the upcoming debate, where there is every prospect for Harris to show up her opponent as the narcissistic would-be tyrant she spoke of in this speech. It was a fine start for the short spring to November 5, and it showed she is not complacent but is determined to fight for swing voters while keeping her base excited.

It’s been reported that the primary writer of this speech is Adam Frankel, a protege of the late John F, Kennedy speechwriter Ted Sorensen. You can hear some Kennedy-esque echoes in the phrase “a new way forward.” My friend Robert Schlesinger, the author of the speechwriting history White House Ghosts, pointed out to me that ever since FDR, Democrats have tried to coin phrases to describe their policies in similar terms. “The New Deal wasn’t written capital-N capital-D,” he told me, it was part of Roosevelt’s 1932 convention speech “and then became a thing.” Similarly, Kennedy had the New Frontier, Jimmy Carter tried to do the “New Foundation,” Bill Clinton unveiled a “New Covenant” in his 1992 convention speech, and Obama tried to revive the “New Foundation” slogan himself, although it never really caught on. No word on whether Frankel is a Coen Brother’s fan, but you have to hear an echo of of them in the phrase “an unserious man.”

Vice President Kamala Harris really wants you to know that she was a prosecutor – and on Thursday night, as she accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination to be the next president of the United States, she sounded quite a bit like she was building a case against her opponent, Donald Trump. She recounted the events of January 6, 2021, saying repeatedly that Trump acted with “explicit intent” to incite an armed mob assault on the U.S. Capitol. This wasn’t the first time that the DNC recalled January 6; earlier this week, a video reminded delegates and audiences at home that the deadly event could have been even worse. On Thursday, delegates also heard from the family of Brian Sicknick, a U.S. Capitol Police officer who died from a stroke after being sprayed with a substance during the attack on the Capitol.

Trump is a threat to democracy not just in an academic sense, but in a tangible, even physical sense too, Harris reminded us; as she noted, he’s pledged to pardon January 6 rioters if re-elected. January 6 has clearly become another way for Harris to fashion herself the law-and-order candidate in contrast with the violence and chaos of Donald Trump. Though Biden also tried to frame Trump as a threat to democracy, the message may resonate more with voters coming from the younger and more vigorous Harris, who can boast a career as a prosecutor and who seems…unburdened….by the sitting president’s baggage.

There seems to be no trace of Beyoncé in person at the United Center but her voice is ringing out through the arena as Kamala Harris enters to her song Freedom. The room is filled with tall vertical signs saying KAMALA and the crowd is cheering and shouting her name. Occasionally vuvuzela like noises emerge from corners of the arena as attendees blow into the bottom of signs like a horn. Eventually, once it seems like the crowd is ready to let Harris speak, they start chanting “USA USA USA.”

She finally starts her remarks at 10:33 EDT, far earlier than boldface speakers like Tim Walz and Joe Biden earlier this week.

Roy Cooper ended his speech with one of the more blatant panders to swing states I’ve seen at a convention. First he called out North Carolina, his own state. Then he named Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona, which apparently he had to ad lib because the teleprompter didn’t mention it.The ridiculous Electoral College means the election takes place in seven states. But politicians usually pretend that’s not the case. Cooper’s bluntness was refreshing.

Gretchen Whitmer’s speech was quite brief. But I think it enabled her to show a glimpse of her extraordinary political talent. She is what Sarah Palin wanted to be – somebody who related to regular people, and talks like one, not like a politician. But she is also a very shrewd political operator, who picks her issues smartly, understands the electorate, and grasps how to use power.

Whitmer went straight at Trump as a born-rich plutocrat who can’t understand regular people. She’s not the only Democrats to make that case. But she can make it with more authenticity than almost anybody.

Earlier tonight, TMZ appeared to confirm the persistent rumors that Beyoncé was set to appear during the final night of the Democratic National Convention. However, the Hollywood Reporter is debunking the rumor with a quote from the superstar’s team. “Beyoncé was never scheduled to be there,” a representative for Beyoncé told the outlet. “The report of a performance is untrue.”

But something seems to be up. Reporters on the scene have noted an increase in security around the United Center as the proceedings went on as well as the addition of a curtain near the holding area that wasn’t there during previous nights. We’ll soon know if the DNC has made a permanent enemy in the Beyhive.

It’s still not yet confirmed that Beyoncé will be appearing at the DNC but the Trump campaign is already going on offense, though perhaps ineffectually.

Chris LaCivita, Trump’s campaign manager, tweeted out a 15-year-old article about Beyoncé earning a $2 million fee for appearing at 2010 New Year’s Eve Party thrown by Motassim Bilal Qaddafi, the son of Libyan dictator Muammar Qadaffi.

Harris chose Tim Walz as her running mate barely two weeks ago, but it feels like a million years ago. One thing that process did, though, was elevate some members of the party to new prominence. Obviously Mark Kelly is a swing state senator, but I doubt he’d be speaking in such a plum spot if he hadn’t gotten so close to being Harris’s running mate. He’s not the world’s most scintillating speaker, despite his fairly amazing biography (fighter pilot, astronaut, married to Gabby Giffords…)

But he also fits a pattern. The other also-rans to be veep have also gotten pretty good speaking slots, as the party tries elevating them for the future. That includes Gretchen Whitmer, who’s up soon, but also Pete Buttigieg, JB Pritzker, Wes Moore, Michelle Lujan Grisham, and Andy Beshear. And Kelly speaking also let the organizers have a little fun: the ex-astronaut walked to the mic to Fly Me to the Moon.

One of Thursday night’s most powerful segments highlighted the issue of gun violence. Much of the DNC has leaned into Vice President Kamala Harris’s record as a prosecutor, almost to the exclusion of her legislative record or her time as vice president. In that spirit, a video praised Harris for getting guns off the street.

Later, Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia joined a survivor of Sandy Hook, a mother who lost her daughter in the Uvalde, Texas mass shooting, and the aunt of a woman who was killed in a shooting in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to share memories of the loved ones they’d lost to gun violence.

Their stories were impossible to ignore, as were remarks by former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who nearly lost her life to an assassination attempt in 2011. “My friend Kamala will be a great president,” said Giffords with her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, at her side. “She is tough, she has grit. Kamala can beat the gun lobby.”

Harris’s chosen theme of freedom means little as long as so many Americans are at such high risk of death or maiming from gun violence. It’s also a smart choice, electorally speaking, as most Americans favor stricter gun laws.

Some viewers of the convention may be puzzled by the emcee role of actress Kerry Washington (and also Tony Goldwyn). The two were costars on a long-running (2012-2018) ABC network show Scandal, which was about “politics” in the sense that Desperate Housewives was about the suburbs–a soap opera the happened to take place in the corridors of power. . It was a bizarre but entertaining take on Washington in which there were more conspiracy theories than a Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speech and nearly every character got to be vice president at some point and murdered somebody at another. Goldwyn (Fitzgerald Grant III) played POTUS — who worked in what every character constantly referred to as “the Oval” — and Washington (Olivia Pope) was his fixer, quasi-campaign manager, policy thinker and lover. It was fun even if you didn’t buy a minute of it (I certainly didn’t after one major character, the ex-wife of POTUS, became a Republican senator who filibustered an effort to defund Planned Parenthood). But it was good dirty fun for many years.

Kerry Washington led a segment on pronouncing “Kamala.” She said, “confusion is understandable, disrespect is not.” Despite the implication, I want to note several speakers have mispronounced “Kamala” at this convention.

One of the most striking things about this convention is the conspicuous and universal displays of patriotism. Pride in the country and its traditions and values has been expressed by nearly every speaker (including those from a protest or social justice background) and musical performing. And on this concluding night the delegates are all waving American flags and periodically chanting “USA! USA! USA!” just like the crowds to at Trump rallies. And that’s the point: denying the ownership of patriotism and its symbols by the people who cheered the insurrectionists of January 6. It’s a simple but powerful thing. And occasionally the expressions have a bit of progressive edge, as in the Springsteen song “Born in the USA” that is being performed as I write, and in the Neil Young tune “Rocking in the Free World” that accompanied Tim Walz’s speech last night. There’s more than one way to express pride in one’s country, and it’s the red-hat way that should be suspect. And it’s closely connected with Kamala Harris’s efforts to reclaim “Freedom.”

Former British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is in attendance. Despite his stint at 10 Downing Street, Sunak has lived in California and still has a residence there.

He’s not the only recently ousted British prime minister to attend a convention this year. Liz Truss was omnipresent around the RNC as she tries to rebuild her political career across the Atlantic after a failed 50-day run as PM.

Security on the United Center floor is far tighter than it’s been on previous nights of the convention. Despite assurances that delegates, members of the press and special guests would be able to come and go from the floor until 8 pm CST, access was in fact locked down closer to 6:30–anyone trying to leave to get food or use the bathrooms were told by guards that if they left their seats they would not be able to return to the arena until the night was over. Just as real anxiety began to spread in the press section, a merciful emissary arrived at about 7:20 to advise those of us who needed “a last pee” that we had a single chance, and that we should take it… right now. Like a class of kindergartners, a large contingent of reporters, photographers and editors rose and walked en masse to the bathrooms, staying together for safety. We were let back in, and feel much better now.

Two of the last speeches have featured men who were falsely accused of a crime by Donald Trump, and the prosecutor who sued over his scam that siphoned money from gullible fans while pretending to give them financial advice. Trump has never apologized for either. As obvious as it may be, it’s pretty crazy that a guy with that in his background was elected.

Keith Edwards, 39, is among the more than 200 content creators and influencers that the Democratic National Committee credentialed for this week’s festivities. “There’s this simmering beef between traditional media and the content creators,” he tells me, in a workspace for the influencers on the third level of the arena, where he’s editing a few videos before the big speeches. “Wired wrote a story on us saying we’re getting lavish treatment, which is not true.” There’s a mysterious “Creators Lounge” on the first floor that I tried to get into and was turned away—though I heard a few other journalists successfully snuck in for a bit before getting kicked out—but, according to Edwards, there’s not much to see behind the curtain. “Hot dogs. And Pepsi.”

This is the first time hundreds of social media creators are invited to cover a Democratic convention. Many have created content with prominent figures, like Pete Buttigieg, with whom Edwards hung out the other night. But not every pol has been as receptive. “Next time, it shouldn’t be such a struggle to get surrogates. We’re all here because we want Democrats to win. And I think that there hasn’t been a really cohesive strategy of getting people to connect.”

Al Sharpton’s appearance tonight brings back memories of the speech he delivered in Boston in 2004 that electrified the same audience that had thrilled to Barack Obama’s famous keynote address. Sharpton said nothing that has not been said a dozen times or more at this convention about the gap between America’s promises to Black people and the reality they have experienced. But what got the crowd cheering was Sharpton’s response to George W. Bush’s suggestion that Democrats were taking Black voters for granted:

You said the Republican Party was the party of Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. It is true that Mr. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, after which there was a commitment to give 40 acres and a mule. That’s where the argument, to this day, of reparations starts. We never got the 40 acres. We went all the way to Herbert Hoover, and we never got the 40 acres. We didn’t get the mule. So we decided we’d ride this donkey as far as it would take us.

By way of context, you should understand (as I can attest as a member of the speech team at that convention) that Sharpton was blatantly violating a stricture against partisan rhetoric that had us literally scrubbing speeches to take out the word “Republican.” And Sharpton also went about 30 minutes over his allotted time. You can do that when you’re a good enough speaker to cast aside the teleprompter and give the red-meat-starved audience what they wanted to hear. And for that matter, his words about Republican blandishments to Black voters remain pretty relevant today.

The reliable celebrity outlet reports:

Beyoncé is in Chicago, and getting ready to pop out for Kamala Harris on the final night of the Democratic National Convention … TMZ has learned.

Multiple sources in the know tell us Queen Bey will be the big surprise performer as VP Harris officially accepts the Democratic party’s nomination to run for president.

As you’d expect, Beyonce’s appearance is a huge deal, not only for Harris and the Party, but in Chicago as well. We’re told Chicago PD is on high alert as its involved in security for Beyonce at United Center arena.

I just said “wow” out loud, involuntarily. The audience reaction just now to Elizabeth Warren was unlike basically any others so far this week, aside from the real headliners. Just huge. She seemed stunned — on the verge of tears.

People are already packing into the United Center in anticipation of Kamala Harris (and, hopefully, Beyoncé). Reporters are trying to figure out who amongst their outlet is using the coveted floor pass for the evening, and even the nosebleeds, sections of which are reserved for media, are not a guarantee. (Some I spoke to at the CNN Grill were trying to game out how early they’d have to get up there to land a seat.) “They way oversold this,” I overheard someone gripe in the hallway.

Yes, these bracelets were also handed out on other nights this week. But why let that ruin the speculation?

All week long, observers of the convention have wondered and worried about the schedule, and the possibility that important content might slip out of the ideal media time zone “windows” we’ve all been taught to think of as all-important. But it’s increasingly obvious that at a time when only us old-timers access convention speeches live on TV, the schedule is less important, and that changes everything. It means it doesn’t matter so much if Joe Biden or Barack Obama or Tim Walz speak after the “prime time” witching hour. But it also means that with the right social-media promotion, some obscure words in the middle of the afternoon that a speaker could have performed stark naked thirty years ago with no one noticing might now go very viral. This reality may underlay the refusal of convention managers to let protesting Palestinian-Americans have access to the podium even long before the Big Speeches occur. The steely determination to exert maximum message discipline has only been enhanced by a media environment where nothing that is said may go unnoticed

As anti-Israel activists continued to demonstrate outside the United Center on Thursday afternoon, Doug Emhoff spoke to the Jewish Democratic Council of America. The gathering was at a non-public location; Jewish groups have faced disruption and protests at events around the DNC. And after attendees had their IDs checked, they went through metal detectors.

The current Second Gentleman and aspiring First Gentleman spoke to a hushed conference room as he emphasized the importance of “living openly and proudly and WITHOUT FEAR as a Jewish person.” Emhoff. who has become the leader of the administration’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism, talked how his wife about pushed him to do so after he saw a sign over the freeway near that displayed the words “Kanye was right.” That came in the aftermath of anti-Semitic leaflets distributed near his house.

Emhoff went on to note that “the massive problem of anti-Semitism before 10-7 turned into a crisis after” and bemoaned how some college protests have turned violent and prevented Jewish students from being able to attend class. “They need to be able to go to class, they need to be able to safe” said Emhoff. He added to loud applause, “I can tell you when Kamala Harris is president and I’m First Gentleman, we are going to make sure of that.”

Good evening from the CNN Politico Grill, the restaurant/bar that the two outlets erected in Lot C of the United Center parking lot. It’s been a hotspot all week for flacks, hacks, and everyone in between, though a weekly pass was one of the toughest tickets in town. It’s like eating at any other restaurant, except everything is free, and you might be sitting next to Wolf Blitzer. Guests are brought chips with a zesty french onion dip upon arrival and can then choose from a variety of Chicago staples, like a Portillo’s Italian beef sandwich, hot dogs, or BBQ pulled pork. The typically blue menu is black tonight, because this evening at The Grill is sponsored by Blackstone, which is giving out swag in a Rains pouch. (I am the proud new owner of a Blackstone pen and portable charger, Supergoop sunscreen, and a mint.) There’s also an open bar: on tap is the CNN Politico brew, a blood orange blonde ale, and they’re also shaking up margaritas (classic or spicy, as you wish). By the door, Ben Smith was chatting it up with his old boss John Harris, while by the bar, Kellyanne Conway was obliging someone’s request for a photo. And there was The Daily Beast’s Corbin Bolies, anxiously looking for a news tidbit to file to his editor.

Most presidential acceptance speeches are not remembered in any depth for very long, and few have made the list of Greatest Oratorical Hits of American politics. They are intended to be a party-unifying-and-enthusing gesture, and a keynote for a relatively short general election campaign, not an appeal to the history books. Still, a theme or a phrase live on for most of them.

In 1992, Bill Clinton wrapped his message in an autobiographical message about “a place called Hope” (his home town in Arkansas). In 1996 he built a “bridge to the 21st century.” In 2000 Al Gore promised to fight for “the people against the powerful,” and he sealed his pledge with a famous kiss (of his wife, Tipper). In 2004, John Kerry said he was “reporting for duty,” complete with a salute. In 2008 Barack Obama told Democrats they needed to “keep our promises” while “fulfilling America’s promise.” In 2012 he called his upcoming battle with Mitt Romney “the clearest choice of any time in a generation.” Similarly, in 2016 Hillary Clinton called her competition with Donald Trump “a moment of reckoning” for the country. And in 2020 Joe Biden offered to provide “light” in comparison to the “darkness” of the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic collapse, and the Trump presidency.

In preparing for her own big speech Kamala Harris may be mulling her handful of words to remember.

One Donald J. Trump is probably not pleased with this development.

Over the past three days, the DNC has flexed its unmatched ability to attract star power, including Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, and Spike Lee. But as the convention draws to a close, speculation has grown as to whether the party is saving its biggest surprise for last as Harris is set to accept the presidential nomination Thursday evening. The top theory on the minds of viewers and attendees is Beyoncé, a hunch bolstered by the vice president’s recent adoption of her song Freedom as a campaign anthem. (Beyoncé’s team gave Harris permission to use the song and recently threatened to serve the Trump campaign with a cease-and-desist for utilizing the tune in his own video.) Beyoncé has previously backed Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in their presidential bids, singing at the latter’s inaugurations. Other names being floated include Taylor Swift, who is reportedly back stateside following the European leg of her Eras Tour, and even Michael Jordan who would be returning to United Center, the home of his former team. The internet waits with bated breath.

Uncommitted delegates are still waiting to hear if DNC organizers will allow a Palestinian-American to speak during the final day of the convention. Members of the delegation and allies staged a sit-in after being told yesterday that the DNC would not heed their request – but there’s still a little time for convention organizers to change their minds. The Uncommitted movement had put forward a number of speaker possibilities to the DNC, and on Thursday, Mother Jones magazine published the text that one proposed speaker, State Rep. Ruwa Romman of Georgia, wants to deliver.

In the speech, Romman speaks of her paternal grandfather, who passed away before he could see his native village, or Palestine itself, one last time. “As we’ve been moral witnesses to the massacres in Gaza, I’ve thought of him, wondering if this was the pain he knew too well,” Romman writes, adding, “When we watched Palestinians displaced from one end of the Gaza Strip to the other I wanted to ask him how he found the strength to walk all those miles decades ago and leave everything behind.” Romman also endorses Vice President Kamala Harris, writing, “Let’s commit to each other, to electing Vice President Harris and defeating Donald Trump who uses my identity as a Palestinian as a slur.”

It’s a mild speech – and indeed, the Uncommitted movement’s demands for the DNC have been relatively modest overall. Delegates have already heard from the family of an Israeli-American hostage; Palestinian-Americans and their allies are simply asking for equal treatment. Harris and DNC organizers may believe that this week’s muted protests mean they can safely ignore Uncommitted delegates, but that would be a mistake.

Ed Kilgore writes that the convention’s first three days have laid the groundwork for Harris’s speech:

As the Democratic National Convention got underway in Chicago, there were pretty clearly four overriding objectives that Kamala Harris and her team needed to accomplish: (1) Keep up the enthusiasm and momentum she had generated since she became the presumptive nominee; (2) execute a clean turn of the page from Joe Biden’s leadership that left Harris as a credible candidate of “safe change” from the stale Biden-Trump contest of the past; (3) remind voters of the “unsafe change” represented by Trump and J.D. Vance; and (4) avoid distractions, whether it was from protesters or errors in executing the convention plan.

To a considerable extent, Harris herself just needs to seal the deal on the work already done by her convention. And of the four big objectives, the one that definitely needs the most reinforcement tonight is the effort to explain exactly how much change and how much continuity she will offer as president. This doesn’t just mean autobiographical flourishes about her values and experience in California and in Washington; it also means giving significantly more detail about her agenda, in part to inspire Democrats but more importantly to assure swing voters that she’s neither Biden 2.0 nor any sort of “radical leftist.” Other speakers have helped reinforce her self-presentation as a tough-on-crime prosecutor, a patriot, and a deeply grounded, empathetic leader who listens to people well beyond the party base. But she needs to say more about how she intends to address the policy challenges on which Biden was so vulnerable and in which Republicans smell blood, namely the economy and the border. This doesn’t mean the kind of bullet-pointed agenda that Bill Clinton was so famous for in his big speeches. But it does mean a lot more specificity than you get from vibe-and-memes messaging, and perhaps a few things that party activists won’t want to hear. Their (mild) discomfort can be electoral gold with voters suspicious of both major parties.