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12 highlights from the 2024 Democratic National Convention
A little over a month ago, Democrats were coming to grips with the idea that President Biden might not be the best candidate to represent their party in the race against former President Donald Trump, with many dreading what they thought could be a landslide loss up and down the ballot in November.
What a difference a convention makes.
Democratic delegates and officials gathered in Chicago for the 2024 Democratic National Convention, where they praised Mr. Biden’s legacy while enthusiastically embracing Vice President Kamala Harris and the energy she brought to the top of the ticket. Over the course of the week, speakers preached unity and joy as they contrasted her leadership and personality with Trump’s.
Here’s a look back at some of the top highlights from this year’s Democratic convention:
AOC gets a primetime speaking slot
For the first time, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York was given a primetime speaking slot on the convention’s opening night. In 2020, she got just 90 seconds to speak ahead of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
In her fiery seven-minute speech on Monday, she spoke to the middle class and got thunderous applause as she called former President Donald Trump a “two-bit union buster” who would “sell this country for a dollar if it meant lining his own pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends.”
Biden gets emotional during send-off
Mr. Biden wiped away tears as he took the stage on Monday after an introduction by his daughter, Ashley Biden.
The president embraced his daughter for nearly 30 seconds, pulling a tissue out of his pocket to dry his eyes, before repeatedly thanking the crowd during a lengthy standing ovation.
A month ago, Mr. Biden was set to accept the nomination on the convention’s final day. But Democrats who feared he could not beat Trump in November pressured him to end his campaign.
Mr. Biden instead gave a speech on the convention’s opening day before he jetted off to California for vacation. The timing of his remarks were pushed late into the night on the East Coast after earlier parts of the program ran long, which some saw as a snub to the president.
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you,” Mr. Biden said.
Democrats add flavor to roll call with musical nod to each state
Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Democrats emphasized the party in political party during Tuesday’s ceremonial roll call as DJ Cassidy spun banger after banger.
Though Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, were officially nominated in a virtual roll call before the convention itself, delegations reaffirmed their support for the duo in a vote set to a soundtrack that saluted each U.S. state and territory.
Songs ranged from Prince’s “1999” to “California Love” by Tupac and “Good Luck, Babe” by Chappell Roan.
Rapper Lil Jon energizes crowd during surprise roll call performance
As the camera panned to Georgia’s delegation to declare its votes during the roll call, Atlanta native Lil Jon screamed “Yeahhhh,” turning the arena into a club-like scene as he performed a variation of “Turn Down For What.” He changed the lyrics to “turn out for what,” unleashing a wave of energy through the crowd.
Michelle Obama tells Trump the presidency might be a “Black job”
“Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn’t it?” former first lady Michelle Obama said in her speech Tuesday. “A familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for too long.”
She gave a resounding endorsement of Harris, saying “hope is making a comeback,” while excoriating Trump — though mentioning him by name only once.
“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. His limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking and highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black.”
She then quipped, “who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs’?”
It was a reference to Trump, who in the June debate against Mr. Biden claimed that immigrants were taking “Black jobs.”
Barack Obama mocks Trump’s “weird obsession with crowd sizes”
Former President Barack Obama portrayed Trump as a chaotic leader who has divided Americans as he delivered the keynote address on Tuesday.
But he also mocked Trump’s focus on crowd sizes — though Obama’s hand gestures during the line suggested he was also referring to the male anatomy.
“There’s the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes,” he said as the crowd laughed.
Doug Emhoff introduces himself to the nation
Harris won’t be the only one making history if she wins the White House in November. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, would be the first presidential spouse with the title of first gentleman.
Emhoff, currently the second gentleman, introduced himself to the nation on Day 2 of the convention, recalling that he called Harris and left a rambling voicemail at 8:30 a.m. before their first date. Harris saved the message, and plays it for him on every anniversary, Emhoff said.
“Wherever she’s needed, however she’s needed, Kamala rises to the occasion. And she did it for me and my family,” said Emhoff, who is a former entertainment lawyer with two adult children from his previous marriage.
Emhoff was introduced by his son, Cole Emhoff, in an endearing video about his father’s life, their family and his relationship with Harris. Emhoff’s first wife, Kerstin Emhoff, helped produce the video and was at the convention supporting her ex-husband and Harris.
Gus Walz tearfully cheers on his dad
Gus Walz, the 17-year-old son of Tim Walz, was in the front row with his mom and sister during the biggest moment of his father’s life.
As the vice presidential nominee talked about his family being his “entire world,” Gus Walz was overcome with emotion. He stood up with tears streaming down his face and yelled, “That’s my dad!”
The Walz family recently disclosed in an interview with People magazine that the high school senior has a nonverbal learning disorder, ADHD and an anxiety disorder. They called the conditions his “secret power” and said he’s “brilliant.”
Oprah makes surprise appearance
Oprah Winfrey, who typically prefers to stay out of politics, took several digs at Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, during her surprise speech on Wednesday.
She mentioned “cat ladies,” a reference to comments Vance made in 2021 about women who have cats and not children, and condemned Trump’s comments about elections.
After her remarks, she told “CBS Mornings” she felt compelled to speak out because “a lot of things are at stake,” especially abortion rights.
Republicans speak out against Trump
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
A handful of Republicans, some who previously worked for Trump, lambasted the former president in speeches throughout the week.
Stephanie Grisham, who was one of Trump’s press secretaries and a top aide to Melania Trump, said Harris “has my vote.” Grisham said Trump has “no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth.” She said Trump calls his supporters “basement dwellers” behind closed doors.
Olivia Troye, who served as an adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, said Trump wants to sow doubt and division “because it’s the only way he wins.”
“You’re not voting for a Democrat. You’re voting for democracy,” Troye said. “You’re not betraying our party. You’re standing up for our country.”
Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said the Republican Party has become “chaotic and crazy” under Trump.
“The only thing left to do is dump Trump,” Duncan said. “These days our party acts more like a cult, a cult worshiping a felonist thug.”
Elizabeth Warren emotional as she gets hero’s welcome
Sen. Elizabeth Warren became emotional as she took the stage to raucous applause on Thursday.
The Massachusetts Democrat took aim at Trump, saying he “has no plan to lower costs for families.”
“He doesn’t know how, and basically, he doesn’t really care,” she said. “When did he ever fill up a gas tank or worry about a grocery bill? The only bills he worries about are from his criminal defense lawyers.”
She added that she wouldn’t trust Trump or Vance to look out for families on issues including the price of groceries, gas, housing, health care, taxes and abortion.
“Shoot, I wouldn’t trust those guys to move my couch,” she said, a reference to a joke about Vance that went viral on social media.
Kamala Harris accepts nomination
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
Harris officially accepted the nomination on Thursday night, making history as the first Black woman to lead a major party’s presidential ticket.
“My entire career, I’ve only had one client: the people,” she said in her speech. “And so, on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams, and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America.”
She shared her life story, laid out her agenda and attacked Trump as an “unserious man.”
“Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States, not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had — himself.”
She ended her speech calling on Americans to “write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.”
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Paul Whelan, freed in prisoner swap with Russia, tells other American detainees: “We’re coming for you”
Washington — Nearly seven weeks after the Russians handed over Paul Whelan on a tarmac in Ankara, Turkey, the Marine veteran stood on the steps of the U.S. Capitol with a message for other Americans who are held abroad.
“We’re coming for you,” he told reporters Tuesday night after he met with lawmakers. “It might take time, but we’re coming.”
Whelan said he spoke with lawmakers about how the government can better support detainees after they’re released.
“We spoke about how the next person’s experience could be better,” he said. “What the government could do for the next person that’s held hostage and comes home — the care and support that other people might need, especially people that are in a worse situation. There are people coming back that lived in the dirt without shoes for three years, people that were locked up in hideous conditions for 20 years. They need support.”
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The U.S. secured Whelan’s release in August in one of the largest prisoner swaps since the end of the Cold War. The complex deal came after months of sensitive negotiations between the U.S., Russia, Germany, Slovenia, Poland and Norway.
As part of the deal, Russia released 16 prisoners while the Western countries released eight Russians. Whelan was released alongside Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian-American radio journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a U.S. green card holder and Kremlin critic.
Whelan, who had been the longest-held American detainee in Russia, was arrested in December 2018 when he traveled to the country to attend a friend’s wedding. He was convicted of espionage in a secret trial and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020.
Whelan, his family and the U.S. government vehemently denied that he was a spy and accused Russia of using him as a political pawn. The U.S. government considered him to be wrongfully detained, a rare designation that put more government resources toward securing his release.
But a deal to secure his freedom was long elusive. He remained behind bars as Russia freed Marine veteran Trevor Reed and women’s basketball star Brittney Griner — both of whom were detained after Whelan’s arrest — in prisoner swaps with the U.S.
The U.S. said it pushed for his inclusion in both exchanges, but Russia refused. It led to Whelan advocating for his own release from a remote prison camp, calling government officials and journalists to make sure that he wasn’t forgotten.
When the plane carrying Whelan, Gershkovish and Kurmasheva landed in Maryland on Aug. 1, Whelan was the first to disembark. He was greeted by President Biden, who gave Whelan his American flag pin, and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Whether he likes it or not, he changed the world,” Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, told reporters Tuesday.
Whelan’s case and his family’s constant pressure on the U.S. government brought more attention to the cases of Americans who are wrongfully detained by foreign governments.
Haley said Whelan is a reminder to other Americans considering traveling to Russia that “you have a target on your back.”
Whelan said it’s been an adjustment acclimating to life back in the U.S., especially learning the latest technology like his iPhone 15.
“I was in a really remote part of Russia,” he said. “We really didn’t have much. The conditions were poor. The Russians said the poor conditions were part of the punishment. And coming back to see this sort of thing now is a bit of a shock, but it’s a good shock.”