Walz to ‘introduce himself to the American people’ in keynote address
Kamala Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, is tonight’s keynote speaker, and will deliver a speech focused on telling American voters about his life and career, the Biden-Harris campaign said.
“In his remarks at the Democratic national convention, Governor Tim Walz will introduce himself to the American people. He will highlight the values that he learned growing up in a small town in Nebraska, which shaped his service in the national guard, as a teacher, football coach, member of Congress, and governor, and that he will bring to the White House. Governor Walz will lay out what Vice-President Harris will do for working families and call on the American people to work together to elect Kamala Harris president,” according to the campaign.
Musicians John Legend and Sheila E will introduce Walz, who will be nominated by Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar and Ben Ingman, a former student of the governor.
Key events
Former Pence advisor says serving in Trump administration was ‘terrifying’, warns of worse to come if he is re-elected
Last night, Donald Trump’s former press secretary denounced him before the convention. Tonight, we heard a similar message from Olivia Troye, a former homeland security advisor to vice-president Mike Pence.
“Being inside Trump’s White House was terrifying. But what keeps me up at night is what will happen if he gets back there,” Troye said.
“The guardrails are gone, the few adults in the room the first time resigned or were fired.”
She warned that he was preparing to claim fraud if he lost the November election, which would undermine national security:
He’s doing it again, lying and laying the groundwork to undermine this election. It’s his MO, just sow doubt and division. That’s what Trump wants, because it’s the only way he wins, and that’s what our foreign adversaries want, because it’s the only way they win.
Next up is Chris Murphy, the Connecticut senator who earlier this year participated in bipartisan talks that led to a deal on tightening immigration policy – only to see Republicans turn against the compromise, at Donald Trump’s urging.
“Trump killed that bill, and he did it because he knew that if we fixed the border, he’d lose his ability to divide us, his ability to fan the flames of fear about people who come from different places, right?” Murphy said.
“You guys know this, Right? Hate and division, that’s Trump’s oxygen, right? People, people like Trump and JD Vance, they need it to survive in politics. People are saying that they’re weird, that they’re creepy, and they are weird, they are creepy, but even worse, they’re weak.”
Uncommitted movement still pushing for a Palestinian speaker
The emotional speech from parents of a US citizen kidnapped by Hamas came as members of the uncommitted movement have continued to advocate that a Palestinian leader have an opportunity to speak at the convention.
Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric doctor who has treated patients in Gaza, spoke as part of a panel centered on Palestinian human rights at the convention, marking the first time the Democratic party has directly hosted an official panel on the topic. Haj-Hassan was part of a group medics who sent a letter to the Biden administration in July outlining their experiences in Gaza.
But pro-Palestinian protesters have pushed, unsuccessfully, for a speaker like Haj-Hassan to address the main stage while saying they were supportive of the parents of a hostage speaking as well:
STATEMENT: Uncommitted delegates urge the Democratic Party to reject a hierarchy of human value by ensuring Palestinian voices are heard on the main stage. We are learning that Israeli hostages’ families will be speaking from the main stage. We strongly support that decision and…
— Uncommitted National Movement 🌺 (@uncommittedmvmt) August 21, 2024
Protesters have continued to rally against Israel’s war on Gaza in Chicago and have called for an arms embargo on Israel, which was not part of the Democrats’ platform. More from the panel earlier in the week:
Immigration, and, in particular, the surge in migrants who have entered the country from Mexico under Joe Biden, is a major liability for Democrats.
Donald Trump is campaigning on carrying out mass deportations and “closing” the southern border, and polls have shown that immigration is a top issue for voters this year.
Texas congresswoman Veronica Escobar, whose district lies along the Mexican border, just made a counter-attack to Trump’s policies, in a speech to the convention crowd:
He and his Republican imitators see the border and immigration as a political opportunity to exploit instead of an issue to address. Congress hasn’t passed comprehensive immigration reform in nearly four decades. The three times they tried, Republicans blocked legislation that would have funded border security and created a more humane immigration system. They are not serious people. You know who is serious? Kamala Harris.
New Jersey senator Cory Booker is on stage now, making a lengthy denunciation of Donald Trump.
“He viciously attacks Democrats and Republicans. His put-downs know no shame,” Booker said. He then named two Republicans who fell afoul of Trump:
John McCain’s military service. Nikki Haley’s heritage. Women, people with disabilities, trans people, our veterans. He is indiscriminate in his put downs. His is the politics of smear and fear, not inspiration and elevation. Donald Trump speaks more of American carnage than American compassion.
Democrats say 81m watched convention, ‘beating RNC ratings’
Democratic national convention officials say that 81 million people watched the second night on television and online. Officials said the convention averaged 20.6 million viewers across 12 networks on television on Tuesday.
Prime time coverage of DNC night two averaged 20.6 million viewers across 12 different TV networks, according to Nielsen. RNC night two averaged 14.8 million viewers. (These averages don’t include all streaming) pic.twitter.com/1caCxkhHuB
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) August 21, 2024
Democratic officials noted this figure exceeded the 14.8 million viewers on the second night of the GOP convention, saying in a news release, “now for two nights in a row, the DNC has beaten the RNC’s ratings on TV”.
Across the streaming platforms of the convention and Harris campaign, the first two nights were streamed by more than 13 million people, the announcement said.
Jon Polin applauded efforts by Democrats and Republicans to pursue a ceasefire deal that would see the hostages held in Gaza released.
“This is a political convention, but needing our only son, and all of the cherished hostages home, is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” he said.
Polin continued:
The families of the American eight hostages meet every few weeks in Washington. We’re heartened that both Democratic and Republican leaders demonstrate their bipartisan support for our hostages being released. We’ve met with President Biden and Vice-President Harris numerous times at the White House.
They’re both working tirelessly for a hostage and ceasefire deal that will bring our precious children, mothers, fathers, spouses, grandparents and grandchildren home, and will stop the despair in Gaza.
Rachel Goldberg is describing how her son was kidnapped from the Nova music festival, where Hamas killed hundreds of young people:
As rockets began to fall, Hersh, [his best friend] Aner, and 27 other young festival goers took refuge in a five-foot-by-eight-foot bomb shelter. Terrorists began to throw grenades into the shelter. Aner stood in the doorway and repelled seven of those grenades before the eighth one killed him. All together at the Nova music festival, 367 young music lovers were killed. This was just one of the many attacks on neighborhoods and communities in southern Israel on that terrible day. In total, 1,200 were killed, including 45 Americans. Hersh’s left forearm, his dominant arm, was blown off before he was loaded onto a pickup truck and stolen from his life, and me and John, into Gaza.
“Since then, we live on another planet. Anyone who is a parent, or has had a parent, can try to imagine the anguish and … misery that John and I, and all the hostage families are enduring,” Goldberg said.
Parents of US citizen kidnapped by Hamas address convention
Now at the podium are Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg. Their son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October.
As they took the stage, the crowd began chanting: “Bring them home!”
The convention is now seeing footage of Kamala Harris’s days on the Senate judiciary committee, when she became known for asking tough questions of Republicans.
The video was edited in a way that is favorable to the vice-president, and showed her questioning Donald Trump’s attorneys general, Jeff Sessions and William Barr, as well as conservative supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh. Footage of that last questioning drew loud and sustained applause – Kavanaugh is not well liked in this crowd.
As the video concluded, the words “She won’t back down” against a blue background came on screen.
Now on stage is Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison, who came out waving his hands in the air, like he wanted the audience on their feet.
But the subject matter of his remarks is a somber one.
“I’ll never forget when I first saw the video of the murder of George Floyd. I was heartbroken, I was angry, and that morning, my phone rang, and on that line was Governor Tim Walz,” he said.
Ellison led the prosecution of Floyd’s murderer, Derek Chauvin, and after he was found guilty, the attorney general said, “my phone rang again, and it was vice-president Kamala Harris calling to congratulate my team.
“Now, Kamala and Tim, they understand the legacy of George Floyd. No one is above the law and no one is beneath it. No one is outside the circle of our compassion. In the Republican party, everyone thinks they’re above the law. Hell, nearly a dozen of their own lawyers are facing serious charges. Even their lawyers need lawyers.”
It’s back!
The big prop book representing Project 2025 that Democratic speakers have periodically brought onstage throughout the convention is now in the hands of Colorado governor Jared Polis.
“Right here, on page 562, it says that Donald Trump could use an obscure law from the 1800s to singlehandedly ban abortion in all 50 states, even putting doctors in jail. Page 486 puts limits on contraception. Page 450 threatens access to IVF. On page 455, Project 2025 says that states have to report miscarriages to the Trump administration,” Polis said.
The Colorado governor made a point to say that he was a Swiftie – a fanatic of Taylor Swift. He ended his remarks by putting a twist on a familiar chant from Kamala Harris’s rallies:
We aren’t going back, like ever, ever, ever.
Speakers promote LGBTQ+ rights: ‘Trump wants to erase us’
At the start of the third night of the convention, speakers promoted LGBTQ+ rights, a sharp contrast from the Republican national convention which repeatedly featured extremist, anti-trans rhetoric.
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest LGBTQ+ organizations in the US, said:
Progress is happening. The 20+ million LGBTQ+ Americans are living proof of it. We are your friends and your neighbors, your classmates and your family … Donald Trump wants to erase us. He would ban our healthcare, belittle our marriages, bury our stories. But we are not going anywhere. We are not going back. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are champions for LGBTQ+ freedom. So tonight, we’re fighting for lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and trans freedom without exception. We’re fighting for equality for all without exception. We’re fighting for joy.
Robinson highlighted stories of a gay couple who were married by Kamala Harris in San Francisco; trans youth going to their first prom; and LGBTQ+ service members who fought against the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. At the GOP convention in July, speakers frequently mocked trans people and LGBTQ+ inclusivity.
The speakers over the past few minutes have reflected several different Democratic priorities.
The mayors of Cincinnati, Aftab Pureval, and of Milwaukee, Cavalier Johnson, talked about the positive impacts of the bipartisan infrastructure law Joe Biden signed in 2021.
They were followed by Rashawn Spivey and Deanna Branch, advocates for the removal of lead pipes, who also praised the law. Then came congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, who is running to become the first Black senator from the state.
“Ladies and gentleman, bright hope is four words: madam president Kamala Harris!” she said.
The convention is now hearing from Tom Suozzi, a New York congressman who in February won a special election to replace the fabulist George Santos following his resignation from the House of Representatives.
“I’m Tom Suozzi, and earlier this year, I flipped a seat from red to blue,” he began.
Suozzi’s victory put the Democrats a little bit closer to retaking the majority in Congress’s lower chamber, a job they hope to complete in the November election.
As for Santos, he just pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges.
Mini Timmaraju, the president of the advocacy group Reproductive Freedom for All, highlighted that Arizona and Montana will have abortion-rights referendums on ballot this year.
The referendums are also expected to energize Democratic voters in those states.
“If there are two people who should know that our private lives are nobody’s business? It’s Donald Trump and JD Vance,” she said.
Alexis McGill Johnson of Planned Parenthood is now speaking, on a night that is themed “A Fight for Our Freedoms”.
“We trust women,” she said. “We trust doctors. And we trust Kamala Harris.”
Democrats have continued to highlight that reproductive rights are on the ballot in November, as Donald Trump and Republicans work to further erode those rights.
Speeches begin in DNC’s third night
To start, a schoolteacher from Minnesota sang the national anthem: