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Takeaways from the first night of the Democratic convention
That’s it from us tonight. We’ll be back tomorrow for the second night of the virtual Democratic convention.
Here are the major takeaways from the night:
- Michelle Obama stole the show. The former first lady delivered a searing rebuke of Trump, arguing the president is incapable of leading the country during this moment of crisis. “If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it,” Obama said. The pre-taped speech attracted widespread praise, with many Democrats saying Obama offered an eloquent and urgent call to action.
- An everyday American who lost her father to coronavirus upstaged many Democratic lawmakers. Kristin Urquiza specifically blamed Trump for misleading her father, Mark Anthony Urquiza, about the seriousness of the virus. “My dad was a healthy 65-year-old,” Urquiza said. “His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that, he paid with his life.” Urquiza’s words struck a chord with many viewers, and commentators compared her speech to that of Gold Star father Khizr Khan, who memorably criticized Trump at the 2016 Democratic convention.
- George Floyd’s family delivered a plea for changes in policing. “George should be alive today,” Philonise Floyd said of his brother, a Black man who was kill by a white Minneapolis police officer in May. Floyd listed some of the African Americans killed by police in recent years and said: “When this moment ends, let’s make sure we never stop saying their names.”
- Bernie Sanders called on his supporters to rally around Biden. The progressive Vermont senator acknowledged his policy differences with the Democratic nominee, but Sanders argued Trump’s disastrous handling of the pandemic demanded that all Americans come together to elect Biden. “Nero fiddled while Rome burned,” Sanders said. “Trump golfs.”
- Anti-Trump Republicans warned against the dangers of reelecting the president. Former Ohio governor John Kasich, a frequent Trump critic, delivered his speech endorsing Biden alongside a literal fork in the road, attracting some mockery on Twitter. “America is at a crossroads,” Kasich said. “The stakes in this election are greater than any in modern times.” Like Sanders, Kasich acknowledged he does not agree with Biden on every issue, but he described his vote for the Democratic candidate as a matter of necessity amid a historic time of crisis.
- The virtual convention, while not seamless, still produced some memorable moments. The night saw some glitches and timing misses, but overall the event went as planned, despite the unprecedented nature of this year’s conventions. However, certain lawmakers’ Zoom backgrounds did prompt questions, such as, where did Bernie Sanders find all that chopped wood?
The Guardian’s convention live blog will be back tomorrow night, so tune back in then.
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12.46am EDT00:46
In case you missed the full video, here’s Billy Porter and Stephen Stills closing out the night:
Stills, who wrote the song, was inspired by the 1966 Sunset Strip curfew riots, when counterculture youths protested and clashed with police.
– Maanvi Singh
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12.29am EDT00:29
Here are a couple of behind the scenes looks at tonight’s speakers, prepping for their speeches.
Michigan’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, had this preamble on Shark Week:
And Bernie Sanders had a very Bernie Sanders response to staff fussing over him:
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12.14am EDT00:14
Michelle Obama’s necklace, which spells out V-O-T-E, has been getting a huge amount of attention since her speech.
According to Google Trends, which measures the relative volume of search interest, it’s the most newly searched for thing in the last hour or so.
12.13am EDT00:13
One subject of deep speculation tonight: what’s with all that chopped wood behind Bernie Sanders?
Politico’s Holly Otterbein, who covered the Sanders campaign this election cycle, brings us this perfectly logical explanation …
But viewers and journalists couldn’t help but kindle alternative theories … (Sorry not sorry).
… and engage in some fun punning (here’s the reference).
– Maanvi Singh
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11.56pm EDT23:56
Trump seems especially perturbed by the Republicans, including John Kasich, who spoke at the Democratic convention.
He told reporters this evening that Kasich will be “a loser as a Democrat”.
Kasich told CNN that he wasn’t sure where the Republican party was headed: “I’m very disappointed in them – I’m disappointed in their silence and I’m disappointed in an agenda that doesn’t seem very positive.”
But the former Ohio governor and presidential candidate didn’t seem ready to join the Democratic party either, critiquing some Dems as getting “too extreme” in their policies. “Who knows where we’re going to go,” after the elections, he said. “If there’s not support for the Republican party or the Democratic party, there will be a third party.”
– Maanvi Singh
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11.42pm EDT23:42
Donald Trump, on a tweeting spree, has so far focused his attacks on Andrew Cuomo and John Kasich – with 13 tweets and retweets deriding the New York governor so far.
The president accused Cuomo of botching the coronavirus response and noted that he at times had praised Trump’s actions int the initial aftermath of the pandemic. Of course, at the time, Cuomo and other governors desperate for supplies from the federal government needed to stay on the president’s good side.
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11.30pm EDT23:30
In her speech, Michelle Obama also painted a stark picture of what voting might look like in November, as the Trump administration tries to enforce changes to the US Postal Service.
“We’ve got to vote early, in person if we can,” Obama said. “We’ve got to request our mail-in ballots right now, tonight, and send them back immediately and follow-up to make sure they’re received. And then, make sure our friends and families do the same.
“We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag dinner and maybe breakfast too, because we’ve got to be willing to stand in line all night if we have to.”
Democratic officials and voting rights advocates have warned that the Trump administration’s actions could jeopardize voting by mail this November.
However, Obama is the first person to use a national speech to warn Americans about the drastic steps they may need to take to ensure their votes are counted.
11.26pm EDT23:26
For someone who says she “hates politics”, Michelle Obama has managed to pull off something remarkable in her pre-recorded convention speech.
The response to it has been overwhelmingly positive across social media:
11.23pm EDT23:23
Trump has weighed in on tonight’s convention events, lashing out against New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, who criticized the president’s response to the coronavirus pandemic in his speech.
Cuomo lambasted the “dysfunctional and incompetent” federal government in his remarks, but Trump noted the Democratic governor previously thanked the president for some of the steps he took to assist New York
“Cuomo, just like his brother Fredo, has not got a very good memory!” Trump tweeted, apparently referencing Cuomo’s brother, CNN host Chris Cuomo.
Trump also reshared a tweet from Republican senator Lindsey Graham that challenged Michelle Obama’s praise of her husband’s administration.
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11.09pm EDT23:09
Bernie Sanders and Michelle Obama’s remarks revealed how the coronavirus pandemic, the economic downturn, vast inequality and threats to a fair election from the US’s most controversial president in history could drown out the climate crisis at the Democratic convention.
Climate is always a top tier issue for Sanders, who pledged the most ambitious goals of any Democratic contender. Yet it was only a brief mention in his speech tonight.
“We are facing the worst public health crisis in 100 years and the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression. We are confronting systemic racism and the enormous threat to our planet of climate change,” Sanders said. “And in the midst of all of this we have a president who is not only incapable of addressing these crises but is leading us down the path of authoritarianism.”
Rattling out a list of Biden campaign promises, from paid family leave to universal pre-K, Sanders said Biden would also invest in crumbling infrastructure and fight climate change by transitioning the US to 100% clean electricity in the next 15 years, creating millions of jobs.
Obama mentioned climate in a list of ways the US used to work with other countries.
Biden’s climate plan – widely endorsed by advocacy groups – is likely to fall to the background of the event.
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11.08pm EDT23:08
First night of the Democratic convention concludes
The first night of the Democratic convention has now concluded, following Michelle Obama’s speech fiercely condemning Trump’s leadership.
The blog will have more reactions and analysis coming up, so stay tuned.
11.07pm EDT23:07
Michelle Obama’s pithy, understated rebuke of Trump: “It is what it is.”
The former first lady here subtly referenced Donald Trump’s reaction to the staggering coronavirus death toll earlier this month. “They are dying. That’s true. And you – it is what it is,” Trump said in an interview with Axios. “But that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing everything we can. It’s under control as much as you can control it.
Using the president’s own words against him, Obama said Trumo is the “wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment.”
– Maanvi Singh
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11.03pm EDT23:03
Michelle Obama emphasized the urgency of this election, asking voters to understand the crucial need to defeat Trump in November.
“If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can; and they will if we don’t make a change in this election,” Obama said.
“If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it.”
Obama specifically called out voters who might be considering supporting third-party candidates in November, which cost Hillary Clinton dearly in 2016.
“This is not the time to withhold our votes in protest or play games with candidates who have no chance of winning,” Obama said.
10.59pm EDT22:59
Michelle Obama: ‘Trump is the wrong president for our country’
Michelle Obama offered a stinging rebuke of Trump’s leadership, saying he is the wrong man for the job at a critical moment for our country.
Obama specifically referenced her words at the 2016 convention: “When they go lie, we go high.” Obama said tonight. “Going high is the only thing that works.”
She then added: “But let’s be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty. Going high means taking the harder path. It means scraping and clawing our way to that mountain top.”
Obama followed that by taking direct aim at Trump, saying: “Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can. Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country.
“He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.”
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10.56pm EDT22:56
Maanvi here, with more on Bernie Sanders:
Bernie Sanders, who just urged his supporters to back Biden, has been working to unite Democrats to defeat Trump, even as some of those who lead his presidential campaign have critiqued the Democratic nominee’s moderate policies.
Belén Sisa, the former national Latino press secretary, has commented that progressives need to keep pushing the policies Sanders championed, even though he’s not the nominee.
The Sanders campaign’s former national press secretary, Briahna Joy Gray, echoed the sentiment:
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10.54pm EDT22:54
Michelle Obama: ‘You simply cannot fake your way through this job’
Michelle Obama noted she has seen the difficulties of the presidency firsthand, saying: “You simply cannot fake your way through this job.”
The former first lady argued Trump has not provided the necessary moral leadership as the country faces crises on multiple fronts.
Obama said: “Whenever we look to this White House for some leadership or consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos, division and a total and utter lack of empathy.”
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10.50pm EDT22:50
Michelle Obama speaks at Democratic convention
Former first lady Michelle Obama is now addressing the Democratic convention, saying this election will determine the direction of the country.
Repeating her words during the 2016 campaign, Obama said the job of the presidency is difficult and requires a strong leader.
“A president’s words have the power to move markets,” Obama said. “As I said before, being president doesn’t change who you are. It reveals who you are.”
10.47pm EDT22:47
Sanders: ‘Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfs’
In his convention remarks, the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders strongly urged his supporters to vote for Joe Biden in the November election, warning that Trump represents a severe threat to US democracy.
“Our great nation is now living in an unprecedented moment,” Sanders said, describing this election as the “most important in the modern history of this country”.
“We need Joe Biden as our next president,” Sanders aid.
He thanked his millions of supporters and emphasized he would continue fighting for the progressive causes he championed during his campaign.
“Together, we have moved this country in a bold new direction,” Sanders said. “Our campaign ended several months ago, but our movement continues and is getting stronger every day.”
But Sanders emphasized the progressive progress made in recent years could be undone by Trump’s re-election.
“Let us be clear: If Donald Trump is reelected, all of the progress we have made will be in jeopardy,” Sanders said, emphasizing the need to “preserve this nation”.
“This president is not just a threat to our democracy, but by rejecting science he has put our lives and health in jeopardy,” Sanders said.
Sanders added: “Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Trump golfs.”
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