CHICAGO—Democrats held the third rally of their national convention on Aug. 21, making the case that Vice President Kamala Harris is a strong leader who will lead the nation to a brighter future.
The program included remarks by more than 40 speakers, including Democratic notables House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Celebrities including Stevie Wonder, Keenan Thompson, and John Legend performed.
Oprah Winfrey made an unannounced appearance. Harris was absent from the convention for a second day.
Walz Makes National Debut
“It’s the honor of my life to accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said, formally acknowledging his place on the Democratic ticket.The governor had been introduced by home-state speakers Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Benjamin Ingman, a former student of Walz’s, who was flanked by several former high school football players whom Walz had coached.
The governor referred to his small-town upbringing and said his father’s service in the Korean War inspired him to join the National Guard. He then attended college on the GI Bill.
Walz presented his positions on reproductive issues and gun control as both deeply personal and commonsense approaches to difficult issues. He spoke energetically and used a number of sports metaphors to introduce himself and his political philosophy, which is focused on individual liberty.
Bill Clinton Touts Harris, Honors Biden
Former President Bill Clinton addressed the crowd, lauding “president-to-be Harris” as a model of service and praising Biden for bowing out of the Democratic presidential contest when he was presumptive nominee.Biden, he said, “did something that’s really hard for a politician to do. He voluntarily gave up political power.”
Biden, who is still president of the United States, dropped out of the race weeks after his first debate against Trump sparked a pressure campaign from leading Democrats for him to withdraw as candidate.
Clinton, a mainstay speaker at DNCs, targeted his party’s opponent, Trump, describing him as a chaos agent focused on distractions like crowd size.
The former president said Harris was animated by a spirit of service. To capture that attitude, the famous McDonald’s fan quoted a line he said Harris had delivered while working at that fast-food chain as a teenager: “How can I help you?”
Democrats Aim to Flip the Script on Immigration
Democrats cited Harris’s record as a tough-on-crime prosecutor who could balance border enforcement and compassion for people to reform the nation’s immigration system. The effort appeared calculated to blunt Republican criticism of the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of illegal immigration at the southern border and accused the GOP of failing to pass or support any bills.Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas said the lack of immigration reform was the result of Republicans’ inaction. “Republicans blocked legislation that would have funded border security and created a more humane immigration system.”
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy said he negotiated a border security bill with Biden, Harris, and Republican senators. “One Republican said it would have had almost unanimous support if it weren’t for Donald Trump,” Murphy said. He saw Trump’s opposition to the bill as political.
“For 20 years, Kamala Harris has been tough as nails when it comes to securing our border,” Murphy said, pointing to her prosecution of drug smugglers and human traffickers as California’s attorney general.
Marine Corps veteran Carlos Eduardo Espina said America is a land where anything is possible.
Speakers Recall Jan. 6
More than three and a half years after Jan. 6, 2021, multiple DNC speakers drew attention to the chaotic protests that unfolded that day.Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) described what occurred that day, when protesters breached the U.S. Capitol building, as an insurrection by a mob allegedly incited by then-President Trump.
Trump told his supporters that day to go “peacefully and patriotically” to the seat of legislative power while electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election were being counted amid legal challenges by the Trump campaign in battleground states.
Retired Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell said,“I had seen violence while serving in Iraq, but nothing ... nothing prepared me for Jan. 6.”
He accused Trump of summoning those who breached the building, telling the audience he had almost been killed that day.
Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) also spoke about Jan. 6, saying he “grabbed the trash bag and started cleaning up” after seeing the damage to the Capitol rotunda.
Parents of Israeli Hostage Speak
Attendees at the Democratic National Convention chanted “Bring Them Home” as the parents of a young man being held hostage by Hamas addressed the crowd.
Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, was one of about 250 people, including Israeli and American citizens, taken hostage by Hamas during the terrorist group’s attack on Oct. 7, 2023.
There are eight Americans still being held hostage by Hamas. Goldberg-Polin, who has dual citizenship, was taken hostage at the Nova music festival.
His parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jonathan Polin, said that since that day, they “live on another planet.”
“Anyone who is a parent or has had a parent can imagine the anguish and misery that Jon and I and all the families of hostages are enduring,” Goldberg said.
Meanwhile, pro-Palestinan protests were ongoing just down the street from the United Center.
The convention crowd, including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) who has been outspoken against Israel’s military operations in Gaza, were respectful and largely stood during the solemn address.
“This is a political convention, but needing our only son and all the cherished hostages home is not a political issue—it is a humanitarian issue,” Polin said. “In a competition of pain, there are no winners.”
The convention concludes on Aug. 22 with an address by Harris.
