Joe Biden campaigns for Kamala Harris on the first night of the DNC
President Biden was supposed to shine as the Democratic candidate. Instead, he passed the baton to Kamala Harris. Susan Page analyzes the evening.
Joseph R. Biden Jr. delivered a heartfelt farewell – and a grim warning – to his fellow Democrats, who showered their veteran with gratitude on Monday at the first in-person party convention since 2016.
These are bittersweet times for the 81-year-old president, who was forced out of office by liberal donors and others within his own party after years of persistent questions about his age and abilities following a dismal performance at the June debate.
The president wiped tears from his eyes after hugging his daughter Ashley Biden, who introduced him to delegates gathered in Chicago from across the country.
“I love you,” Biden said.
He used most of his speech to boast about his administration’s successes, attack former President Donald Trump, and symbolically pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris as the new leader of a party he has been a member of for more than half a century.
“Are you ready to vote for freedom?” Biden asked the crowd. “Are you ready to vote for democracy and for America? Let me ask you: Are you ready to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?”
Democrats entered the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, with a much more optimistic assessment of their chances of keeping the White House. Polls show Harris overtaking Trump in the swing states.
Much of this week’s convention will focus on that enthusiasm and on turning a new leaf, as Democrats will now focus on reproductive rights, lowering the cost of living for average Americans and attacks on Trump’s character.
But protests outside the arena threaten to distract from the celebration of progressive unity, as left-leaning activists demand that Harris and Democrats do more to end Israel’s bombing of Gaza as a result of the war with Hamas dating back to the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack.
Here are the key moments from the first day of the DNC.
DNC: Biden praises Vice President Kamala Harris’ “tremendous integrity”
President Joe Biden’s high praise for Vice President Kamala Harris capped off the first evening of the Democratic National Convention.
“Thank you, Joe”: Biden’s farewell opens DNC 2024
Democrats on Monday evening honored Biden’s five-decade career, which began in the Richard Nixon era as the country’s youngest senator and ended as the oldest president.
“Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifelong commitment to our nation and for all that you will continue to do. We are eternally grateful,” Harris said during a surprise visit to the stage.
Throughout the evening, the crowd chanted “Thank you, Joe” whenever the president’s name was mentioned.
Biden said he ran for president for four years largely because of Trump’s response to the violent protests in Charlotteville, Virginia, in 2017, where white nationalists clashed with counterprotesters. He talked about lowering prescription drug prices, passing a massive $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The job of a president is to take care of all Americans,” Biden said. “Thanks to you, we have seen four years of the most extraordinary progress ever. When I say we, I mean Kamala and me.”
Generation Z politicians elect the Democratic Party Committee
The Harris campaign has succeeded in reaching many younger voters by incorporating memes and pop culture.
Biden leaves the DNC and does not return
But the President and First Lady Jill Biden quickly left Chicago after his speech and headed to Santa Ynez, California, to vacation in the wine country – and the two will not be attending the DNC convention for the rest of the week.
This means the Bidens will not be present when Harris accepts her party’s nomination on Thursday night.
Harris must walk a fine line: on the one hand, she wants to honor the man who appointed her vice president, while on the other hand, she wants to distance herself from Biden’s unpopular handling of inflation and the economy.
Television cameras panning to Biden during Harris’ remarks would not have been the optics Harris’ campaign would have wanted, but her allies are hoping that even the president’s early withdrawal will not overshadow their big moment.
Still, it’s notable that Biden – who paved the way for Harris’ nomination by withdrawing from the race – will not be in the same room with Harris when she takes the convention stage.
‘Abandon Harris’: Gaza protests flood Chicago streets ahead of DNC
The mood inside was in stark contrast to outside, where hundreds of left-wing activists and organizers held marches against the Gaza war and several clashes with Chicago police occurred.
One of the most anticipated protests began Monday in Union Park, about a half-mile from the convention hall, with chants of “Free, free Palestine.” The crowd grew to about 1,000 people as it approached the United Center.
These demonstrations will take place throughout the week and could further damage Harris’ party if the dissent gets out of control or makes it to the convention.
A group of about 30 unaffiliated DNC delegates — making up less than 1% of all delegates — for example, want to be given time and space to be heard. They have warned that the vice president’s chances of winning in the fall could be hurt if she does not support an arms embargo on Israel and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
AOC, Beshear and other aspiring Democrats shine
The Democrats used Monday evening to introduce their diverse class of rising stars.
Speakers at the convention included Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia and Representative Jasmine Crockett of Texas.
Beshear, a Democrat from a conservative state, and the progressive Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the Bronx, come from different wings and regions of the party, but both are among its new faces.
Beshear, 46, who has won two elections in a reliably Republican state, was recently considered by Harris as her running mate and will be among the Democrats mentioned as presidential candidates in 2028 or 2032.
“In Kentucky, we put reproductive freedom on the ballot last November, and I beat Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell’s hand-picked candidate by more than five percentage points,” Beshear said.
AOC is extremely popular with the liberal base and could become a candidate for the U.S. Senate in New York if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer resigns. In her remarks, she thanked Biden and Harris, highlighted the vice president’s efforts to secure a temporary ceasefire in Gaza and jabbed at her Republican critics.
“Ever since I was elected, Republicans have attacked me and told me to go back to bartending,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “But let me tell you, I’m happy any day of the week because there’s nothing wrong with working for a living.”
Crockett’s popularity rose rapidly after her first election in 2022.
“She lived the American dream. It was America’s nightmare,” Crockett said in his remarks about Harris and Trump. “Kamala Harris has a resume. Donald Trump has a criminal record.”
She also alluded to her previous viral alliteration, in which she attacked Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) with a new alliteration.
“The question before us is whether or not a vengeful, vile villain is going to hurt voters’ vision for a better America,” Crockett said. “I hear alliteration is back in fashion.”
Speakers mention Fannie Lou Hamer as a connection to Harris
The Democrats did not miss Harris’ historic election campaign, in which she wanted to be the first woman of color to govern the country. They linked this to history.
Representatives and activists have repeatedly brought up civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer. During a televised statement at the 1964 Democratic National Convention, she demanded that black delegates take Mississippi’s seats instead of the all-white delegation.
“When she finished, she asked the country a simple but profound question: ‘Is this America?'” Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California said on the convention stage.
Sixty years later, she added, there is “no better leader to lead us into the future” than Harris, who, if elected, would be the first black and South Asian woman to hold the presidency.
Hillary Clinton pushes Harris to do what she couldn’t
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a stirring speech in which she argued that Harris could accomplish what she could not: become the first female president.
She also attacked the man who first prevented her from achieving that goal: Donald Trump.
“It’s no surprise that he’s lying about Kamala’s past. He’s making fun of her name and her laugh – that sounds familiar,” Clinton said. “Now he’s on the run.”
Clinton, 76, spoke earlier in the convention than some might have expected, but her speeches were among the most memorable and stirring by any Democrat at the United Center.
“There’s a lot of energy in this room, just like there is across the country,” Clinton began. “Something is happening in America. You can feel it. Something we’ve worked for and dreamed of for a long time.”
Clinton has attacked Trump several times.
“Kamala has locked up murderers and drug traffickers. She will never rest when it comes to defending our freedom and security. Donald Trump fell asleep on his own trial,” Clinton said. “And when he woke up, he made his own kind of history: He became the first presidential candidate with 34 capital crimes convictions.”
Clinton also spoke of the inspiration brought by her mother and former Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro, who was the first woman to run for vice president in 1984. Clinton mentioned her election loss to Trump in 2016 and said Democrats responded by protesting and running for office.
“We’re looking to the future. Well, my friends, the future is here. I wish my mother and Kamala’s mother could see us. They would say, ‘Keep going!'” Clinton said.
Reporters Trevor Hughes, Michael Loria and Tamia Fowlkes contributed to this story.
