The Latest: Day 2 of the DNC features the Obamas and second gentleman Doug Emhoff
Day two of the Democratic National Convention has begun
Day two of the Democratic National Convention has begun.
Former President Barack Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama and second gentleman Doug Emhoff spoke at the DNC, a day after the unofficial farewell for President Joe Biden, who served eight years as Obama’s vice president. Biden won’t be in the hall to see his former running mate speak, as he departed Chicago Monday after delivering his own speech.
With President Biden having addressed delegates, the week’s full focus now turns to Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov Tim Walz.
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Here’s the Latest:
Obama sneaks in some Easter eggs
The former president is bringing back some of his signature campaign lines, including a “Fired up, Ready to go” call, talk of “hope” and an instruction to voters — “Do not boo, vote” — when the crowd jeered a reference to Trump.
Obama heralds the ‘fight’ ahead
The former president warned the crowd at the DNC that even though “the torch has been passed” to Harris, the work for Democrats is not yet done.
“For all the incredible energy we’ve been able to generate over the last few weeks, this will still be a tight race in a closely divided country — a country where too many Americans are still struggling and don’t believe government can help,” he said.
“Make no mistake, it will be a fight,” Obama said. For all the energy and memes and rallies, he said, “this will still be a tight race in a closely divided country.”
The last election was decided by 40,000 votes across three states.
‘Kids with funny names’
Former President Obama began his speech with self-deprecation but also used one of his favorite lines about being an up-and-coming politician with a funny name.
“I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama,” he joked.
Obama then added, “I’m feeling hopeful because this convention has always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe in a country where anything is possible.”
That was a reference to the difficulty some have had in pronouncing his and Kamala Harris’ name — a problem some had with Obama’s when he was just emerging on the national stage.
Obama heaps praise upon his former running mate
Obama is highlighting Biden’s record in one of the only significant discussions of his accomplishments since he turned over the convention to Harris on Monday night.
He praised Biden for being “selfless enough to do the rarest thing there is in politics: putting his own ambition aside for the sake of the country.”
“History will remember Joe Biden as an outstanding president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger,” Obama said. “I am proud to call him my president, but even prouder to call him my friend.”
President Obama seeks to lend Harris his political capital
Former President Barack Obama sought to recapture the energy of his 2008 run for office and lend it to Harris’ campaign effort this time around. “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling fired up! I’m feeling ready to go,” Obama said. “I’m feeling hopeful because this convention has always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe in a country where anything is possible.”
Michelle Obama welcomes her husband Barack Obama to the stage
“Before I go, I have one more job tonight,” Michelle Obama said after concluding her speech before introducing “somebody who knows a whole lot about hope.”
She introduced Barak Obama who she said still wakes up every day thinking about what he can do for the country. The couple hugged warmly, kissed and then held their clasped hands skyward as the former president took the stage.
‘They are still only human’
Michelle Obama is using Harris’ and Walz’s first names, belying not only her personal relationships with the nominees but also perhaps helping voters develop their own deeper perspective of them as people. It came as Obama went on to talk about how politicians aren’t infallible and will make mistakes.
In closing, Michelle Obama sought to warn Democrats not to become “their own worst enemies,” nitpicking qualities about Harris and Walz.
“Kamala and Tim have lived amazing lives. I am confident they will lead with compassion, inclusion and grace,” Obama said. “But they are still only human. They’re not perfect. And like all of us, they will make mistakes.”
Michelle Obama: ‘Going small is never the answer’
Even as she attacked Trump, Michelle Obama sought to capture a flavor of the energy from her 2016 convention address when she encouraged Democrats to take the high road against Donald Trump: “When they go low, we go high.”
She warned Tuesday that Trump’s policies and rhetoric “only makes us small. And let me tell you … going small is never the answer.”
She added: “Going small is petty … it’s unhealthy … and quite frankly, it’s unpresidential.” She called Harris and running mate Tim Walz “good, big-hearted people.”
Michelle Obama made a series of not-so-subtle jabs at Donald Trump
Without ever mentioning Trump’s name, Michelle Obama made mention of what she called his “privilege” to “failing forward.”
“We will never benefit from the affirmative action of gender, race or wealth,” she said. “We don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get ahead.”
Obama tweaked Trump for his history of attacking her and her husband, drawing rave applause from Democrats.
“His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black,” she said.
“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those “Black jobs?”
Obama said she was last in Chicago to bury her mother
Former first lady Michelle Obama is giving a touching tribute to her mother, Marian Robinson, who died earlier this year.
She called her mother the woman who “set my moral compass high and showed me the power of my own voice.”
“I still feel her loss so profoundly,” she said.
Marian Robinson was an integral part of the Obamas’ years in the White House, where she lived with them and helped raise the then first-couples’ two daughters.
“I wasn’t even sure I’d be sturdy enough to stand before you tonight but my heart compelled me to because of the sense of duty that I feel to honor her memory and remind us all not to squander the sacrifices our elders make to give us a better future,” the former first lady said.
Many — but not all — delegates in the floor and first-tier sections are still on their feet as Obama continues her remarks. Standing or sitting, most seem to be listening and paying attention, with little side chatter quieted.
Former first lady Michelle Obama gets a heroe's welcome at the DNC
Obama, a Chicago native from the city’s South Side, took the stage in a sleeveless Navy dress to wild and raucous applause.
“Hope is making a comeback,” she said.
She tied the energy in the Democratic party to her husband’s campaign 16 years ago. “Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn’t it,” she said. “It’s the contagious power of hope.”
“American, hope is making a comeback.”
Emhoff says Harris will ‘lead with joy and toughness’
Emhoff told the crowd that Thursday marked his and Harris’ 10th wedding anniversary.
He joked that that meant he’d have to hear the embarrassing voicemail again — but also said he’d hear her give a speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination.
“With your help, she’ll lead with joy and toughness. With that laugh and that look,” he said.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth strolled onto the stage
Before Emhoff to the stage, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who lost both her legs when the Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting in Iraq was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and typically uses a wheelchair, walked out on stage under her own power on prosthetic legs, drawing cheers from the crowd at the DNC.
Duckworth was speaking about how she was able to have two daughters with the help of in vitro fertilization, a procedure that some Republicans have threatened after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. “Every American deserves the right to be called “Mommy” or “Daddy” without being treated like a criminal,” Duckworth said. “Kamala Harris believes that.”
Emhoff shares his personal biography
Emhoff is mixing his personal story and detailing his background with praise for his wife.
“She’s showing you what you already know, she is ready to lead,” Emhoff said, imploring the crowd that Harris will bring joy and also a steady hand to the White House.
Emhoff described being McDonald’s employee of the month and said he’s still best friends with the people he grew up with and that their group chat “is probably blowing up right now.”
Emhoff gently tried to defuse Republican political attacks against the way his wife laughs, telling the convention, “You know that laugh, I love that laugh!”
Republicans have roundly mocked Harris’ laugh, which sometimes erupts during awkward moments. Trump even toyed with giving her the nickname Laffin’ Kamala Harris.
The second gentleman stresses his middle-class upbringing for a national audience
Emhoff detailed at the Democratic National Convention how he was the son of two Brooklynites who have been married for nearly seven decades, and that the family moved to New Jersey when he was a kid because of opportunities for his father, who worked in the shoe business.
When his dad got another new job, Emhoff said, the family moved across the country to Los Angeles, where money was tight enough that he worked at McDonald’s for extra money while in high school. Harris has also played up her experience working at McDonald’s on the campaign trail, lately.
Emhoff said he used loans and help from his dad to get through law school and went to work as a lawyer where he met “the guys in my fantasy football league” where his team name is still Narvana, a shoutout to its 1990s roots.
Mesa, Arizona's Republican mayor says Americans must put ‘country first’
John Giles, the mayor of Mesa, Arizona, and a registered Republican addressed the Democratic convention and explained why he was rejecting his party’s presidential nominee, Trump.
“I have a confession to make, I’m a lifelong Republican,” Giles said, before adding. “But I feel more at home here than in today’s Republican Party.”
Mesa is Arizona’s third largest city, a Phoenix suburb with more than 500,000 people. It was settled by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who remain influential even as the city’s Latino and Asian population has grown rapidly.
Giles said, “We all need an adult in the White House” and that the country saw when Trump was elected in 2016 what it was like not to have one.
The mayor said Biden and Harris reached across the aisle and pushed policies that benefitted his city. He said he was like the majority of the Americans, in the political middle: “Let’s put our country first.”
Harris’ complicated prosecutorial history
While Harris is eager to tout her prosecutorial background, her record on criminal justice matters is nuanced and complicated. When she was first elected to the Senate in 2016, she presented herself as a “progressive” prosecutor and called for the elimination of cash bail.
But previously she pursued the parents of chronically truant students, sought higher bail amounts and aggressively prosecuted drug crimes, earning her the nickname of “Copala.”
As attorney general, she appealed convictions that judges had ordered thrown out. Her office fought a court order mandating the release of state prisoners due to overcrowding. She also opposed legislation requiring her office to investigate shootings involving police and declined to back statewide standards for the use of body cameras by local law enforcement.
Alsobrooks praised Harris’ record as a prosecutor
Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maryland, praised Harris’ record as a prosecutor.
“She put rapists, child molesters and murders behind bars,” said Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maryland and a former prosecutor herself.
Harris has leaned into her years as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, presenting it as a leading credential in her race against Trump, who was recently convicted of dozens of felonies in a New York hush money case.
“Getting justice for others isn’t a power trip for her,” Alsobrooks said. “It’s a sacred calling. Kamala Harris knows how to keep criminals off the street.”
And, Alsobrooks predicted in a jab directed at Trump, “She’ll keep one out of the Oval Office.”
Several protestors outside the DNC have been taken into custody
Multiple people have been taken into custody following an intense demonstration and march by pro-Palestinian protesters outside the Israeli consulate in Chicago.
Some demonstrators set an American flag on fire in the street as the celebratory roll call for Harris took place inside the United Center about 2 miles away.
As protesters regrouped and approached a line of police in riot gear in front of a Chicago skyscraper that houses the Israeli consulate, an officer said into a megaphone, “You are ordered to immediately disburse.” A woman in the front of the march shouted back with her own megaphone: “We’re not scared of you.”
FACT FOCUS: JD Vance and the child tax credit
Sen. Chuck Schumer, of New York, claimed that Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance “didn’t even show up to vote” on a bill to expand the child tax credit and restore some tax breaks for businesses.
Vance indeed did indeed skip the August vote. The bill failed to advance in the Senate as Republicans largely opposed the measure, arguing that they would be in a position to get a better deal next year, The Associated Press reported at the time.
But there’s more to the story. Vance has also said he would support expanding the child tax credit, currently at $2,000, to $5,000. He said the Senate vote was a “show vote,” when bills are designed to fail but allow parties to highlight issues before voters.
Angela Alsobrooks, Maryland senate candidate and longtime Harris friend, takes the stage
Angela Alsobrooks, a friend to Harris of 14 years who is running to become Maryland’s first Black U.S. senator in a competitive race, has taken the convention stage. The Maryland seat is critical if Democrats want to maintain control of the Senate.
Alsobrooks, who is the chief executive of Maryland’s second-most populous county in the suburbs of the nation’s capital, wrote on social media earlier in the day that she looks forward to sharing why Harris “is going to make an incredible President of the United States.” Both women are former prosecutors.
The Prince George’s County executive is running in a heavily Democratic state against popular former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican. Hogan won the governorship and was reelected in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1, but the GOP has not won a Senate seat in Maryland in more than 40 years. The race is being closely watched, because it could determine control of the Senate. Harris made a campaign stop for Alsobrooks in June in Prince George’s.
Alsobrooks would become the nation’s third Black woman to be elected to the Senate. Harris was the second Black woman elected to the chamber.
New Mexico governor touts Harris’ record on health care
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is using her time at the DNC podium to argue for Harris’ ability to deliver on campaign promises, specifically when it comes to issues related to health care.
Lujan Grisham focused much of her remarks around arguing that Harris as president can lower drug costs and protect abortion rights for women.
“Either these guys don’t get it, or they just don’t care,” the two-term Democrat said, of Trump and Vance and their take on such issues’ importance.
Gov. JB Pritzker laces into Trump
JB Pritzker, the deep-pocketed governor of Illinois who was instrumental in bringing the Democratic convention to Chicago, used most of his speech to slam Trump.
Pritzker started by noting that Harris “spent some of her early life” in Illinois, which has produced past presidents including Barack Obama.
“We claim her too,” Pritzker declared, before pivoting to evoking hometown hero and basketball legend Michael Jordan in slamming Trump.
Pritzker said the former president “claims to be very rich. But take it from an actual billionaire, Trump is rich in only one thing, stupidity.”
“These guys aren’t just weird,” Pritzker said. “They’re dangerous.”
Bernie Sanders plays the hits
It’s a new convention, but much of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ messaging is the same he’s been delivering for several political cycles. A one-time Democratic challenger to both Biden and Harris, Sanders appeared on the DNC stage Tuesday to chants of his name by convention goers.
In his 2016 presidential campaign, Sanders often ranted against billionaires and promised that he’d aim to implement policies that would somewhat even out the economy, a message he returned to in his remarks.
Sanders also called in large part for the removal of big money from election funding.
“Billionaires in both parties should not be able to buy elections, including primary elections,” he said.
The Vermont progressive also laid out a series of liberal policy goals for the party if Harris were to win the president and Democrats control Congress next year. The list included expanding Medicare and raising the national minimum wage.
“I look forward to working with Kamala and Tim to pass this agenda,” Sanders said. “And let’s be clear. This is not a radical agenda.”
Harris pauses speech when someone in the crowd appears to be in distress
“We need a medical assistant here,” she said. “We need a nurse. We need a medic here, please.”
She asked her supporters to clear a path so medics could reach the person needing assistance.
Then she declared to applause: “We’re going to be OK. We’re going to be alright.”
Then she added: “This is who we are. This is what we’re about, looking out for each other,” using the moment to continue the contrast she was drawing with Trump.
Harris wrapped up her roughly 25-minute remarks in Milwaukee with one of the signature call-and-response mantras of her campaign: “When we fight, we win.”
In Milwaukee, Harris emphasizes the hard work ahead for her supporters
“We know this is going to be a tight race until the very end,” Harris said. “We have hard work ahead of us but we like hard work. Hard work is good work. And with your help, this November we will win.”
She then began laying out the contrast between herself and Trump: one vision “focused on the future” and another “focused on the past.”
Navarro compares Trump to dictators
Navarro, a co-host of ABC’s “The View” and a longtime Republican critic of Trump, also sought to paint a parallel between Trump and dictators in countries like her native Nicaragua.
“Let me tell you what communist dictators do,” Navarro said. “They attack the free press, they call them the enemy of the people.”
She added, “They refuse to accept legitimate elections when they lose and call for violence to stay in power.”
Ana Navarro rallies the pet lovers
Political commentator Ana Navarro evoked a now familiar Democratic political attack line against Republicans, sticking up for the nation’s pets.
“Kamala Harris, she likes dogs. And my dog ChaCha likes her,” Navarro said as a picture of Harris with her dog flashed on the convention floor screen. To loud cheers, she continued, “Dogs are good judges of character. So are cats.”
That was a reference to Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, once deriding “childless cat ladies,” a past remark that has roiled the GOP campaign since he was chosen.
“We cannot elect a president who does not like dogs or hangs around with people who shoot them,” Navarro deadpanned. That was an allusion to Trump, who doesn’t have any pets, and to another leading Republican, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem who killed a dog, detailing it in her own memoir.
Prime-time speeches are underway
Pivoting to the next portion of the night, convention organizers played a video showing notable times Harris as VP has voted to break a tie in the Senate. That included the Inflation Reduction Act, one of Biden’s signature legislative achievements.
Sen. Chuck Schumer has begun speaking and will be followed by high-profile Democrats including Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois and former President Barack Obama.
Harris makes surprise video appearance as roll call wraps
It was never really in doubt, but after the celebratory roll call, Rea confirmed Harris’ nomination as Democrats’ top-of-the-ticket pick. Harris was officially nominated earlier this month in a virtual roll call of delegates.
Following the roll call, Rea tossed to incoming video from Harris’ and Walz’s campaign appearance in Milwaukee, where the two are on stage in the same arena that hosted Republicans last month for their convention. They entered the stage to Beyoncé’s “Freedom,” which has become an anthem for the campaign.
“I thank everyone there and here for believing in what we can do together,” Harris said.
That split screen moment created a powerful visual for Harris: two arenas simultaneously full of her supporters.
Green Bay Packers shoutout met with boos in Chicago
When Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers took his turn at the mic during Democrats roll call vote Tuesday, he name-checked the Green Bay Packers football team.
That did not sit well in Chicago, the DNC’s host city, where utterances of support for the Packers are often taken as fighting words by long-suffering Chicago Bears fans.
Evers was showered with boos after name-checking the Packers.
In their long-running Midwestern rivalry, the Packers routinely best the Bears, winning 107 games to the Bears’ 95.
Texas Democrats spotlight abortion rights
Texas Democrats used their roll call moment to bring light to the issue of abortion rights, with TV actress and Texas native Eva Longoria introducing former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards.
Kate Cox, who was denied emergency abortion care by the Texas Supreme Court, told conventiongoers about her experience after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “Because of these abortion bans I had to flee my home,” Cox said in an emotional moment.
“There’s nothing pro-life about letting women suffer and even die.” She added that she is now pregnant and her baby is due in January, in time to see Harris sworn in as president.
Two notable absences from the roll call
The ceremonial state-by-state roll call at the DNC offers elected officials and up-and-coming political figures a chance to shine on a big stage, often taking the opportunity to deliver short, fiery speeches before casting their state’s votes for the Democratic nominee.
What was notable, however, is who wasn’t present: two vulnerable Democratic senators in tough reelection races who steered clear of their party’s festivities.
Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, were nowhere to be seen when their states cast their votes.
Both Montana and Ohio are states Trump won and the two are considered among Democrats most endangered senators.
Jewish protesters and allies block Israeli consulate in Chicago, demanding a cease-fire in Gaza
A few dozen protesters chanting “Free, free Palestine!” gathered outside a skyscraper that houses the Israeli consulate for a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the second night of the Democratic National Convention. Some carried Palestinian flags, while many others wore black and covered their faces.
The consulate, located about 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) from the United Center, has been the site of numerous demonstrations since the war in Gaza began in October. It is in a building connected to the Ogilvie Transportation Center, a major commuter rail station.
Dozens of Chicago police officers were posted outside the building, where law enforcement had closed down most of the entrances to the building on Tuesday, allowing commuters to come in only one entrance where armed officers were also posted. Many of the building’s shops were closed. Martha Hill, a spokeswoman for the Metra commuter rail service, says train service is running as normal.
Harris to talk about Roe v. Wade in Milwaukee
Harris plans to draw attention to Trump saying Monday he had “no regrets” about appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion, according to an excerpt of the speech she plans to give in Milwaukee.
“That’s because he hasn’t had to face the consequences,” Harris plans to say. “Women and families have. Well, we will make sure he does face the consequence at the ballot box this November.”
As they awaited Harris’ speech, her supporters listened to the Chicago convention’s roll call blasting from the arena speakers.
The odd couple
They may be a somewhat unlikely pair, but DNC Secretary Jason Rae and DJ Cassidy are tag-teaming the celebratory roll call of states.
Rae calls out the states and territories as they come up in the voting order, and Cassidy chimes in with occasional commentary as he flips from track to track for each batch of delegates.
A tale of two gatherings
Walz opened his remarks at the Milwaukee rally by noting that the Fiserv Forum is where Republicans held their national convention in July and nominated Republican Trump for president.
The Minnesota governor talked about how good Republicans felt when their gathering had concluded, then added: “Well, trust me Milwaukee. A hell of a lot can change in four weeks,” he said as the crowd burst into cheers.
Brinkmanship isn’t lost during the roll call
New Hampshire’s delegation declared itself home of the nation’s “first primary” except that the Democrats gave that honor to South Carolina this cycle.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared, “We’re from Jersey, baby. And you’re not.”
Missouri saluted its Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs at the expense of all the country’s other teams.
Film director Spike Lee joined New York Democrats to deliver the state’s 298 votes to Harris. Lee, who is a staple courtside at the Knicks games, was joined by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
Why California and Minnesota passed during the roll call
California and Minnesota, the home states of Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, have passed during the convention roll call — letting the party roll on.
This year’s roll call has been unlike any in political history. But one tradition held, the one mandating that the home state of the nominee generally passes, then goes near the end to pass the deciding vote to formally clinch the nomination.
This year, Minnesota, where Walz is governor, could get the count close and let Harris’ California and its motherlode of delegates put her over the top as the Democratic nominee.
Sean Astin joins Indiana delegation
Actor Sean Astin, best known for playing the titular Notre Dame football player in “Rudy,” joined the Indiana delegation to help cast its 86 delegates for Harris and Walz.
“I want what’s best for Indiana and that means electing Kamala Harris the first woman president of the United States of America,” Astin said.
Florida won’t back down
Florida’s delegation played Tom Petty’s anthem to hard-headedness, “I Won’t Back Down,” in casting its delegates for Harris — a not-too-subtle jab at the state’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
DeSantis used the song as the theme of his failed Republican presidential primary this cycle, and it was the name of a Super PAC that spent lavishly in his losing cause.
“Florida is worth fighting for,” state Democratic chairwoman Nikki Fried declared, arguing that her state is worth national Democrats campaigning for despite it’s hard shift to the right and likeliness to go for Trump in November.
Delegates show off their home-state tunes
Decked out in blue satin, DJ Cassidy is spinning a special song for each state in the roll call at the Democratic Convention.
Alabama, obviously, got “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Alaska announced their backing of Vice President Harris to “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man, a band from Wasilla. Florida committed its delegates to “I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty, who was born in Gainesville. The rapper Lil Jon appeared over the music of DJ Snake’s “Turn Down for What” ahead of Georgia awarding its delegates to Harris.
Lil Jon makes a surprise appearance during Harris roll call
In a surprise appearance, rapper Lil Jon joined the Georgia delegation to help deliver its 123 votes for Harris. The rapper’s hit song ‘Get Low’ has became a sort of rally cry for the Harris-Walz campaign in the last few weeks.
‘Present’
Under Democratic Party rules, only Harris garnered enough signatures to be entered into nomination. Votes for any other person or uncommitted votes were tallied as “present” during the virtual roll call earlier this month. Tuesday night’s “celebratory” vote is following that earlier’s roll calls vote total.
The roll call begins
Democrats are holding a “celebratory” roll call vote to nominate Harris on the second night of their convention in Chicago. The party held a virtual vote on Aug. 6 that made her the party’s official nominee. Tuesday’s vote is taking place with a DJ and light show in the United Center arena.
Protesters expected at the Israeli consulate in Chicago
Dozens of Chicago police officers are posted outside a skyscraper that houses the Israeli consulate where an evening demonstration is expected.
The building also is home to one of the city’s major transportation hubs.
Police had closed down most of the entrances on Tuesday, allowing commuters to come in only one entrance where armed officers were also posted. Many of the building’s shops were closed.
Martha Hill, a spokesperson for the Metra commuter rail service, says train service is running as normal.
Proceedings came to a literal standstill for the DNC group photo
It may have been an awkward several moments of pseudo-silence, but Democratic delegates have sat for their official 360-degree portrait.
It’s somewhat of a tradition for photographer Abbas Shirmohammadi to use a more-than-century-old camera to take delegates’ photo.
For several minutes, delegates were admonished to stay in their seats and not to move as a panoramic photo was taken around the United Center.
Perched atop a ladder, Shirmohammadi turned a modern camera, then an older model, around the arena as delegates were instructed to look toward the center and stay still.
“I congratulate all of you,” Shirmohammadi said to applause when his images had been completed. “Thank you for your patience.”
Shirmohammadi is a 4th generation photographer and, according to a bio associated with a talk he gave at the National Press Club, has been involved in creating images of numerous presidential inaugurals and Democratic conventions.
After Monday night delays, Democrats are now ahead of schedule
After Night 1 ran so long, the second night of the Democratic convention has raced out far ahead of its early schedule.
A series of speeches and video montages wrapped quickly and organizers began setting up for a state-by-state roll call about 35 minutes before it had been scheduled to begin.
Harris already formally clinched the Democratic nomination in a virtual vote earlier this month, but, per tradition, each state’s delegation will have a chance to symbolically pledge its delegates to her on the convention floor.
Organizers promised tweaks to the schedule to keep Tuesday’s program moving. It’s early yet, but so far they’ve kept that promise.
Teamsters members make DNC appearance absent President Sean O’Brien
While Teamsters President Sean O’Brien chose to speak at the Republican convention at Trump’s invite, members of his union decided to appear at the Democratic convention to say they’re with Vice President Harris. It was another jab at Trump for claiming to back workers even as his administration tried to restrict the power of organized labor, a sign of how Harris hopes to diminish his backing from blue-collar voters.
“If they win, working people like my friends here from the Teamsters will pay the price,” said Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., with several Teamsters by his side.
Kenneth Stribling, a retired Teamster, then explained how the Biden administration had helped rescue the financially troubled pensions of union members like himself as part of its pandemic aid.
“They got it done without one single Republican vote in Congress,” Stribling said. “They saved over 1 million pensions.”
The DNC pivots away from Biden
President Joe Biden was the star of the DNC on Monday night as he delivered his swan song to his party after 50 years in elected office. He was a bit player as the convention’s second evening got started.
“The torch has been passed to a new generation,” former New Orleans mayor and White House official Mitch Landrieu opened the second night’s program saying. The first hour of speeches featured praise of Harris and criticism of Trump, but only passing reference to the unpopular Democratic incumbent. The praise and thanks to Biden for stepping aside that permeated the Monday program yielded only to minor mentions of the “Biden-Harris administration.”
It was the latest sign of Biden’s waning influence in the party as he prepares to leave the White House in January.
Democrats highlight former Trump voters who switched to supporting Harris
For the second in as many nights, the Democratic convention has frequently featured stories from ordinary voters, who talked about voting for Trump in 2016 or 2020 or both, but said they wouldn’t do so again.
The voters, filmed in what to be in their homes in states around the country, described being fed up with Trump’s criminal conviction, his frequent lying for political gain and his leading a mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.
The effort recalled Republicans, who during their convention featured frequent videos of “everyday Americans” to fire up their own crowd last month in Milwaukee.
Trump’s former press secretary backs Harris
Trump’s former White House press secretary says she used to be a “true believer” who spent holidays with the Trump family, but now she’s backing Harris.
Stephanie Grisham told Democratic delegates that Trump “mocks” his supporters behind closed doors and “has no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth.”
This fall, Grisham said she’s backing Harris because the Democrat “tells the truth, she respects the American people and she has my vote.”
Grisham resigned from her White House post following the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, the first senior staffer to do so that day.
She held no press briefings as Trump’s press secretary, explaining “unlike my boss, I never wanted to stand behind that podium and lie.”
Common feels ‘fortunate’ to have Kamala Harris
Rapper Common performed his hit song “Fortunate.” In the second verse, he changed the lyrics to say, “Fortunate, yo, we got the gold in Paris, we fortunate, y’all, for Kamala Harris.” The Chicago native also added in several ad-libs about “Chi Town” as the host city of the DNC.
“I thank God for this moment in time where Kamala Harris will change the world for the better with love, hope and grace,” he said as he introduced the song. Grammy-winning gospel singer Jonathan McReynolds joined Common on stage, singing some of his song “God is God” between verses and vocalizing to “Fortunate.”
Common, a Grammy and Oscar-winning musician and actor, is no stranger to political advocacy. He endorsed Biden in 2020 and performed at his rallies and had previously supported Obama’s campaigns. He also performed poetry at an event at the White House in 2011 at Obama’s invitation.
The performance, which was followed by a funky instrumental rendition of “Tell Me Something Good,” signaled the convention’s shift out of its country music moment Monday into a focus on R&B and hip-hop.
Democrats throw the book at Trump (again)
One of Democrats’ favorite new political props, a massive book labeled Project 2025, made a repeat appearance at the second night of the DNC.
On Tuesday, Malcolm Kenyatta, a Pennsylvania state representative and rising Democratic star, totted the book out onto the convention stage before roasting Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance.
“Usually Republicans want to ban books, but now they are trying to shove this down our throats,” Kenyatta said.
In a sign of how unpopular Project 20205 is with the public, Trump has disavowed the effort. Still, it was crafted by many leading conservatives who would likely hold influential positions in a future Trump administration.
The book made its first appearance on Monday when Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow walked on stage and dropped the hefty tome on the top of the speaking lectern.
Presidential grandsons stump for Harris
Grandsons of former Presidents Jimmy Carter and John F. Kennedy cast Vice President Haris in the same image as their famous family members.
“Kamala Harris carries my grandfather’s legacy,” said Jason Carter. “She knows what is right.”
He said the 99-year-old former president wishes he could be in attendance. “His body may be weak tonight, but his spirit is stronger than ever,” Carter said. “My grandfather can’t wait to vote for Kamala Harris.”
Jack Schlossberg, Kennedy’s grandson, said like when his grandfather was elected in 1960, “Once again, the torch has been passed to a new generation,” he said. “She believes in America like my grandfather did — that we do things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”
Patti LaBelle performs ‘You Are My Friend’
The DNC crowd didn’t get James Taylor singing “You’ve Got a Friend” but they did get another music legend — R&B star Patti LaBelle — singing “You Are My Friend.”
LaBelle sang the stirring number during a memorial segment as the proceedings began for the evening. “God bless America, Kamala Harris!” she called out at the end.
This isn’t the first time at the DNC for LaBelle — she wowed the crowd two decades ago at the 2004 convention with her rendition of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
Last month, LaBelle kicked off her 8065 Tour at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles — “80 years of life, 65 years in music.” And in June, she sang “Oh, People” on the White House lawn for President Joe Biden’s Juneteenth concert, joined by Gladys Knight among other artists.
And we’re off
Night 2 of the Democratic National Convention has kicked off in Chicago, with organizers moving up the start time by half an hour to try and keep the program from running as far behind schedule as it did on the opening night.
On Monday, the convention opened late and never got back on schedule, with President Joe Biden delivering the featured speech around 11:30 p.m. on the East Coast.
Organizers promised more tweaks in the schedule to keep things moving more quickly on Tuesday.
Democrat campaign group breaks fundraising record
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced that it raised $17.6 million in July, making the Committee’s year-to-date total a record $107.1.
“The American people are hearing Democrats’ message of lowering costs, growing the middle class, and defending their rights, and they are showing up to support this forward-looking agenda,” said DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene in a statement. The DCCC is the campaign arm of Democrats in the House of Representatives.
Maryland senate candidate and longtime Harris friend Angela Alsobrooks will speak on DNC Night 2
Angela Alsobrooks, a friend to Harris of 14 years who is running to become Maryland’s first Black U.S. senator in a competitive race, will be speaking at the convention as a candidate. The Maryland seat is critical if Democrats want to maintain control of the Senate.
Alsobrooks, who is the chief executive of Maryland’s second-most populous county in the suburbs of the nation’s capital, wrote on social media earlier in the day that she looks forward to sharing why Harris “is going to make an incredible President of the United States.” Both women are former prosecutors.
The Prince George’s County executive is running in a heavily Democratic state against popular former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican. Hogan won the governorship and was reelected in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans 2-1, but the GOP has not won a Senate seat in Maryland in more than 40 years. The race is being closely watched, because it could determine control of the Senate. Harris made a campaign stop for Alsobrooks in June in Prince George’s.
Alsobrooks would become the nation’s third Black woman to be elected to the Senate. Harris was the second Black woman elected to the chamber.
UAW president believes union households will support Harris
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is confident that more union households will vote Democratic this year, as he’s aggressively contrasting the record of the Biden-Harris administration with Trump’s time in the White House.
“We need to expose him for the fraud that he is and speak truth to that,” Fain said to a group of reporters. “So long as he’s a candidate, I’m not going to be shy about it. Not going to be quiet about it ... I feel that’s my obligation to working-class people, to our membership to do that.”
Fain has framed the election as a battle between the working class and wealthy elites, saying that Trump as president tried to quash unionization efforts and failed to protect worker rights despite his blue-collar outreach. By contrast, both Harris and Biden have stood with the UAW during last year’s strike.
Biden made it a priority as part of the strike settlement for the automaker Stellantis to resume and expand operations in Belvidere, Illinois, though Fain says the company is now dragging its feet on the commitment in a way that he says could violate the contract. It’s a sign that union action could play a big role for voters in key states such as Wisconsin and Michigan.
Obama will make the case for Harris during his DNC address
Former President Barack Obama will use his remarks tonight to make the case for Harris’ election and lay out the task before Democrats in the coming 10 weeks.
That’s according to an Obama aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss his speech in advance. Obama will also make the case for the values of the party and nation he believes are at stake in the race against Trump.
The speech comes as Obama plans to increase his political activity this fall to support Democrats up and down the ticket.
20.3 million viewers tuned into the DNC on Monday
Democrats reached an estimated 20.3 million television viewers for the first night of their national convention, the Nielsen company said. That compares to the 18.3 million Republicans reached on the first night of their convention last month.
Nielsen tallied the audience from 13 separate networks that televised the event from 10 p.m. Eastern until the end of President Biden’s speech after midnight.
Most people, 4.6 million, watched on MSNBC with CNN coming in second, Nielsen said.
The key night for political watchers will be Thursday when Vice President Harris delivers her acceptance speech for the top of the Democratic ticket. Last month, Trump, less than a week removed from an assassination attempt, reached 25.3 million for his speech.
No credible danger following bomb threat, Secret Service and Chicago PD report
The U.S. Secret Service and Chicago Police Department found no credible dangers after checking into bomb threats made Tuesday at “a number of locations” in downtown Chicago where the Democratic National Convention is taking place.
Law enforcement cleared the affected areas and are continuing to assess any reported threats.
Gov. Pritzker denies 2024 presidential aspirations
Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker denies seriously considering running for the presidency in 2024, though he’s flattered people talked about him in that context.
Earlier this summer following Biden’s decision not to seek reelection and subsequently endorse Harris for the presidency, Pritzker was one of several Democrats whose names were tossed around as potential challengers to the vice president.
He said at the CNN-Politico Grill that the background plotting that some assumed he’d been doing in the shuffle of Biden stepping down was “not occurring.” He said he likes being governor but didn’t rule out running for president in the future.
Pritzker said he had campaigned with Biden and DNC officials to hold this year’s convention in Chicago and was happy about how it was going so far.
“As you all can see, Chicago’s a great city to have a convention,” Pritzker said. But when asked if he’s angling to host another one in 2028, he said that would be premature.
“We aren’t starting a bidding process yet,” he said.
Voter Voice: ‘You just can’t live in fear’
Sharon Gross, 70, gathered with a crowd along a nearby road to watch Trump’s motorcade arrive in and leave Howell. With sunny skies and 70-degree weather, Gross said she enjoyed waiting with the crowd about three hours before former President Trump’s arrival.
Gross said that a friend of hers did not want to attend the event due to fear of violence following the attempt on Trump’s life last month. “You just can’t live in fear,” Gross said.
Her husband Jay Gross, 86, is a Livingston County Commissioner. He watched Trump’s speech inside the Sheriff’s Office equipment garage and hoped to have Trump sign his MAGA hat, but he was not close enough to ask.
“I agreed with him 1,000%,” he said after Trump’s remarks. “For me, the two big issues are the border — immigration issues — and the economy.”
James Taylor isn’t mad about getting bumped from the DNC stage
Singer James Taylor said it was an honor to be at the Democratic convention despite his performance getting cut for time.
Taylor was to have sung his 1971 hit “You’ve Got a Friend” accompanied by cellist Owen Young and singers Kenya Hathaway and Matthew Johnson before President Biden’s speech on Monday night. But convention officials said they had to make cuts because of the “raucous applause” that was interrupting speakers and prolonging the program.
“It became clear, as the evening unfolded, that there wouldn’t be time for our ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ with cello and voices,” Taylor said in a statement Tuesday. “Maybe the organizers couldn’t anticipate the wild response from the floor of the United Center.”
He added, “Anyway, sorry to disappoint. But a great and inspirational, quintessentially American moment. We were honored to be there.”
Gen Z congressman's political start shares similarities with the oldest sitting US president
Florida Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost, the first Gen Z member of Congress, has more in common with the oldest president in U.S. history than some might think.
Onstage at the CNN-Politico Grill, the 27-year-old Frost recalled relating to Biden over entering politics at a young age. Frost got elected to the House at 25, and Biden was elected to the Senate at 29.
“He called me when I first won my race, and we talked about the similarities,” Frost said. “We spoke about his experiences going through that.”
Frost said he thinks Gen Z cares about Biden’s legacy and called himself a “big Joe Biden fan.” But he now supports Vice President Kamala Harris, with whom he said he shares something else: a diverse background.
“We talk about intersectionality and all these different things, but for someone like Kamala Harris, this is her life. Being mixed race. Understanding different cultures,” Frost said. “And this is what our country is. Me too.”
Trump says Harris supports defunding the police
Turning to the men gathered behind him in uniform, he asked “do you want to be defunded?” Some in the crowd booed at the question.
Turning to the DNC, Trump said Harris must have been laughing when President Joe Biden spoke in Chicago on Monday night.
“It was a vicious violent overthrow of a president of the United States,” he said of Biden’s decision to not seek reelection.
At Michigan event, Trump entered to light applause and whistles as he took the podium
“Nice people by the way,” he said in greeting.
About 100 people including uniformed and non uniformed officers gathered inside an equipment hanger at the sheriff’s office, according to his campaign.
Trump spoke against a backdrop of sheriff’s vehicles, police shields, red and blue lights and signs that read “Michigan is Trump Country.”
Trump quipped that he has the back of the “blue” as well as those in brown, a reference to the sheriff’s department law enforcement officers who stood behind him in brown uniforms as he began his remarks.
RFK Jr. shows up too late to testify against Democrats’ ballot challenge in Pennsylvania
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. showed up too late to testify Tuesday in a court case in Pennsylvania where Democratic activists are trying to bar him from the ballot for president in the premier battleground state, prompting testy exchanges between the judge and Kennedy’s lawyer.
Lawyers for the two Democratic activists who filed the challenge say Kennedy’s candidacy paperwork states a fake home address — an allegation being aired in other state courts — and falls short of the signature-gathering requirement applied by state law to third-party candidates.
Kennedy showed up an hour and 40 minutes late, blaming a canceled flight from Massachusetts to Harrisburg, and never testified after Commonwealth Court Judge Lori Dumas chose to proceed without him as a witness.
“This is the first that I’m hearing about this,” Dumas said when told about Kennedy’s absence. Shortly after Kennedy arrived, the judge adjourned the hearing and did not say when she’ll rule.
▶ Read more about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s case
Top reproductive rights group enthusiastic that Harris can win in November
Vice President Kamala Harris was “an hour one endorsement” for Emily’s List, a group that advocates for Democratic women who support abortion rights running for office, said president Jessica Mackler at a Tuesday news briefing in Chicago.
“We’ve seen firsthand how accomplished, qualified, and ready she is to win and also to lead this country forward,” Mackler said.
Reproductive and abortion rights have consumed U.S. politics since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision, stripping away the constitutional right to abortion. Harris has promised to codify the federal right to the procedure.
“The Dobbs decision fundamentally changed the political landscape,” and having Harris instead of President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket kickstarted political enthusiasm, especially for women under 45, according to Mackler.
“These women are excited about Kamala Harris,” she said.
Israel supporters gather in downtown Chicago
Israel supporters, including some relatives of people kidnapped by Hamas, gathered at a pro-Israel art installation Tuesday morning in downtown Chicago to call on U.S. leaders to continue backing Israel and pushing for the release of hostages.
The art installation included giant milk cartons bearing photos of some of the hostages.
“We are here to sound a voice,” Michael Herzog, Israeli ambassador to the United States, told the small crowd. “We are here to keep the issue of the hostages high on the agenda.”
He noted that 319 days have passed since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. “We need to call on Hamas to let our people go,” he said, prompting the crowd to chant “let them go.”
Elan Carr, CEO of the Israeli-American Council, condemned the pro-Palestinian protesters who have descended on Chicago this week, calling them “fringe crazies” and demanding that U.S. leaders “stand unequivocally with the state of Israel.”
Consul General of Israel to the Midwest Yinam Cohen said he was disappointed by the “institutional support of the city of Chicago for the anti-Israel protests.”
DNC roll call will be ceremonial, but expected to be festive nonetheless
Democratic delegates already voted virtually to nominate Harris as their presidential nominee.
Regardless, they’re still holding a celebratory in-person roll call vote on Tuesday — and it’s expected to be a party.
The roll call will feature a live DJ playing songs to represent each of the 57 delegations present, a convention spokesperson said. It also will feature music, lights, visuals and special effects.
The spokesperson said those present in person or tuning in from home can expect to hear a range of diverse voices during the roll call, including elected officials at all levels of government and delegates who will share moving personal stories.
The roll call will start with Delaware — Biden’s home state — and end with California and Minnesota, home states to Harris and Walz.
In Michigan, Republican senate candidate speaks to law enforcement before Trump’s arrival
Mike Rogers, who cinched the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate earlier this month, spoke to law enforcement for about an hour and a half ahead of Trump’s scheduled arrival.
“We will have your back,” he said to applause from the crowd of about 50 while standing in front of banners that read “Make America Safe Again.”
The Michigan U.S. Senate race is one of several that could determine the control of the chamber in the fall.
Trump will speak Tuesday afternoon at the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office on law enforcement and crime.
Multiple Michigan sheriffs criticized the Biden and Harris administration over border policy, speaking about the effects drug trade and fentanyl in their communities. Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott listed a series of recent crimes in remarks he said were committed by people in the country illegally, suggesting the crimes could have been prevented if the perpetrators were stopped from entering the country.
“Come November, make the obvious choice, reelect Donald Trump,” Abbott said.
Secret Service looking into bomb threats in downtown Chicago
The U.S. Secret Service was checking into bomb threats made Tuesday at “various locations” in downtown Chicago where the Democratic National Convention is taking place.
Law enforcement was screening the affected areas and examining the credibility of the threat, according to a message from the joint information center established for the convention.
A reporter for Fox 32 in Chicago said in a post on X that their station received an email making a pipe bomb threat at four hotels in downtown Chicago.
Vance talks crime at campaign event in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance took the stage about 10 minutes early at a rally outside the county courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
Kenosha was the site of several days of protests against police brutality that turned violent in 2020. Illinois teen Kyle Rittenhouse shot three protesters during one of the demonstrations, killing two of them. A jury later acquitted Rittenhouse of homicide and endangerment charges after he argued he fired in self-defense.
The GOP held him as a symbol of gun rights. Vance used the setting to attack Kamala Harris as soft on crime. He said that feeling safe is an American birthright and promised that he and Trump would end sanctuary cities for people in the country illegally, deport those who are violent and push for the death penalty for drug dealers.
He also called for tougher prosecutors and pledged to end frivolous lawsuits against police.
“All this stuff is common sense,” he said.
Vance also took questions directly from reporters in the press area. Asked for his thoughts on the Democratic National Convention taking place only about 60 miles south in Chicago, Vance decried that city’s murder rate. He also dinged Harris for not taking questions from reporters like he was doing and instead always making sure a teleprompter stands between her and the public.
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow says oversized Project 2025 book will be seen again at DNC
Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow kicked off her speech at the opening night of the Democratic National Convention with a bang, slamming down an oversized hardcover copy of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 book on the podium.
The book, which McMorrow joked in an interview weighs as much as her 3-year-old daughter, is filled entirely with actual text from Project 2025, the term used for the Heritage Foundation’s nearly 1,000-page handbook for the next Republican administration.
The idea to create an oversized version of Project 2025 first came about several weeks ago when Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, contacted McMorrow about speaking about Project 2025 at the convention.
McMorrow said she had never spoken to an arena full of people before and wanted to come up with something that would “play well both at home and in the arena.”
According to McMorrow, Monday night won’t be the last appearance of the massive Project 2025 book at the convention. It will be displayed by various speakers throughout the week, with a designated “keeper of the book” ensuring its safekeeping in the interim.
“There will be others who pick up the book baton,” McMorrow said. “That won’t be the last time you see that Cheesecake Factory menu.”
Broadway stars form group to back Harris
A list of Broadway heavy hitters — including Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Sara Bareilles, Tony Kushner and Sarah Paulson — have gathered to back the Democratic ticket, creating the volunteer group Broadway for Harris.
The group says it will use phone banks, canvass, social media and host special fundraising events to increase voter participation in key swing districts. A Democratic National Convention watch party on Thursday in Manhattan will launch the group.
Members include more than 70 industry leaders, current and former Broadway performers, producers, writers, directors, choreographers and marketing specialists. A public Zoom call has been set for Aug. 26 to learn about how fans can get involved.
The group includes actors Rachel Brosnahan, Adrienne Warren, Idina Menzel, John Leguizamo, Billy Porter and Alan Cumming; songwriters Alan Menken, Jeanine Tesori, Stephen Schwartz and Benj Pasek and Justin Paul; playwrights David Henry Hwang and Jeremy O. Harris; and producers Jordan Roth, Thomas Schumacher and Jeffrey Seller.
At Trump’s campaign event
Asked about a comment Trump has made several times through the years at political events about using the U.S. military to help control urban crime, Rep. Byron Donalds said that “saying something at a rally is not public policy. It’s not.”
“If you go to his website, you’re not going to find that written in stone on the website under what he’s going to do the help solve crime issues,” Donalds added.
According to campaign policy positions listed on his website, Trump “has committed to deploying federal assets, including the National Guard, to restore law and order when local law enforcement refuses to act.”
Walz: ‘We’re not going to make that mistake again’
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz says he listened to Hillary Clinton address the party’s convention Monday night and couldn’t help but imagine “how different things could have been in 2016, if we’d gotten the work done.”
“We’re not going to make that mistake again,” Walz said at a meeting of the convention’s Women’s Caucus.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul says Harris nomination could be barrier breaking moment
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris a historic, potentially barrier breaking moment for women in politics during a gathering of the Democrat’s Women’s Caucus.
Hochul referenced past trailblazing Democratic women like Rep. Shirley Chisholm, a Jamaican American New Yorker who ran for president in 1968, and Geraldine Ferraro, who served as the party’s presidential nominee in 1984.
“Maybe this means that women can do more than be the supporting cast,” Hochul said.
“There will be no more barriers. That’ll be proof that every little girl can be whatever she wants because someone came before,” Hochul said. She urged the audience to prevent a “Trump travesty” this year.
At a JD Vance event in Wisconsin
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde warmed up a crowd of about 150 people waiting for Sen. JD Vance outside the county courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday by bashing Kamala Harris’ public safety record.
He accused her of allowing San Francisco to slide into crime during her tenure as district attorney there. He called her stint as California attorney general a failure, accusing her of allowing the rise of sanctuary cities for undocumented immigrants, sex trafficking and drug use. She’s also been unable to control the influx of undocumented immigrants across the southern U.S. border during her time as vice president, he said.
“She has a history of failure,” Hovde said.
Chicago police superintendent: ‘We’re up to the challenge’ as more protests expected
Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said there was a “brief breach” of security fencing “within sight and sound of the United Center” on Monday evening.
He said 13 people were arrested on charges ranging from criminal trespass and resisting and obstructing an arrest to aggravated battery of police officers.
Speaking at a news conference Tuesday morning, Snelling praised officers’ actions, saying they didn’t overreact. “Our officers showed great restraint,” he said.
He said an estimated 3,500 protesters participated in the march and rally, and just a small group breached the security fence.
“I’m not going to tie that event — what happened with the breach — with the entirety of the protest,” he said, saying the vast majority of protesters were peaceful.
Snelling said more protests are expected as the week goes on, and his department is prepared to de-escalate situations whenever possible.
“Again, we’re up to the challenge,” he said. “The city is up to the challenge.”
Harris campaign ties Trump event in Michigan town to far-right demonstration
Donald Trump is hosting an event Tuesday tied to the theme of “Make America Safe Again” in a Michigan city that has long been linked to the Ku Klux Klan.
Howell, a city of about 10,000 people, is a Republican stronghold west of Detroit. Nicole Matthews-Creech, executive director of the Livingston Diversity Council, said the public perception of the area has been stained by its past as the decades-long residence of a KKK grand dragon from the 1970s to the 1990s.
A Trump campaign spokesperson said they didn’t know about the KKK link and chose the location because it’s part of the Detroit media market and has a supportive sheriff in what the campaign considers an important area.
Last month, a group of about a dozen masked demonstrators marched through downtown Howell and dispersed after a library board member confronted the group at the Howell Carnegie District Library, according to a news release from the city of Howell, the Livingston Diversity Council and the Howell Area Chamber of Commerce.
Another group of people, similarly dressed, were seen at an interstate overpass nearby. Video from the overpass appears to show someone yell, “We love Hitler, we love Trump,” according to reporting by the Livingston Daily.
Matthews-Creech said it hasn’t been confirmed if the two groups were one and the same.
Harris’ campaign played up the connection between Trump’s past remarks on far-right demonstrations, including comments he made about white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, and the recent demonstration.
“Trump’s actions have encouraged them, and Michiganders can expect more of the same when he comes to town,” Harris for President Michigan Communications Director Alyssa Bradley said in a statement several days before his visit.
The Trump campaign decried any connection to white supremacy.
“Did the media write this same story when Joe Biden visited Howell in 2021, or when Kamala Harris visits cities where racist protests and marches have occurred in the past?” Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for the Trump campaign, said in a statement.
New security measures in Chicago a day after activists clashed with police
A Chicago park, which had erupted into chaos during the first day of the Democratic National Convention as several dozen activists clashed with police, was calm Tuesday morning but now fortified with new security to prevent further breaches.
During a march of several thousand calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, the group paused at a park a block from the convention center. Several dozen activists then broke away from the larger group, breaching police fencing before being pushed back by officers, leading to multiple arrests.
On Tuesday morning, an extra line of fencing was installed at the park and the tall metal barriers were reinforced to prevent protesters from lifting and removing the panels in the future. No police officers or protesters were present at the park early Tuesday.
Closer to downtown Chicago, security was tighter than usual — including law enforcement officers with weapons slung across their bodies — outside the office building that houses the Israeli consulate and a major city transportation hub. Metal barricades were set up and an officer said they were preparing for a 7 p.m. demonstration.
Most of the largest demonstrations have been organized by the Coalition to March on the DNC, which has focused on calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. But smaller protests have popped up around the city, including disruptions at the convention’s welcome party at Navy Pier.
Harris campaign blames convention process for party platform that wasn’t updated
The Harris campaign is blaming a long-established process at the convention for a party platform that was approved without being updated to reflect that the vice president replaced President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Convention delegates on Monday approved a sweeping set of Democratic policy goals for the next four years that repeatedly referred to Biden seeking reelection. Party officials spent more than a year compiling the platform delegates were to consider, but they also approved it days before Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris.
No effort was then made to change it before it was approved on the convention floor.
“Obviously, the platform was voted on before the switch here, and so it’s part of the process as it played out,” Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler told reporters at a Tuesday morning briefing at the convention.
Rep. Byron Donalds says Harris and Walz don’t support law enforcement enough
Rep. Byron Donalds is warning against the negative effect he says Harris and Walz would have on American policing if elected to the White House.
The Florida Republican said Tuesday at a Trump campaign media availability that Harris and Walz don’t support law enforcement ranks strongly enough. Donalds said Harris, a former prosecutor, “incentivized states to move toward cashless bail,” a policy he said “creates a turnstile for criminals to be arrested and go right back out on the streets.”
Donalds is among the Trump surrogates offering Republican counterprogramming in Chicago as Democrats gather for the DNC.
Donalds also said Walz had a delayed response to the Minneapolis violence after the killing of George Floyd, noting that the areas affected by violence “mostly are inhabited by Black people and Hispanic people — that’s what was burning.”
Donalds also made brief mention of the Day 1 DNC delays that meant a late start to Biden’s speech but paused before he levied more specific criticism of the president: “It’s a shame to do that to somebody — well, I’m going to stop there.”
North Carolina governor says he isn’t concerned by Harris shifting stances on hot-button issues
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper says it’s a sign of growth since she last ran for president in 2019.
Harris has dropped her opposition to fracking and her onetime support for progressive proposals like Medicare-for-all and the “Green New Deal” in recent weeks.
“I think the policy and how it affects people is always important, but clearly the character of the candidate can be more important,” said Cooper, speaking at an event hosted by Bloomberg at the Democratic National Convention.
Cooper, who leads a key battleground state has known Harris since they both were state attorneys general.
Cooper noted Harris had a seat at the table as President Joe Biden passed major legislation in their first two years in office and said the vice president “saw the give and the take.”
“And I think that’s just part of growing as an elected official and growing as a candidate and being a president for everybody,” he added.
To avoid running late again, DNC organizers plan to start earlier on 2nd day
Organizers are planning an earlier start to day two of the Democratic National Convention in hopes avoiding scheduling that ran hours late and into the wee hours of the night on day one.
DNC director Alex Hornbrook said Tuesday morning that “we made some real-time adjustments last night” and “we’re working with our speakers and making some other adjustments this evening” including starting at 5.30 p.m. local time in Chicago “to make sure that we stay on track.”
During a briefing with reporters, Hornbrook ducked a question about speakers who were canceled on night one as the program ran long — including a performance by acclaimed singer-songwriter James Taylor — would be rescheduled. He said only, “Our program team is working very hard right now to ensure that we can be on schedule” without providing further details.
President Joe Biden gave Monday’s night key address, but didn’t take the stage until around 11:30 p.m. on the East Coast, and the program didn’t wrap up until well after midnight for a large chunk of the audience watching around the country.
Trump’s campaign is getting started on Day 2 of its counterprogramming around the DNC
Ahead of a news conference at the Trump Hotel Chicago, placards were on display with statistics on homicide rates in various U.S. cities under the heading “Kamala Crime Crisis.”
Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, one of Trump’s top U.S. House allies and surrogates, is expected to give remarks and take media questions.
North Carolina governor says he feels good about Democrats’ chances of winning his state
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper says he has “that 2008 feeling” about Democrats’ chances of winning his state with Vice President Kamala Harris on the top of the ticket.
Speaking at an event hosted by Bloomberg at the Democratic National Convention, Cooper pointed to demographic shifts that have made the state more amenable to Democrats, but also a contentious race to replace him in the governor’s mansion that will generate its own “bottom-up” effect on the ticket.
Cooper acknowledged that he didn’t have the same optimism about his state just weeks ago when Biden was at the top of the ticket.
“Democrats were not united,” said Cooper said, before Biden dropped out. “I’m grateful for his decision to do that because it brought everybody together.”
Cooper pointed to the rave reception for Biden at the convention’s opening night to say, “Everyone loves President Biden.” But he added of Biden’s decision to step aside: “It was the time to do this, it was the time to make history.”
The DNC won’t only feature speeches by Democrats
The Harris campaign announced Tuesday that several Republican leaders will also offer remarks in Chicago, including former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and the mayor of Mesa, Arizona, John Giles.
Also speaking are former Trump White House staffers Olivia Troye, a former national security official, and Stephanie Grisham, who was a White House press secretary.
Grisham said she knows Harris will “defend our freedoms and represent our nation with honesty and integrity.”
“I never thought I’d be speaking at a Democratic convention,” she said in a statement. “But, after seeing firsthand who Donald Trump really is, and the threat he poses to our country, I feel very strongly about speaking out.”
Harris travels to Milwaukee for a rally before returning to Chicago in the evening
The Harris campaign said Tuesday it will spotlight “trusted messengers” from key battleground states over the convention’s three remaining days. They include Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada; Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sen. Gary Peters and Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan; Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. From Arizona, Sen. Mark Kelly will speak along with John Giles, the Republican mayor of Mesa.
Gov. Roy Cooper of North Carolina — a state that voted for Trump in 2020 but is now a major pickup opportunity for Harris — will be among the final speakers before Harris accepts the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday.
After DNC speech, President Biden and his family arrive in California
President Joe Biden and his family are spending the rest of this week in California at the Santa Ynez Valley ranch of longtime Democratic donor and medical device mogul Joe Kiani.
The Bidens arrived at the property of Kiani, the founder of Masimo and Cercacor Laboratories, early Tuesday after Biden delivered his address Monday at the opening day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Biden has called Kiani “one of my closest friends,” and the president in 2021 appointed his billionaire host to the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
Kiani has also previously hosted the president’s son, Hunter, at the 8,000-acre property.
Masimo’s companies have been locked in a costly legal dispute with Apple. Kiani has accused Apple of violating patents for their watches from his companies, which pioneered technology related to measuring blood-oxygen levels.
DNC panelists discuss war in Gaza as Harris tries to ease tension with pro-Palestinian activists
The Democratic Party has been riven for months by the war in Gaza, giving rise to a protest movement that threatened Biden’s electoral coalition.
But with Biden gone from the race and Vice President Kamala Harris now leading the party, there were some indicators at the Democratic National Convention on Monday that Harris is taking more assertive steps to ease that tension.
In what organizers called a first, party activists were given space at the convention to hold a forum to discuss the plight of people in Gaza, who've been under Israeli bombardment since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and its taking of hostages, as well as to share deeply personal — and often heartrending stories — about family members lost in the conflict.
Though their core demands — a cease-fire and withholding U.S. support for Israel’s prosecution of the war — remain unmet, the decision to allow activists to hold a forum amounted to the offering of an olive branch by Harris. And it’s one that many doubted Biden would have extended if he were still the nominee.
▶ Read more about the panel discussion
US intelligence officials say Iran is to blame for hacks targeting Trump, Biden-Harris campaigns
U.S. intelligence officials said Monday they were confident that Iran was responsible for the hack of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, casting the cyber intrusion as part of a brazen and broader effort by Tehran to interfere in American politics and undermine faith in democratic institutions.
Although the Trump campaign and private-sector cybersecurity investigators had previously said Iran was behind the hacking attempts, it was the first time the U.S. government had assigned blame for the attack.
The joint statement from the FBI and other federal agencies also indicated that Iran was responsible for attempts to hack Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, saying hackers had “sought access to individuals with direct access to the Presidential campaign of both political parties.”
The goal of the hacking and other activities, federal officials said, was not only to sow discord but also to shape the outcome of elections that Iran perceives to be “particularly consequential in terms of the impact they could have on its national security interests.”
▶ Read more about the Trump campaign hack