DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION—Fox News’ Bill Hemmer challenged Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign communications director Michael Tyler on Tuesday about his justification for President Joe Biden’s speech not starting until late the night before.
Biden took the stage long after he was scheduled to give his prime-time address to headline the first night of the Democratic National Convention, appearing close to midnight on the East Coast. Hemmer, on “America’s Newsroom,” seemed incredulous when Tyler said the reason for Biden’s speech delay was the frequent applause breaks for the speakers that took the stage before the president’s address.
'Are We To Buy That?': Fox News' Bill Hemmer Confronts Harris Campaign Official About Excuse For Biden's Late Speech pic.twitter.com/tuSzlfqt7E
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“There’s no doubt that we got a little bit behind schedule, but the fact of the matter is that you had speaker after speaker after speaker that was interrupted with applause after applause after applause,” Tyler said. “And it’s because you have a Democratic Party that is No. 1, as you saw last night, united in its gratitude to President Biden, united in its support for Kamala Harris, and united in their enthusiasm they have for this election because they fundamentally understand the stakes.”
The communications director continued to note what he believes “the stakes” are in this presidential election and the “enthusiasm” at the DNC.
“So too many people clapping for too long?” Hemmer asked, laughing. “Is that what it was? Are we to buy that? I guess the difference is at the [Republican National Convention], when things went long, they cut things out to make sure the program is tight. That wasn’t the case last night.”
“It actually was the case. We had to cut a few elements last night in order to get to the president as quickly as possible so that the American people could see him,” Tyler responded. “We’re obviously going to make our adjustments today to shorten up the schedule to make sure that we can get to our prime-time speaking program as soon as possible. But what you will continue to see, no matter what, is unparalleled enthusiasm.”
Former CNN political analyst Chris Cillizza on Monday suggested Biden’s anger is the reason he was planning to depart from the DNC directly for a vacation to California following his speech. He said the president is mad at his party for pushing him to terminate his reelection campaign, noting Biden did not want his half-century political career to end with a speech on “the least desirable night” of the DNC.
“I do think it is telling that Joe Biden, after he gives the speech on Monday night, will leave Chicago, not participate in any more of the convention, and go on a vacation in California … It’s hard to get further away, right? … There’s symbolism there, right? He was pushed out,” Cillizza said. “He has spent the last three weeks, or month, watching a person who he did not think was capable of winning this presidency surge on the back of excited Democrats who were very unexcited with Biden. That’s a hard pill to swallow; it just is, and I think it’s OK to acknowledge it.”
“Joe Biden is pissed. He wanted his legacy to end differently,” he continued, adding, “But I think it’s really important to note he’s a human being, and what has transpired over the last two months is really, really, really difficult. And the fact that he’s shuttling out of the convention on Monday night after he gives the speech is super, super telling.”