Democrats convened for night two of the DNC in Chicago on Tuesday, featuring the Obama family, Sen. Bernie Sanders, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
Americans can hope to be enlightened by the theme of the night, “A Bold Vision for America’s Future,” as Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has said little about her policy platform. The Harris campaign website lacks a policy position section, and the vice president has declined interviews with the media.
DNC night one included speeches from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and President Joe Biden. Follow for live updates as the Democratic National Convention continues.
1. Obama Mocks Trump
“This country is good to kids with funny names who believe in a country where anything is possible,” former President Barack Obama said.
Obama closed out night two of the Democratic National Convention.
In a rare mention of Biden at the DNC, Obama praised his former running mate.
“What I came to admire most about Joe wasn’t just his smarts, his experience,” Obama said. “It was in his empathy and his decency and his hard-earned resilience, his unshakable belief that everyone in this country deserves a fair shot.”
But “the torch has been passed,” Obama said, previewing the “fight” upcoming. Despite all the memes, Obama said to a cheering audience, this will be a close race.
Obama called former President Donald Trump a “78-year-old millionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down that golden elevator.”
“There’s the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, the weird obsession with crowd size,” he said, to loud applause.
America is ready for Harris to be president, Obama said.
“And Kamala Harris is ready for the job,” he added.
Obama compared Trump to a neighbor constantly blowing a leaf-blower outside your window, and he compared Harris to the neighbor who helps.
Obama outlined Harris’ record as California attorney general and vice president.
“She is going to sign a law to guarantee every woman’s right to make her own health care decisions,” he said.
Of Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, Obama said, “I love this guy.” The former president painted Walz as a moderate midwesterner, though the Minnesota governor supports no limits on abortion and transgender medical interventions for children.
Harris and Walz believe “everyone deserves a chance, that even when we don’t agree with each other, we can find a way to live with each other,” Obama said.
Obama adapted his former campaign slogan—“Yes, We Can”—to Harris, saying “Yes, she can,” and inspiring cheers from the crowd.
“We believe in the freedom to provide for your family if you’re willing to work hard, the freedom to breathe clean air and clean water and send your kids to school without worrying if they’ll come home,” Obama said.
He said Americans should be able to choose how many children they have and what their family looks like.
“We believe that freedom requires us to recognize that other people have the freedom to make choices that are different from ours,” he said, emphasizing “mutual respect” in an age of “polarization.”
Obama urged Americans to refrain from canceling each other.
“If a parent or grandparent occasionally says something that makes us cringe,” he said, “we recognize that the world is moving fast, that they need time, a little encouragement to catch up.”
Obama said American can’t eradicate injustice everywhere or “police the world” but can be a force for good.
He said the same threads that tie Americans together still hold strong.
“We want to be better and the joy and the excitement that we’re seeing around this campaign tells us we’re not alone,” Obama said.
2. Michelle Obama on ‘Vanquishing Demons’
Former first lady Michelle Obama took the stage, sharing her hope that America will “vanquish the demons of fear, division, and hate that have consumed us, and continue pursuing the unfinished promise of this great nation.”
She said she has mourned the dimming of her hope in the last few years.
Michelle remembered her recently deceased mother, whose funeral she attended in Chicago.
“My mom in her steady, quiet way, lived out that striving sense of hope every single day of her life,” Michelle said, adding that her mom believed every life was important.
Kamala Harris’ mother shared Michelle’s mother’s belief in America, Michelle said.
“My girl, Kamala Harris, is more than ready for this moment,” Michelle said. She called Harris one of the most qualified and dignified people to ever run for president.
She praised Harris for the “joy of her laughter and her light.” Harris knows why America is great, according to Michelle.
Harris suggested that Trump has been racist against Harris and the Obama family.
“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us, to see his limited, narrow view of the world,” she said. “It made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working and highly educated, successful people who happen to be black.”
She criticized Trump for “misogynistic, racist lies.” Michelle said Trump supports bans on IVF, as well as so-called book bans and “demonizing” LGBTQ-identifying “children.” Trump has publicly supported IVF.
She warned against “lies taking hold,” saying many people “don’t want to vote for a woman” and “will continue to prioritize building their wealth over ensuring that everyone has enough.”
“We cannot indulge our anxiety about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala, instead of doing everything we can get someone like Kamala elected,” the Obama matriarch said.
She urged Democrats to “do something” on behalf of the Harris campaign until November. The DNC audience repeatedly shouted, “Do something,” just as the audience at the July Republican National Convention in Milwaukee chanted, “USA!”
Michelle introduced her husband before leaving the stage.
3. Doug Emhoff Says Kamala Will ‘Be There’ for Your Children
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff repeatedly expressed his love for his wife Kamala Harris.
Emhoff greeted his family in the stands and discussed a pleasant childhood in New Jersey. Sharing his life story, Emhoff talked about his law career, his first marriage and divorce, and his courtship of Harris.
Emhoff presented himself as a lovable goober, leaving an awkward voicemail to the future vice president at 8:30 a.m.
“As I got to know her better, and just fell in love fast, I learned what drives Kamala, and it’s what you’ve seen over these past four years, and especially these past four weeks,” Emhoff said. “She finds joy in pursuing justice.”
Emhoff said he goes to church with Harris on Easter.
“She has connected me more deeply to my faith, even though it’s not the same as hers,” said Emhoff, who is Jewish. “She comes to synagogue with me for my holiday services, and I go to church with her on Easter.”
The second gentleman thanked his ex-wife and Harris for their role in raising his children, who call the vice president “Mamala.” He said his son Cole asked Harris to officiate his wedding.
“She’s always been there for our children,” Emhoff said, “and I know she’ll always be there for yours too.”
Emhoff said Harris is the right person for him and the right president.
4. Trump’s ‘Anti-Woman Crusade’
Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois accused Trump of an “anti-woman crusade” against in vitro fertilization, though the former president has said he would not ban IVF treatments.
Duckworth conceived her two daughters through IVF treatments, she said.
“Republicans will not stop at banning abortion,” the senator continued. “They will come for IVF next. They’ll prosecute doctors. They’ll shame and spy on women.”
Trump has stated his support for IVF on TruthSocial.
“Under my leadership, the Republican Party will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families,” he said. “We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder!”
Duckworth suggested that Harris, and not Trump, believes Americans should be able “to be called mommy or daddy without being treated like a criminal.”
5. Former GOP Mayor Calls Republicans a ‘Cult’
The former Republican mayor of Mesa, Arizona, said he feels more at home in the Democratic party than his own.
“The Republican Party has been kidnapped by extremists and devolved into a cult, the cult of Donald Trump,” Mayor John Giles said.
“We all need an adult in the White House, and we’ve seen what happens when we don’t,” Giles added.
He urged moderate Republicans to join forces with the Democrats.
“I have an urgent message for the majority of Americans who, like me, are in the political middle,” Giles said. “John McCain’s Republican Party is gone, and we don’t owe a damn thing to what’s been left behind.”
6. Billionaire Brags About Money After Bernie Sanders’ Speech
JB Pritzker accused Republicans of “anti-family” culture war positions, while advocating for abortion.
“Americans don’t want to be forced to drive 100 miles to deliver a baby because draconian abortion laws shut down the maternity ward,” the Illinois governor said.
He appears to have been referring to a hospital in northern Idaho that ended its labor and delivery services, citing staffing issues and the state’s “legal and political climate.” The full impact of Idaho’s laws on this decision remains unclear. Republicans do not support bans or limits on maternity services.
“Americans with LGBTQ kids don’t want them facing discrimination at school because the state sanctioned it,” Pritzker continued.
He said Americans don’t want their kids to be taught in history class that “slavery was a jobs program.” Pritzker appeared to be mischaracterizing Florida’s history curriculum, which details harsh conditions slaves endured and explains that “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit” both in slavery and when freed, William Allen, a descendent of slavery who helped write the curriculum, told Fox News.
Pritzker said Harris has spent three-and-a-half years cleaning up Trump’s messes.
“It’s time we stop expecting women to clean up messes without the authority and title to match the job!” Pritzker said, seemingly referring to the unpaid job of motherhood.
Minutes after Sen. Bernie Sanders slammed billionaires, the Illinoisan bragged about the illustrious contents of his pocket book.
Pritzker repeated the popular Leftist charge against Republicans.
“These guys aren’t just weird,” he said. “They’re dangerous.”
7. Bernie Sanders Says Harris’s Agenda Is Not Radical
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont highlighted the public health crisis surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic when the Biden administration took office.
Sanders thanked Biden, Harris, and Democrats in Congress.
“We provided emergency assistance for small businesses to stay open,” Sanders said. “We guaranteed health care coverage to tens of millions of Americans through one of the largest expansions of Medicaid in history, we provided rent relief and mortgage assistance, which prevented tenants and homeowners from being evicted.”
The socialist senator spoke to the power of big government.
“When the political will is there, the government can effectively deliver for the people,” he said.
He advocated for an economy that works for “all of us, not just the billionaire class.”
While “60% of our people live paycheck and paycheck, the top 1% have never, ever been richer,” he said.
Though “the oligarchs tell us we shouldn’t take on price gouging, we shouldn’t expand Medicare,” Sanders said that is exactly what Democrats will do.
Republican nominee Donald Trump slammed Harris’ plan to ban price gouging on Saturday, saying she’s gone “full communist.”
“She wants to destroy our country,” Trump said. “After causing catastrophic inflation, Comrade Kamala announced that she wants to institute socialist price controls.”
Sanders said every American, regardless of finances, should have a right to higher education. He looks forward to working with “Kamala and Tim” to pass their agenda.
“This is not a radical agenda,” the self-proclaimed socialist said.
“I’ll tell you what a radical agenda is,” Sanders continued, “Trump’s Project 2025.”
Sanders continued the left-wing trend of erroneously associating Trump with Project 2025, a project of The Heritage Foundation available to whichever candidate becomes the 47th president.
He urged Democrats to “stand up to wealth and power” and stand up for people “at home and abroad.” Sanders, who is Jewish, called for an end to the “horrific war in Gaza” and “an immediate ceasefire.”
8. Chuck Schumer Dances on Stage
After dancing onto the stage. Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York warned America against returning to the “dark night” of Trump.
“This November, we can choose a brighter, a fairer, a freer future,” Schumer said. “Or we can relive the dark night of Trump’s American carnage.”
“Only one candidate will move America forward for our children, our grandchildren, no matter their race, no matter their creed, their gender or family,” Schumer continued.
9. Officially Nominating Kamala Harris
Kamala Harris spoke at a campaign rally in Wisconsin after her party nominated her.
“This is a people-powered campaign and together we will chart a new way forward, a future for freedom, opportunity, of optimism and faith,” Harris said.
Democrats from states across the country spoke in order to formally nominate Harris.
A woman from Texas said an abortion ban forced her to travel across state lines to end her pregnancy, though every state in America allows doctors to perform abortions if necessary to save the life of the mother.
“There’s nothing pro-family about abortion bans,” Kate Cox said. “There’s nothing pro-life about letting women suffer and even die.”
Cox said an abortion enabled her to get pregnant again later.
A fellow Texan, former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards introduced Cox.
U.S. territories pledged their support to Kamala Harris.
Delegates from the Northern Mariana Islands said the climate is more important than partisan politics.
“The Earth is not red or blue,” the delegate said. “The Earth is sick and we must protect it.”
Democrat delegates from Puerto Rico declared their island will be “the next state of the United States.”
Harris officially won the Democratic presidential nomination nearly two weeks ago in an online vote, so the Tuesday roll call was purely ceremonial.
