2024 Democratic National Convention | DNC Night 2 | PBS News special coverage

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Thank you.

Looking back on 5 decades in politics, Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, a grateful party honors the president, America.

I gave my best to you.

As he passed the torch to a new generation.

Are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walls.

Tonight Democrats lay out their vision for America.

I mean on both sides of the track to be OK. And former President Barack Obama speaks to the city that helped launch his political career.

Where are you guys excited to see tonight.

It is the 2nd night of the Democratic National Convention.

And welcome to PBS News special coverage of the 2nd night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

I'm Ana Navaz and I'm Jeff Bennett.

Last night, the Democrats passed the torch of the party from President Biden to Vice President Harris.

Tonight the theme is a bold vision for America's future and the Democrats hope to show, to draw a sharp contrast between the vision of the Harris Walls ticket and that of the Trump V Vance campaign.

The headliners tonight are former President Barack Obama.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama happening right now on the floor behind us is a lot of noise.

This is the roll call, the way the Democrats have arranged it right now.

It is largely ceremonial, of course, to officially nominate Kamala Harris.

We know that both she and Walls were officially nominated back in August 6th in a virtual vote, but what they're doing now is rolling through state by state, territory by territory with a live DJ.

Those are individual songs you're hearing that each state and territory selected as they announced their And of course with us here in our PBS news booth.

We have our usual panel.

Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, David Brooks of The New York Times and Jonathan Capehart of The Washington Post.

We in fact spent the night here.

We never actually.

But let's first head down to the floor where we find our friend and colleague, White House correspondent Laura Barone Lopez, who is covering the Harris campaign.

So Laura, after last night's events, which went well after midnight on the east coast.

What are the delegates looking forward to tonight?

Well, the delegates are looking forward to hearing from the Obamas, of course they want to hear more from the other speakers, specifically about abortion rights and reproductive rights and more of that contrast that you were talking about Jeff, where Harris and Walls differentiate themselves from the Trump campaign, but they're really excited to hear from Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama and you can just feel the energy right now during this roll call right in front of me is Nebraska delegation and they're wearing those camouflage baseball caps that have Harris walls representative of the type of baseball hunting, uh, camouflage baseball cap that Governor Walls often wears and then across from me is the Wisconsin delegation and they're decked out in cheese heads.

Also I saw another delegate on the floor earlier who had a hat that said Make America laugh again.

Just really capturing the fact that Democrats are trying to seize on that joy that they've been feeling.

Since Harris took over the top of the ticket and the fact that they really think Kamala Harris should embrace who she is and one of her signature personality traits is that she often likes to laugh and bring joy to what she's doing and that's something that a lot of delegates have talked to me about tonight, Jeff.

All right, La Verone Lopez, we will be checking in with you throughout the night as we keep our eye on this roll call unfolding on the convention floor.

Amy, for all of the talk about this passing of the torch, this turning of the page from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris.

Tonight there's a real passing of the torch.

We are really going to abuse this metaphor.

Once you start, you got to keep going, but from the Obama era, the Obamas themselves, the most popular Democrats in the country to Kamala Harris.

That's right, and you know there's been a lot of discussion.

In among Democratic strategists about what coalition is Kamala Harris going to put together?

Is it the Biden 2020 coalition, the anti-Trump coalition, or is it going to look a lot more like the Obama coalition, which is, oh wow to the floor because that I believe is Little John.

And been interrupted.

All right.

Ladies and gentlemen, that is indeed.

Well John, who's now taken to the convention floor.

And this arena is absolutely rotten.

The delegates and all the folks in the convention have been given wristbands with color coded LEDs in them.

So if you see folks wearing colorful wristbands, that's what that is.

So Amy, you can somehow pick up what you were saying.

Oh right There goes Georgia getting their delegates in the Georgia in this election cycle.

Absolutely, absolutely, and Georgia, so, OK, thank you, because now that can help us get back onto the train of thought about the different coalitions to put together, you know, one idea is Harris's coalition looks more like the Obama coalition looking back at 2012, 1 of the highlights of the 2012 election was a fact for the first time ever, black voters voted at a higher percent.

than white voters so they were that was the key to Obama's victory in 2012 and that again when you talked about passing the torch, can she pick up some of those voters from that Obama coalition, but new voters, not just the ones who voted for Obama, but especially younger voters.

Do In the Obama era.

Can she appeal to them in a way that Biden wasn't able to do so, so that I think is important and Georgia, North Carolina.

Part of the reason we've seen the polls tighten there is because of Harris's support.

Um, among black voters going up consistently.

One thing we'll talk about a lot.

Over the course of the campaign, I'll mention here as well is a gender gap.

Among black voters.

I was just had a briefing today with Democratic pollster looking at some of those battleground states.

And Black women overwhelmingly say they're supporting Harris.

Black men by a much smaller margin, 22% of black men say they could vote for Trump compared to just 8% of black women.

I just want to point out, so this roll call is continuing behind us.

We apologize we're having our panelists fight some of this noise at home can still hear us, but let's just take this picture full for a second.

Jonathan is like.

To you.

As you've been dancing along to the song selection of the.

But especially turned down for, come on, little John, this roll call alone is meant to send a message, right?

We saw obviously they deferred to Delaware to go first to kind of start the roll call as the home state President Biden.

We know that California and Minnesota will be ending it as the home states of Harris and Walls, but there's also a really diverse set of messengers.

They have some influencers.

They have.

Elected officials sharing their own stories as they go along here and there's also this next generation of leaders.

We expect governors Newsom and Whitmer and Moore and others to be featured in the roll call.

What's this message just in terms of setting the tone for the evening.

So if last night was President Biden and his swan song, his farewell address.

I think I said last night.

That what we would be seeing is the forward looking, the forward look, the next generation, the new leaders.

I mean this roll call.

With the music and I apologize in advance for dancing dancing in my seat so um but it's sending, it's sending a message to the country that the Democratic Party is joyful.

The Democratic Party is young.

The Democratic Party is diverse, the Democrat, the Democratic Party is um open to all who want to be a part of it, uh, the Democratic Party, once we get past the roll call and all the fun.

stands for this issue, that issue, and here's how we're here's how we're going to fight.

One of the things when President Biden was still in the race.

There were people who were saying that Democratic bench is so deep.

It is so deep and now he has seeded the field.

Vice President Harris has it and tonight and for the next 3 nights we're going to see just how deep that bench is, just how diverse the bench is, just how young the bench is.

David Jonathan just articulated that speaks to why every 4 years it strikes me Democrats have this extra challenge of trying to unify a party of multiple coalitions that don't always agree, whereas on the Republican side, at least right now, you have Donald Trump playing to a very narrow portion of the GOP base.

Well, Joe Biden was a genius at unifying the Democratic Party.

He never wanted to pick a fight and so he was able to gather this coalition and bring it together and then the coalition wanted to preserve itself, and so they didn't want to have a fight about Kamala Harris or who would succeed Joe Biden.

They were the coalition was deselected.

And so I think they're doing a good job of creating unity.

The question I would have is, are they expanding?

So when I look at where the Democrats are compared to 2020, Biden was up here.

And then he went down here for 2024 and Kamala Harris has brought them back.

To hear, but not up to where Biden was in 2020, so they need to go beyond where they are, they're doing a great job of making people in the room happy, but they really need to think about the people who are Obama Trump voters.

What are those people interested in?

And frankly, you know, abortion's been a great issue for Democrats, but I looked it up today, 8% of Americans list abortion as their top issue.

It's the economy and immigration.

You have to hit those core issues.

So we'll see if they're they're really been good at unifying the party, but are they good at expanding it?

We'll see maybe a little tonight, even just tonally though, I mean we can't ignore what the setting we're in right now and when we were at the Republican National Convention, you made the point.

That's the rally, that's the party.

This is the party coming together same here with the Democrats.

But we know we're hearing a lot of this messaging around the joyful warrior that R. Harris and Ws, which is really a stark contrast to what we saw on the Republican side, you know, the last time I was in this building in the Chicago Bulls were not playing.

It was for the 1996 Democratic convention and if memory serves, that was the Macarena convention so this is way better.

We have made a massive cultural leap from the Macarena, uh, and so that diversity, I mean, it's real.

The Democrats are a diverse pluralistic.

and suburban party.

And so they just got a lot of different players in the party that makes it interesting.

Let's go to the floor real quick because it's Indiana's turn for the roll call, and that is actorho Aston.

And they're chanting Rudy.

As you dotine Harold from Roley Prairie and that's before I leave.

Hawkins or play the littlest player with the biggest heart at the University of Notre Dame, Rudy.

it Means elected Kamala Harris, the first woman president of the On Of the great Hoosier State.

Home of the sporting day.

In the world, the Indy 500.

Michael Jackson OK I'm Indiana Deliver this 86 delegate.

The And pledging Indiana's delegates to this ticket up here in our PBS News booth.

We are very, very pleased to be joined by a special guest, Keith How Attorney General, thank you so much for being here.

Glad to be with you.

Thanks a lot.

So tell us a little bit about this room, what we're gonna hear tonight and also what you plan on talking about when you address this the crowd tomorrow evening, I understand.

Tell us a little bit about that.

You know what I see out here is a bunch of people ready to.

Have a great time here and then go back home and really campaign their hearts out in the last 70 some days.

It seems like we're fueling ourselves to get out there and do this final sprint after Labor Day.

That's what it looks like to me.

I've been talking to a lot of people.

People are feeling good.

Uh, and I've even been talking with some of the uncommitted delegates.

And many of them do understand that.

The best chance for the thing they see at least a conversation about the reform they seek.

is with Kamala Harris, so they want change, but what I'm looking at is a unified group ready to work.

What will I talk about?

Uh, look, I'm, I'm an attorney general.

I'm a prosecutor and I'm gonna talk about rule of law and I'm going to talk about uh the relationship I had with Tim Walsh, uh, when, uh, we both found out that uh George Floyd was murdered on the streets of our city.

And I'm going to talk about the importance of a ticket that believes in the rule of law, uh, equality before the law and the importance of democratic victory to ensure liberty and justice for all, rule of law for everybody.

So those are some of the things I. I want to ask you about the George Floyd case because when the local Minneapolis community lost faith in the county prosecutor.

It was Governor Walls who turned to you to to to build that prosecution.

Tell us about that.

Well, let me tell you, man, um, Tim Walls, when I talked to him, he was genuinely just shook up by what he saw on that video that we all saw Darnellla Frazier, 17 year old, uploads that video and he's like, wow, bam, none of us can believe it, although we do know these things happen.

It was right there unfolding over 10 long minutes suffering and uh we came to the conclusion that the right thing to do is to uh send the case to the Attorney General's officepoint me special.

Prosecutor and then move on and and try to make sure that people could have confidence in the outcome, whatever it would be, and I didn't know what it was going to be, you know, we need to let 12 jurors figure that out, but uh it was a rough moment in Minnesota and it's one of the reasons I think Mars will be a great vice president because whether it was COVID or that crisis, he was steady hand and worked hard to get us through it.

You both were elected to Congress in 2006.

Is that right?

I've known him for almost 20 years.

Give us a sense of what informs and and inspires his approach to public service.

Well, I'd say he's a relatable person.

He likes the idea of informality in communication.

He doesn't stand on titles.

He's not at all haughty, and what he wants you to do is get to the point.

People have called him progressive since he passed a lot of good progressive legislation.

But I'd call him a pragmatic problem solver.

I mean, he's really motivated by the fact.

That kids in school don't learn well if they're hungry.

That parents cannot devote their attention to their family if they don't have some in social assurance of Aaron's sick and safe time.

That you know, people should have second chances.

I mean, we passed a law that said if you are on probation or parole you can vote.

Joining a lot of states that already do that, but Minnesota said you couldn't vote until you were on probation or parole and then the a major child credit understand that it's expensive to raise kids these days and families need a break, so I mean that's that to me it's not ideology he's moving out of.

It's just a pragmatic reality of talking to a lot of people who feel comfortable approaching him.

You mentioned meeting with some of the uncommitted delegates that issue really royal and divide members of the Democratic Party right now.

I believe your son is an uncommitted delegate, right Jeremiah, he is Minneapolis city council member.

He's my city council member.

OK, I want to ask about that.

I say that that's a whole different line of inquiry right there.

Thanksgiving must be really interesting, um, but.

Tell me about your conversations with him, but also, you know, this idea that he expresses that this one issue.

is absolutely going to have an impact on the presidential race, and he says could have a down ballot impact as well.

Do you agree with that?

It certainly could, and that's one reason why I'm encouraging dialogue and conversation.

Look, this is reality.

You can't.

You can't look at your phone or look on TV or look on the radio without hearing news from Gaza.

And we all know what happened on October 7th.

You know, 1200 people kidnapped and killed from, you know, by a terrorist act, right, and yet the aftermath 40,000 people dead, mostly men and women and children, massive displacement.

We've got to talk about it and I'm proud to be a Democrat because we are talking about it.

We are listening.

There is a robust conversation going on and we will find our way to the right answer, but only by listening to each other and having voices heard and you know there was uh there was a meeting yesterday at the McCormick Center and there was a robust dialogue that was that it's happening and we need to do more of that, not less, so that's what I think that's going on now.

I think that if Um, I look, I can't speak for uncommitted because I'm very committed, but Uh, I think that if uncommitted delegates know that they can be in a conversation and have a chance to persuade their elected leaders.

That that's what they're hoping to do you think that conversation is enough though because we know of them, dozens of them have signed petition saying they want to see an arms embargo.

They don't want messaging.

They want policy change.

What's your take on that?

My take on that is this.

They didn't go to the Republican convention.

They didn't not show up here.

They didn't vote green.

They didn't vote independent.

They showed up at the Democratic National Convention to try to persuade people they believe are persuadable.

So what that shows me is they have hope.

And but, but look, in politics, seldom do you get everything you want when you want it you've gotta work it out, sort it out, and it takes some time, but this is a national conversation going on.

And they at least know that the Democratic Party wants the dialogue that we know they want a policy change, but we, we know that these things.

Are not simple.

But if we can't, if we can face it, maybe we can fix it and that is what I think is going on.

I don't, I'm here not giving anybody any simple answers that I'm sure people want, but I do know that you know there's a lot of people feel strongly about this, but we're not afraid of the conversation.

Is there significant daylight between President Biden and Kamala Harris on this issue of Israel policy and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and how would you advise her or, or encourage her to talk about it public spaces.

Well, they both have demanded return of the hostages.

Israeli and American and a ceasefire and and have been working very diligently to try to achieve that obviously this is not easy, but let me tell you, I will simply say that uh that that stability in the Middle East is a national priority of the United States because We're seeing war being threatened in Lebanon, the Houthi rebels, Iran, it is not in the American national interest to let this situation persist in the unstable way that it has, so what would I what would I say, look, I, I, I don't have any, uh, anybody on speed dial, OK, but I would say.

Get people in the room and say what are we gonna do to bring stability, durable stability to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the way that Obama tried to, tried to, um, and others before her half, Attorney General Ellison, before we let you go, we know we're going to hear a lot more about Governor Walls tomorrow.

What is one thing that you think we don't yet know about this man that you know someone worked with and and known for about 20 years now.

What can we learn?

Gwen Walls is awesome.

You're gonna love some Gwen Walls.

This is a compassionate, smart woman, and uh I I I'm looking forward to her being the second lady.

Attorney General Keith Ellison, thank you so much for joining us up.

We appreciate it.

My pleasure.

Thank you all.

That roll call now continues down on the convention floor.

Actually, let's take a listen to the floor and live in this for a minute?

And I'm Governor You with The taxes.

We protected freedom.

We manufactur No, man, we know.

This November Michigan.

You I 5 votes.

President Soda, how do you cast your vote, Mr. Secretary, the great state of Minnesota, home of Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Vice President Walter.

and Vice President of United States.

We it passes.

Mississippi, how do you cast your votes?

Mr. Secretary, I'm state chair Shaq Tuttle from the home of Magnolias and Mockingbirds from the great state of Mississippi from the red clay hills of the Mississippi River to our Gulf coast we're proud of our heroes such as Fannie Lou Hamer and our special guest, Mr. January 6th.

D Thompson.

With great joy.

Mississippi delivers 40 votes for a future president.

Miss Now tonight is a celebration of love, a celebration of life.

So let the celebration continue.

Missouri, how do you cast your vote?

Mr. Secretary, I'm Russ Carnahan, chairman of Missouri Democrats.

We're home to Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Home to common sense leaders like President Truman, Senators Eagleton, Carnahan McCaskill, and we will fire Josh Hawley and hire Marine veteran.

voters will reclaim reproductive freedom.

Kamala Harris is in a lightning bolt of energy and hope across this country, and we proudly cast.

2 votes present and 68 votes for Kamala Harris and our Midwestern friend Tim Walsh.

Montana, how do you cast your vote?

We But the State On behalf of Country best place in these United.

S Grateful for the beauty of our.

Determined.

To protect it for future generations.

We First woman to Proudly cast.

For I'm the first woman to the White House.

OK.

They're on to Nebraska now as they go state by state, territory by territory in this roll call here, the Democratic National Convention, Minnesota and California are being saved for last as the home states of both.

Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walls, her running mate back up here in our PBS News booth.

We want to check back in with Amy Walter, David Brooks, and Jonathan Capehart to give you a preview of some of the things we're going to be hearing from tonight, David, it strikes me among the speakers on the stage tonight.

We are going to be hearing and have already heard from a number of Republicans.

They're being featured on that stage tonight and we've talked about this before, but this idea that this ticket and this party wants to say you don't have to be a Democrat to support this ticket.

What do you make of the way they're making that?

so far so far we'll see.

I mean, obviously there are a lot of never Trumpers.

Donald Trump expelled a lot of suburban pretty well educated voters who would always consider themselves Republican, uh, and they're looking around and some of them have switched all the way over.

Some of them found it a little easier to go with Joe Biden because he seems to be in 2020 the most moderate.

Will they feel the same way about Kamala Harris?

I'm a little more skeptical than I was of Joe Biden, but it's entirely possible and so you can't get votes.

Unless you ask, so they're asking, good for them.

What about that, Jonathan, the, the Harris was attempt to reach out to these disaffected Republicans.

The risk there is that you can sometimes alienate the base, and, and, and the voters, the Democrats, you know, say that they always need the 2020 winning coalition that that delivered Joe Biden in the White House.

The bases here.

The basis the base is fine.

I think that that's not to say that they shouldn't go out and ask for their votes, which is what they're doing.

But I do think it is important that they do go to those disaffected Republicans with the number one argument that President Biden made to get elected in 20.

And an argument that is part of Vice President Harris's argument to be elected in 204.

President Biden called it democracy is on the ballot.

She's calling it freedom.

And there are Republicans disaffected Republicans for whom that is important.

I mean, they are never Trumpers because they don't like Trump, but there are Republicans who won't necessarily talk to pollsters won't necessarily talk to any of us, certainly on the record, but.

For whom they viewed Donald Trump as an existential threat to the way they view the country, to their respect for the Constitution and um and the values of this country and so Vice President Harris and Governor Wallace are absolutely right to ask for their votes and the fact that you're going to have Republicans here vouching for them.

I think speaks speaks volumes and I'm trying to remember, I don't remember any Democrats for Trump in Milwaukee.

Because I don't think they asked for any.

What about David, not just this idea of disaffected Republicans, but self-identified independence, right?

I spoke with Alyssa Sloan earlier, the congresswoman from Michigan, who talked about how she would not be in office but for independent support in the state of Michigan.

She's not running for the open US Senate seat there, of course, but could this message have an impact for some of those voters as well.

Yeah, they really have to follow through on policy.

There's two wing wings here.

First is how do you present yourself?

Uh, Waltz presents himself.

a regular American guy that he'll be fine with independence on presentation skills, but then people tend to do vote on policy.

They want to be in the neighborhood of your core policy, and you as a candidate want to pursue something called the median voter theory, which is find the median voter and be as close as you can to that person.

Amy earlier on tonight mentioned the Obamas and the Obama coalition that he built.

That was a coalition with a lot of white working class voters.

It's no way Biden's going to do as well as Obama did.

But it could do well with some of these other independent voters who are, by the way, not in the middle.

They're all over the map, but Obama did some things that were smart.

He was pretty moderate on immigration, said some tough stuff on undocumented immigration.

He was a big budget balancer, at least an attempt to reduce deficits.

He did the sorts of things that make these voters feel OK, he's not too left wing.

And he did that very successfully both times.

That's the work that I think Kamala Harris has to do.

People, her main weakness, if you look at polling, it's simple.

People think she's a little too progressive.

And so what can she do to to rein that out and hence appeal to those voters.

You know It We've been doing some polling at the Cook Political Report and one of the questions we asked for swing state voters is how do you view Donald Trump?

You like him, you like his policies.

You don't like him, you don't like his policies, but there are 17% of voters who say, I don't like him personally, but I like his policies and that goes, I think, to the point that you were both making, which is reaching out to those voters who say, well, maybe I think she's a little too liberal or maybe I think.

What's better on the economy, but What, what, whether it's his temperament, whether it is the way he behaved while he was president.

They are hesitant to embrace him.

Now how you win over those voters is She doesn't need to win all of them, but she needs to get some of those.

Let, let's bring into the conversation, Congressman Maxwell Cross.

It's great to have you here represents Florida's 10th district.

Uh, we spoke, I guess a couple of years ago when you were first elected at the age of 25, the first member of Generation Z to serve in the US Congress.

Pamela Harris, her campaign has been meeting with young voters, social media influencers, lots of grassroots organizations.

There is a viral social media movement behind her.

In your view, how does she corral all of that and turn all of that energy and enthusiasm among young voters into votes.

Well, what we're seeing is we're seeing a movement candidate.

What makes a movement candidate?

Someone who's effectively gotten pop culture and the culture of this country to merge with the campaign.

We call it bridging the gap between cool and consciousness.

You know, I think back to March for Our Lives, um, back in 2018.

I remember going to the 1st march in Orlando, seeing friends that I know hate politics.

I wanted to ask them why they came and they said, because my friends came, or because I felt like I needed to be here or some artists I love told me to be here.

It's almost beyond politics.

It's human, it's culture.

That's what Kamala Harris has tapped into.

And when you tap into that, the potential is unlimited.

Look at the most successful social movements, not just in this country but in the world.

There was that deep.

Action between culture and the movement, and that's what's happening with Kamala Harris.

So now the question is how do we take that excitement and translate it to votes and not just votes, but in between the vote action so people get their friends to vote.

That's what it means to organize and what we're doing is we're traveling this country meeting with people right after this convention.

I'm hitting the road.

I'm going up a 5-state tour back to school tour and a bunch of the surrogates are going back to school tours so we can rev up the Hars for President student groups and get the 4 volunteers excited to go speak with other people, then we'll double back at the end of September and October with bigger events to get more people engaged as well, so we're going to be on the ground with his voters digitally, but at the end of the day young voters love her authenticity and once that pulls them in, even if they don't care about politics, then they get to hear her message.

Can I ask, is this your first convention?

This is my first convention, yeah.

How's it going?

It's great, it's hectic.

I have like 30 things on my calendar today, but um it's great.

I'm so honored to be here and this energy.

I've been traveling the country for the vice president.

I'm running into the people I've met at campaign office openings at canvases right here.

So this is just so exciting.

We know we've already seen a sort of a semblance of economic policy proposals from this campaign.

What else do you want to see her put more details behind that you think would appeal to more younger voters?

What specific policies?

Well, I'm excited about the housing policies here already rolled out.

I think housing.

is one of the top issues for young people.

I have a congressional office, one of the first offices on a college campus and the top one of the top three things is housing insecurity.

I'm excited to see the Vice President talk a little bit more about the climate crisis and exactly how she wants to build off of this amazing record from the Biden Harris administration, the most amount of resources and money dedicated to this crisis, not in the history of this country, but the history of the world, and that's that's a tough bar to to go on top of.

But she's going to do it because this is where the people are at.

I always say the climate crisis isn't coming, it's here.

I'm from the state of Florida.

We experience it every day now with the extreme heat going on, these hurricanes that are lasting longer, killing more people.

I have conservatives that are business owners along the coast who have contacted me and Climate Group to say I haven't been on board before, but now I am because it's hurting the bottom line because of the rising sea temperatures and what that means for businesses.

Small businesses, so I'm really excited about the future of this campaign, but the vice president is going to be building off of this amazing record that she has with the president.

You have your roots in organizing, as you mentioned is the former organizer for March for Our Lives.

Give us a sense of the, of the difference just in this past month in terms of the momentum, the energy, enthusiasm that you've seen.

With Pamela Harris at top of the ticket.

2-3 days after the switch happened.

I went to Las Vegas, Nevada for some events.

I did some office openings and my memo it said we expected 100 people at office opening.

The first one I showed up to had 450 people at it.

I had to speak to 3 overflow rooms.

Next I'm going to a group of retirees doing coastguards to be 20 people.

It was 120 people.

People were writing these postcards in their cars outside.

The excitement is here, but here's the real thing.

I've been organizing on campaigns since Fresh 1 usually campaign volunteers skew a little older, um, but I'm seeing a multi-generational thing here.

I saw groups of high schoolers leave their high school, you know, after classes ended and come to the office so they could sign up.

And here's the thing, it wasn't one or two of them.

They came in groups, friend groups to be a part of it.

And that's what I'm talking about in terms of culture and getting them engaged.

When we talk about the youth vote, we usually just talk about it in the context of this election.

But if we activate young people the right way now, it's about this election, but it's also about the next 10.

It's about the next 20.

Older voters who don't vote, which isn't a huge pot of folks.

It wasn't a thing that started recently for them.

They haven't been voting their entire life.

Now is the time to activate the vote, the voters of the future, and that's why this is so important.

It's about this election, but it's about the next 1020, 30 years.

Congressman Maxwell Frost from Florida, thank you so much for being here.

Appreciate your time.

Thank you.

Always great to speak with you.

All right, that roll call is continuing down on the convention floor.

Let's take a listen in now.

And vice president of the United States of America.

Let's go You know, ladies and gentlemen, My name is DJ Cassidy.

This is the DNC roll call, and tonight your voice is the future.

Northern Mariana Island.

How do you cast your vote?

a day and Hello Everyone We are The Northern Mariana Islands where our customs, our culture, our land.

And our oceans breathe life into our people.

The earth is not red or blue.

The earth is sick and we must protect it.

of the Legends and celestial.

of the People in the Pacific.

We are the blue waves of the Pacific, and we are proud to cast.

Votes for our How Your vote Mr. Secretary, Ohioans know how to make history.

We put a man on the moon and we are the founding home of the AFL.

CIO.

He enshrined abortion rights in our state constitution by 13 points and we are going to send Sherrod Brown.

To the US Senate The first woman to lead Ohio.

Democrats, I am proud.

To cast our the first woman to be president of the United States.

Mr. Secretary, we cast one vote present and 142 votes for.

And Tim Oklahoma.

How do you cast your vote?

Where we fight for the future for all of us.

can be proud of The future where a working families thrive are diversity is our strength.

And our values like freedom, equality, and opportunity.

Oklahoma Proud we cast our 36 votes for Kamala Harris.

Hi Oregon, how do you cast your vote?

From The first state in the nation to hold the presidential election with all mail in voting Oregon.

At Rights in America And hailing from the heart of the beautiful Pacific Northwest Oregon protects our planet and fights for LGBTQ equality.

8 the place to be.

it goes one.

2 123, let's go.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

How do you?

Your vote.

Let's go.

My name is Mayor.

Walker From the great city of Mataropa Beaver County.

My city is a city of legends, the only high school in America with 3 Hall of Famers.

I took this seat in 2009 when my sister was murdered.

I wanted to do better 15 years she's been gone 12 years this city has been my watch.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to leave my city.

I'm grateful for the state of Pennsylvania.

God bless everyone in this room.

I love this date.

Thank you.

Josh Shapiro Common Pennsylvania birthplace of democracy, the birthplace of Freedom The Commonwealth And together Together Pennsylvania 1078 votes for the Madam President of the United States.

And vice president.

Tim Roll call is continuing.

We've gone from Pennsylvania to Puerto Rico and our localbro Lopez is down there on the convention floor amidst it all with a guest.

Laura, take it away.

Thanks Ana I'm here with Minnita Meraju.

She is the president of reproductive freedom for all.

Minnie, thanks so much for joining us for having me.

So I just wanted to start by asking you, look, abortion was always going to be an issue this election cycle.

Is Kamala Harris a better messenger now on that issue than President Biden was, you know, Kamala Harris has been an advocate and a champion for reproductive freedom her entire career.

She's been the main voice for this administration, really leading the fight for the entire whole of government response to the jobs crisis, so in many ways she's the perfect messenger.

I will say Joe Biden, the beauty of Joe Biden is he is the kind of leader who can evolve.

and grow to meet at the moment, so we are so grateful for what he did and where he where he evolved to on this issue, but yeah, Kamala Harris is able to bring a level of authenticity and energy and longtime career commitment that really It's hard to beat in this moment.

Last night we heard uh from some women who have dealt with directly with the impact of abortion restrictions in their states.

Tell us a little bit about what you've been hearing in the years since Dobbs and also you know.

Do you think that it is still just as salient this election cycle as it was for some voters in 2022.

So the women you heard from last night, they're heroes.

Nobody should have to come to an arena like this and tell the story of their childhood rape.

Nobody should have to come here and tell America about how they almost died trying to have a family, so these stories, they're just a handful of the hundreds of stories of women who you will never meet who have suffered since Dobbs, the humanitarian crisis post stops of lack of access to reproductive care.

The thing about the salience issue is the longer the bans are in place, the more of these horror stories Americans hear, the stronger the issue becomes.

People are so ready to end this crisis, and that includes the majority of independents and many Republicans.

It's how we've been winning in these battleground states with these ballot referendums.

You can't win without a crossover vote, so we think this is going to be the number one persuasion issue in this country and will be the most important issue on many folks' minds connected to A need for a fundamental freedom to be restored to them in this country and for government to stay out of our business when we're making personal health care decisions.

Are there any voters that you've been surprised that have come and spoken to reproductive Freedom for all, and said that this is the issue that changed their mind voters that people wouldn't necessarily consider abortion rights or reproductive rights being their top issue.

So in Arizona, my team's been on the ground knocking on doors for the ballot measure and for candidates like Ribbon Gallego, and they've been in Really tough turf Latino Catholic turf in you know the suburbs of Phoenix and everyone they've talked to said, you know, I might feel a certain way about abortion in my own life, but I absolutely want us to have that fundamental freedom to decide if, when and how to have a family, and I do not want that taken away from my mothers, my sisters, my daughters.

We're seeing more and more men in this fight too, and that's really promising because we honestly can't win without the broad coalition and men have to be part of that.

Thank you so much for your time, Ana and Jeff, you heard there that abortion is still as Minnie says, going to be one of the biggest mobilizing factors for Democrats this election cycle.

Barone, thanks as always as this roll call winds its way to South Dakota, Amy picking up on what they were talking about.

Look, every time reproductive rights has been on the ballot since the Supreme Court overturned Roe.

Anti-abortion activists and Republicans have lost and this issue will be on the ballot in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota, and there are other states potentially that could add similar measures.

How might this move the needle in a in a in a close race.

I think the fact that it is part of the conversation that's happening, that alone is beneficial for Democrats.

Look if You know, every campaign wants to fight on the turf that's friendliest to it.

If the fight is about and we're in a state where they're talking a lot about this issue.

That's the kind of place that would, that's a kind of a conversation that benefits Democrats.

I would argue all the way down the ballot, not just at the presidential level, but there's a reason that Harris doesn't really talk about abortion per se.

It's the word freedom that she's been spending a lot of time on.

And it kind of goes to the point um that uh Arizona director was having with Laura on the floor there that there are so many voters who say, look, portion to them is a very personal decision.

And what I would hear, I hear the same thing in focus groups.

People who would say, well, I personally am pro-life, but I didn't think that the government would go and go this far on that issue and so this idea of giving, it's not necessarily the issue of abortion.

It is this idea of freedoms being rolled back of rights that were once.

Considered sacrosanct no longer being there and so That's how you're going to hear the Harris campaign talk about it, which will be a little bit different than how the Arizona director is going to talk about that issue specifically in her state, David, to that point, we, we have seen this sort of reframing of the language with the Harris Was the idea that President Biden had been running on about democracy being at stake here, but reframing it to focus more on this word freedom, right?

Freedom or reproductive rights and access, freedom to vote and have access to the ballot box.

As well, does that sort of undercut some of the Republican argument heard from Trump Vance and others saying that democracy is not at stake.

That's hyperbolic more of an effective Democrat message?

Well, I think what they're trying to do here is, as I've said, they've got a pretty progressive set of agenda items, probably more progressive than Joe Biden, certainly more progressive than Barack Obama.

So how do you persuade people these are the right things in an election campaign?

The one thing you do is you pick a bunch, as I said, stylistically.

Football coaches, you pick a football coach.

People don't think football coaches are that progressive.

I don't see why that's right, but that's what they think.

The second thing you do is you argue for progressive clauses with conservative language.

What do you mean by that?

And so you could say I'm for pro-choice because I'm a feminist.

I'm for, you know, abortion rights because I'm a feminist.

I believe in empowering women, or you could say freedom.

And freedoms cus a little conservative and so you could say I'm for the child tax credit because I'm for equity, I'm for justice.

That skews a little more progressive, or you could say I'm for family values.

I'm for family cohesion and so there, there tend to be conservative framings for progressive policies, and I would say the Harris Waltz campaign is doing that all over the place.

Jonathan, what do you make of that?

I think of Governor Westmore.

Uh, when he ran for governor of Maryland and um he as a, as a, a veteran.

That it was important for him.

Democrats to reclaim the word patriotism to reclaim patriotism that Republicans and conservatives are not the only ones who are able to be patriots, and I think the reframing of the the conversation.

In the way that David talked about it, yeah.

Democrats reclaiming the word freedom.

It's not a conservative framing.

It's an American framing Americans want freedom over their over their own choices, freedom from government telling them what to do with their bodies, how they can vote, how they can earn how they can earn a living.

One of the things I think Vice President says is freedom.

Freedom to take care of your family to provide for your family, and I think when it's put in that way with your Democrat Republican conservative, or or liberal, everyone no one, no matter the political persuasion, everyone understands what freedom is.

I wonder if you will weigh in on the conversation we had moments ago with Maxwell Frost because when he described this energy and enthusiasm that we're seeing here and across the country as a movement.

It struck me that in 2008 when Barack Obama was elected, Maxwell Frost was 11 years old.

He's 27 now.

He's 11 years old.

He would have been 11 years old.

There's an entire generation of Americans for whom this kind of thing is, is brand new.

They've not seen this in their entire adult lives and this, it strikes me it's just, it's, it's fairly remarkable.

Yeah, it's, you know, I, I was thinking I was in one of the Iowa rallies in 2008 where Obama was talking about hope.

And he was giving his hope speech and people were going crazy.

I was going crazy.

It was like one of the most moving political things I've ever seen, and then I'd go at the end of that, what was that speech about?

What did he say?

Like, I couldn't really tell you, but it felt great.

And the Obama campaign proved you can get a long way on chemistry, on a certain projection of the future and that what they're doing here is going, we're not, we're not going back, we're going forward.

That is the normal democratic registry.

We're going forward.

Trump is Make America great again.

He's looking back.

And so when they get in a forward register, you don't even have to define the future all that much.

People can really get swept up in it.

It always used to bug me that Obama would say he was prouder of his 2012 campaign, which is sort of like trench warfare than it was in the campaign.

I thought the 08 campaign was one of the most fun things I've covered mostly about this at this point though the larger point is about campaigning in in in poetry and governing in prose, which is exactly what The Republicans are doing a little prose probably, but the difference in the generations, right?

He was 11 millennials were at where he sits right now.

They were that generation that was so open and so thirsting for and actually receptive to.

A lot of people would say it was like corny, hope.

What you're, you, you should be more cynical.

You should be more discerning.

There is less of that.

This generation and quite frankly, a lot of the millennials since then have only seen a pretty bleak set of circumstances between, you know, during that campaign, of course you have the financial crisis.

We have COVID.

Um, and You know, we have all, we have January 6th, right, so so much of what politics and and and institutionalism has meant for this group of younger voters, there's a reason for them to be cynical and like when those first.

Coconut memes came up with Kamala Harris that I did not understand, and I had to ask a young Gen Zer what they mean and I she showed them to me.

And I, I said, well, I don't understand.

Are you guys making fun of her with this meme?

Or are you like praising her and she's like, well, it's kind of both, and that to me is that that generation too where it's kind of both where they, they really want a certain amount of authenticity, which she's able to have and that they are not, I wouldn't say it's cynical as much as you kind of have to prove it to us.

We're not going to let you just give us, uh, you know, this.

Hope sort of spoon it out to us.

We've got to find ways for you to talk to us about it in our language.

And I, so I find that generational difference even though it's only 10 years, really, really fascinating.

The thing that's interesting is, David, you were talking about the 2008 campaign being hope but not knowing, well, wait, what did, what did he tell us?

and you know we could also go back to I remember watching Ronald Reagan's.

Morning in America Uh, and the bear in the woods a. I mean, morning in America.

Hope Freedom it it it seems as though this, this campaign is this this young generation's hope it's this generation's mourning in America.

It hits them here.

They get it in a way that is inspiring that it's not maybe tied to any one particular policy, although the congressman laid out what is very important to the housing, climate crisis, a bunch of and a bunch of other things but it's very specific.

These folks, this generation is emotion, but it's also, it's also intellect and caring and that's where you know Morning in America is forward looking.

Hope is forward looking and what the Harris Wells campaign again as you were saying is forward looking.

Does that also explain why for years the Biden White House has always said we have these policies that are popular, but President Biden himself is underwater in terms of polling because he didn't have that same sort of visceral connection that you're talking about with the American public.

I mean that very well, that very well might be that also might explain because as I've been here I've been asking Democrats who've been on the ground, please.

Tell me what it was like on July 20th.

And then on July 21st, 22nd, 23rd.

If I'm getting the date right when President Biden withdrew from the campaign and they all talk about it being a light switch going up that immediate.

And they've never seen anything like it.

And it could just be everything that we're talking about around the table, they've been given a reason to be excited even though so far the vice president hasn't Put any daylight between her and the man she's replaced.

All right, we're going to take a short break for our PBS stations.

We'll be right back with continued live coverage of the Democratic National Convention.

Don't go anywhere.

I'm Michael Beschloss, presidential historian and Newshour contributor.

Democratic convention 2016 Philadelphia.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders had duped it out throughout a very long and oftentimes bitter campaign finally Bernie Sanders was willing to support Hillary Clinton.

He finally spoke on Clinton's behalf very briefly at the end of that roll call.

And I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the a party for president of the United States.

But the big question was How enthusiastic would his supporters be?

Through the convention we saw little moments that suggested that there were an awful lot of Sanders people who might not be very enthusiastic about voting for Hillary Clinton that fall.

And welcome back.

You're watching PBS News live coverage of the 2nd night of the Democratic National Convention.

I'm Amna Nawaz, and I'm Jeff Bennett.

Coming up, we'll hear speeches from former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, but first, the roll call continues.

It's winding its way to Minnesota and California, the home states of Minnesota Governor Tim Walls and vice President Vice President Kamala Harris.

Uh, you would.

My home state of Wisconsin.

How do you cast your vote?

Thank you Badger Jason Ray for all your good work.

As a proud Governor of the Great state of Wisconsin.

We're home of the Green Bay Packers.

Go Hauling And Rocky bus as well as US Senator.

Best US senator Tammy Baldwin.

Great.

more Mark.

I'm here because I'm just as hell.

To announce that Wisconsin passed one vote present in 90 more votes for who, where are we at?

Got me going here farmer the night.

Harbor They, oh my God.

I love it 4 votes.

Far No Get there, Jason.

I'll get there.

94 votes.

former Wisconsinite.

Vice President.

And our next president of the United States of America.

Kamala Harris.

Wyoming, how do you cast your vote?

Mr. Secretary Delegates.

My name's Joe Barbudo.

And these folks around me, we are.

to be representing the great state of Wyoming.

State and territory in this nation to recognize a woman's right to vote.

And the state that 100 years ago elected Democrat Nellie Kalo Ross, our nation's first female governor.

With that legacy in mind and heart, the equality cast all of our The woman who will be the first President of the United States, say it with me now.

Great state of Minnesota.

How do you cast your vote?

Soda Hans Korvik and Tim Walls with my neighbor, coach, and favorite teacher.

We were excited to go to his classroom every day if he's ever been in high school, you know that can be rare.

We opened our eyes to the world.

He taught us how to talk about global issues with respect, curiosity, and kindness, even and especially when we disagreed, but he wasn't just a great teacher.

He was also a great neighbor and friend.

In fact, when he was in the midst of a budget battle as governor of our state, he's still phone time to attend my brother's funeral.

Mr.

Walls means the world to my family.

He's always been there for us, and that's how I know he'll always be there for you as vice president.

Thank you, Han.

Minister, Here, there you go.

14 years in the National Football League taught me a lot about leadership.

A good leader cannot be selfish.

You have to look out for his team.

Coach Walsh is unselfish as they come.

He has let Minnesota with honesty and integrity.

And in November Minnesota is going to send Tim Walls.

And come To the White House Amy Klobuchar.

Senator from the great state of Minnesota.

Nearly everyone votes.

Purple rains.

Tina stay So President The great state of How do you cast your vote?

My name's Governor Gavin Newsom.

From the great state of Nancy Pelosi.

Come from a state like our nation of dreamers, of doers, of entrepreneurs, of innovators that prides itself on being on the leading and cutting edge of new ideas.

California is the most diverse state in the world's most diverse democracy.

We pride ourselves, we pride ourselves on our ability to live together and advance together and prosper together across every conceivable and imaginable difference, but the thing we pride ourselves most on is that we believe the future happens in California first.

And Democrats I've had the privilege for over 20 years to see that future taking shape with a star in Alameda courtroom by the name of Kamala Harris.

I saw that star.

I saw that star fighting for criminal justice, racial justice, economic justice, social justice.

I saw that star get even brighter as Attorney General of California as a United States senator and his vice president of the United States of America.

Pamela Harris has always done the right thing.

A champion for voting rights, civil rights.

LGBTQ rights the rights for women.

Girls, so Democrats and independents.

It's time for us to do the right thing and that is to elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States of America.

We proudly cast our 40,080.

2 votes for the President Paris Thank you to everyone who participated in our celebratory the roll call here has ceremonally now because this has already been made official, nominated Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walls as the party's nominee for president.

To As the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

To the convention rule the procedure we're looking at to be pictures from Wisconsin, Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walls are holding a rally at this exact same moment that picture.

is live as this is going on right here, the 2nd night of the Democratic National Convention the state of Wisconsin, Vice President Kamala Harri 15,000 people on hand there in Milwaukee, according to the Harris campaign.

So effectively, the Harris campaign is drawing simultaneous crowds one here in Chicago at the United Center and another there in Milwaukee.

Let's hear what the vice president has to say.

Joining That's from exciting Chicago.

Invention well they just completed their roll call.

And they have Coach And To be the next vice president.

I There Here for believing in what we can do together.

We are so honored to be your nominees.

This is a people powered campaign.

And Together We Chart Wave So Freedom Opportunity of.

and faith, so to everyone in Chicago and across America, thank you, thank you.

Thank you From Wonderful second gentleman shortly.

I'll see you in 2 days, Chicago.

The Democratic nominee Kamala Harris speaking to supporters there.

That's at the Per Arena where the RNC was held just last month.

She would you say?

Yeah, right?

We, we lost I don't think we heard the first part of what you said, a little bit of a flex, yeah.

Not only show that this stadium is full, but the stadium where Donald Trump was nominated is also full.

She spoke of a future defined by freedom, opportunity, optimism, and faith.

Those four words, I mean those talk to any focus group, you talk about the four words you want to hear from a from a from a presidential candidate strikes me that those would be the four words, and we've been talking at the table a few minutes earlier about the word freedom, which, as you noticed was plastered all over the uh the stadium.

You know, one other thing that I found really interesting in polling that we did a couple of weeks ago we asked voters, you know.

Series of questions about who they thought would do a better job on certain issues.

When we asked voters though who made them feel safe?

Trump and Harris were tied on that issue.

And I think if you think about safety in the way that Donald Trump and Republicans think about safety.

It's the border.

It's crime, who makes, who's going to do better on those issues?

I think what Harris is leaning into and part of the reason I think she's getting some benefit on that this idea of safety, it's like the freedom thing, safety from what?

Safety from gun violence, safety for Women, right, um, and, uh, feeling safe from chaos, and I think that it's sort of this again we're going to be talking a lot about language, but I think that is also what some of this messaging is if Trump wants to do the campaign much like he did in Milwaukee make this about who's the strongest and by strong meaning who's going to stand up to.

The people who are committing crimes, people crossing the border illegally, that does get him some benefit, but Harris gets a benefit on getting.

What Other people's security, what security means to them that goes beyond just those two things.

I just want to point out on the stage right now is Ana Navarro was of course a former Republican strategist and one of the hosts of the daytime talk show The View.

She is one of the sort of billed as a celebrity host for primetime portion of this evening, and among the Republicans that we know will be featured on the stage here tonight, but Jonathan, it does strike me as we watch these proceedings unfold here.

We have See Vice President Harris on both the first night.

Of the national convention where she was here to welcome in President Joe Biden to sit here as he delivered his remarks as well.

She's now beamed in on the 2nd night of the convention.

I remember back at the Republican convention when we were saying Donald Trump has appeared here every single night, and that's unusual.

Looks like Democrats are kind of going by the same playbook here and she's taking a page from, from that playbook, which, you know, these conventions can be a little stale.

They, they can use a little updating and.

I think you know having her in the hall yesterday, I, I agree with, with Amy.

That was a flex to be in two places at once and also to be in the place where Donald Trump.

Got his 3rd nomination and she's there with 15,000 people.

22 giant rallies at the, at the same time, I think, you know, well, do we know she's gonna be here tomorrow?

Because I mean I don't think I mean it seems like some of the programming is still being put together but maybe, maybe she will be, and you know what, maybe that's just one more tradition, one more custom that goes by the wayside that isn't a bad thing.

Why?

if she wants to be here, why shouldn't she be here if the moment he came in that Trump came in the first night I was like he's going to be here every night because he can't resist, but you know what?

That actually unified that convention for those folks.

Abraham Lincoln never went to his convention.

I'd just like to point that out.

He also didn't like memes apparently hated games.

The, the, the returning to this issue of the Harris campaign messaging because it strikes me it is more thematic than it is specific.

It's about turning the page, a new day in our politics.

Those four words I mentioned to Amy freedom, optimism, opportunity, and faith.

That resonates with folks.

Yeah, sometimes, but it's summer.

Summer campaign is different than a fall campaign and in summer weird like that's the kind of issue that shows up in August, but in the fall, it's gonna get uglier and the Republicans are not, they've got a zillion clips of Kamala Harris saying pretty progressive things, and she's just going to have to address all that.

And so that that's going to be hitter, hitter and hit her and so it's not she's had a wonderful month or however long it's been, it's not gonna last in my view.

She's going to hit the hard.

Politics ain't beanbag as Mayor Daley in the city used to say, and so she's going to hit that.

And I think the, the, the questions, the words I would throw out there, I think she's the freedom word is an excellent word faith and family.

You got to hit those.

You gotta have plausible story to tell about those.

Talk about making your entrance.

This is Chuck Schumer making his way to the stage now.

Let's take a listen in to his remarks.

Now just let me hear you if you're ready for President Kamala Harris.

Friends We're here to talk about one thing.

Tomorrow And building a better tomorrow for all Americans.

This November we can choose a brighter, a fairer, a freer future, or We can relive the dark night of Trump's American carnage.

Only one candidate will move America forward.

Kamala Harris.

Vice President Harris has been the best partner Senate Democrats could ever have asked for.

Under her under her and President Biden's leadership.

Senate Democrats lowered prescription drug prices.

And created millions, millions of good paying American jobs.

I worked with Kamala Harris when she was Senator Harris.

I saw a leader who was fearless.

Who stood up for middle class families like the one she was raised in.

Who focused on things that really mattered.

Helping parents raise their kids.

Safe neighborhoods safe schools.

And building an opportunity economy that gives everyone a shot at the American dream.

She will lead America forward into a brighter future.

But she can't do it alone.

She needs a democratic majority in the Senate of the United States.

Now my friends 2 years ago.

2 years ago, The naysayers said Senate Democrats should stood no chance in the midterms.

I told them, just you wait.

We're going to keep the Senate.

And maybe pick up a seat or two and that's exactly what happened.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, my good friends at this convention, I am telling all of you now we're going to hold the Senate again and we're poised to pick up seats.

A democratic majority to create good paying jobs and lower costs.

To defend a woman's right to choose.

To deliver for communities back home.

Our senators are doing it.

Like Jackie Rosen delivering high-speed rail for Nevada.

John Tester bringing high-tech jobs to Montana.

And Bobby Casey and Sherrod Brown and Tammy Baldwin and Martin Heinrich fixing bridges in Pennsylvania and Ohio and Wisconsin and New Mexico.

We also have amazing candidates Ruben Gallego.

Angela also Brooks.

Andy Kim.

Alyssa Slotkin.

Lisa Blunt, Rochester.

Colin Allred.

Debbie Muarzel Powell.

And folks, listen to this more than half of our candidates, our candidates of color.

We're making the Senate look like America.

Now let's compare that with Senate Republicans.

Senate Republicans Pretend to care about middle class families.

But they voted no.

On expanding the child tax credit and JD Vance didn't even show up to vote.

Senate Republicans pretend to care about the border.

But they voted no on the strongest border bill in a decade.

Republicans tend to care about freedom.

But they voted no on a woman's right to choose.

No, to safeguard IVF.

No to birth control.

That that is just a taste.

Of their extreme agenda.

Is that what we want for America?

Do we want a Republican Senate that assaults reproductive freedoms.

Do we want a Republican Senate that cuts taxes for the rich, rigs the game for big oil and big pharma.

Well folks, the choice is ours.

Now let me close.

Let me close on a personal note.

As the highest ranking Jewish elected official in American history.

I want my grandkids and all grandkids to never, never face discrimination because of who they are.

But Donald Trump, this is a guy who peddles anti-Semitic stereotypes.

He even invited a white supremacist to Mar a Lago.

And unfortunately, His prejudice goes in all directions.

He fuels Islamophobia.

And issued a Muslim ban as president.

Tonight, folks.

I am wearing this blue square.

To stand up.

To anti-Semitism.

To stand up to all hate.

Our children Our grandchildren, no matter their race, no matter their creed, their gender, or family deserve better than Donald Trump's American carnage.

Oh Are you ready to make sure Donald Trump never ever gets near the White House again.

So let's elect Kamala Harris, Tim Walls, and a Democratic majority in the Senate and keep the torch of freedom, burning bright for generations to come on to victory in November.

Together we will build what I call an opportunity economy.

I will take on the high costs that matter most to most Americans.

Compare my plan with what Donald Trump intends to do.

He wants to impose what is in effect a national sales tax on everyday products and basic necessities that we import from other countries.

It will mean higher prices on just about every one of your daily.

Donald Trump's plan would cost a typical family, $3900 a year.

He wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which 45 million Americans rely on for health care.

He plans to give billionaires massive tax cuts year after year, and he plans to cut corporate taxes by over $1 trillion that if you want to know who someone cares about, look who they fight for.

We capped the price of insulin.

At $35 a month and the total cost of prescription drugs at $2000 a year for seniors, and just yesterday we announced that we are lowering the price for 10 more life saving drugs.

As president, I will work to build the housing we need, and by the end of my first term, we will end America's housing shortage by building 300 new homes and rentals that are For the middle class, more than 100 million Americans will get a tax cut by restoring the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit through it.

Millions of Americans with children got to keep more of their hard-earned income.

We will provide $6000 in tax relief to families during the first year of a child's life.

Now is the time to chart a new way forward.

I will fight to give money back to working and middle class Americans.

Increase the security and stability financially of your family and expand opportunity for working and middle class Americans.

Please welcome Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Thank you.

Thank you.

My fellow Americans.

It is an honor.

It is an honor to be with you tonight.

Because we're laying the groundwork.

For Kamala Harris to become our next president.

And let me Let me tell you why that is so important.

I want you all to remember.

Where we were.

3.5 years ago.

We were in the midst of the worst public health crisis in 100 years.

And the worst economic downturn.

Since the Great Depression.

3000 Americans were dying every day.

And our hospitals were overwhelmed with COVID patients.

All across the country businesses were shutting down.

Unemployment was soaring.

Workers were losing their health insurance.

Schools were closing state and city budgets were running out of money.

People were being evicted from their homes.

Children in America were going hungry.

That was the reality.

The Biden Harris administration faced.

As they entered the Oval Office.

A nation suffering.

A nation frightened and people looking to their government for support.

And within 2 months of taking office.

Our government did respond.

We passed the American rescue Plan which provided $1400 for every man, woman, and child in the working class.

We extended and expanded benefits for the unemployed.

We provided emergency assistance for small businesses to stay open.

We guaranteed health care coverage to tens of millions of Americans through one of the largest expansions of Medicaid in history.

We've provided rent relief and mortgage assistance which prevented tenants and homeowners from being evicted.

We established emergency food programs for hungry children and the elderly.

And protected the pensions of millions of union workers and retirees from being slashed by up to 65%.

Oh, and by the way, We cut childhood poverty by over 40% through an expanded child tax credit.

Thank you, President Biden.

Thank you Vice President Harris, thank you, Democratic Congress.

Now I say all of this.

Not to relive that difficult moment.

But to make one simple point.

When the political will is there, government can effectively deliver for the people of our country.

And now we need to summon that will again.

Because too many.

of our fellow Americans are struggling every day to just get by.

To put food on the table.

To pay the rents and to get the health care they need.

Brothers and sisters, bottom line.

We need an economy that works for all of us, not just the billionaire class.

My fellow Americans.

When 60% of our people live paycheck to paycheck.

The top 1%.

have never ever had it so good.

And these oligarchs, these oligarchs tell us.

We shouldn't tax the rich.

The oligarchs tell us we shouldn't take on price gouging.

We shouldn't expand Medicare to cover dental, hearing, and vision.

And we shouldn't increase Social Security benefits.

For struggling seniors.

Well I've got some.

News for them.

That is precisely what we are going to do.

And we're going to win this struggle.

Because this is precisely what the American people want from their government.

And my friends At the very top of that to do list.

Is the need to get big money out of our political process.

Billionaires In both parties should not be able to buy elections including primary elections.

For the sake of our democracy.

We must overturn the disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision.

And move toward public funding of elections.

And let me tell you what else.

We must do.

We need to join the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee health care to all people as a human right, not a privilege.

We need We need to raise the minimum wage to a living wage.

We need to pass the PRA.

So that workers can organize the union.

Oh And gain the decent pay and benefits they deserve.

We need to strengthen public education.

Raise teachers' salaries.

And make sure that every American regardless of income, receives the higher education, he or she needs.

We need to take on big pharma.

And cut our prescription drug costs in half.

So that we no longer pay any more than other countries.

Joe and Kamala made sure that no senior in America pays over $35 a month for insulin.

We need to make sure that reality is true for every American.

I look forward to working with Camlin Tim to pass this agenda.

And let us be very clear.

This is not a radical agenda.

But let me tell you what a radical agenda is.

And that is Trump's project.

2025.

At a time of mass of income and wealth inequality, giving more tax breaks to billionaires is radical.

Putting forth budgets to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is radical.

Letting polluters destroy our planet is radical.

And my friends, we won't let that happen.

Fellow Americans in the last 3.5 years.

Working together.

We have accomplished more.

than any government since FDR.

But much, much more remains to be done.

We must summon the courage.

To stand up to wealth and power.

And deliver justice for people at home and abroad.

Abroad.

We must end this horrific war in Gaza.

Bring home the hostages and demand.

Immediate ceasefire.

At home.

At home right here.

We must take on Big Pharma.

Big oil Big egg Big tech And all the other corporate monopolists whose greed is denying progress for working people.

On November 5th.

Let us select Kamala Harris as our president.

And let us go forward.

To create the nation.

We know we can calm.

Thank you all very much.

Well, as we saw earlier, California has a prime spot in this convention.

It's the most populous state in the country, and it is of course the home state of Kamala Harris, and with us right now is another prominent Californian that is Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.

It is great to have you here at the table with us.

My pleasure.

Thank you for the exciting night.

I want to start with President Biden's speech last night, his valedictory speech where he defended his record, he made the case for Kamala Harris.

not just the nominee but for the country electing her president, and he said that he was stepping aside because he in his view had become a distraction.

He did not seem to accept or agree with what some Democrats had said that he could not win.

Do you agree with that?

Well, the president made his decision of whatever basis and we accept that and we respect that.

I myself thought we needed a better campaign.

My whole thing that I'm a California Democratic Party chair I know my politics and I think when you want to win an election, you decide to win and you make every decision in favor of winning.

I didn't see that pass.

But there could be a path, and all we were asking for, show us the path.

When you look at that path ahead, uh, and we've heard many people talk about the continuing impact and influence that President Biden can have on the campaign moving forward.

Where do you see him being most useful?

Can you hear me OK?

I know it's really loud in this hall.

What do I think is most, where do you think President Biden can be most useful states in particular I think that what the launch that they announced last week of the prescription.

Drug prices coming down what's very important before that, the freeing of the prisoners from overseas, the issues that relate to foreign policy.

His friend, he is masterful in that regard, but also to talk about his own legacy.

In terms of where it's going to lead to.

Look at what he did, the rescue package.

The rescue package was remarkable.

Child tax credit, pensions for our union workers.

resources into city states and counties, etc.

Without one Republican vote.

The infrastructure 13 Republican votes.

But just fabulous across the board across our country, and if it was really an infrastructure bill that was a climate bill as well.

The chips and science bill, that's not only making us self-reliant on chips, but goes into the future in terms of science and STEM and all the rest of that.

The pack out for our veterans, the IRA to save the planet, reduce the cost of it.

The list goes on and on, but people don't know as much about it as they should, and much of it relates to their kitchen table, so I think he can be a voice with that, but it's all of that.

No.

votes for you because what you have done.

They want to know what you're doing next as we have discussed.

So it's what about What comes next and what comes next is a lot of our agenda that is um connected to this, but it's a care economy agenda, and he knows it very well.

This president has a vision.

He has values.

He has knowledge of the issues.

He has empathy in his heart.

He has strategic thinking about how this all would get done.

For what we did and also for what we will do.

So I don't think he'll be a great messenger on the values.

Caring economy as well as the foreign policy issues at the same time, your assessment that you thought you needed a better Democrats needed a better campaign.

What's your assessment then of this campaign and the Harris Wall's ability to win states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and even potentially Arizona and Nevada.

Because this is still a tight race.

as I say, I always say to every candidate, be yourself.

You go out there, be yourself, do your thing, and we'll help with.

The three M's on the ground mobilization to own the ground because all of the rest of us is a conversation unless you get out your vote.

Early Get out your book.

Message has to be.

Progressive and and um Bold but non menacing.

We need a unifying message for America.

You need a unifying message for America.

Mobilization message.

The money to get the job done, but that Has, especially in the last few weeks has just been flowing in at the small dollar level you have, you just have to do your campaign.

It's a campaign.

It's a battle term campaign.

You have to go out there and fight.

You have to work.

It's going to be close.

I today my speeches I was using the um Olympics as a metaphor, gold, silver, bronze, honored to be an Olympian within a second, or half a second.

So these are close races, and you have to go in to do everything because you have to have no wasted time, no underutilized resources and no regrets the day after the election that you could have done more, get out the boat or Messaging or whatever it takes.

So I think the candidates, especially for president of the house we gonna the president, they know.

She's been vice president.

She's been part of this great legacy of Biden Harris.

Now we have to check what's next on this matter.

Excuse me, sorry, on this matter of picking the right candidate when Vice President Kamala Harris was settling on who would be her running mate.

I was told by a number of people that Tim Walls was your pick.

Oh no, no, I love them all.

I said put the names in a hat, pick one out.

They're all great.

You can't make a mistake.

I ask what you saw in him that you might not see other people plenty in him.

That's why I thought.

could be in the hat.

He, he is fabulous.

I served 12 years with him in the Congress.

And when he ran the first time, it was 006.

This is when we were out to win the house and, and we did.

And so he had a terrible dis, there were those who thought perhaps we should move on, but he was so great.

He was so great.

He and his wife are such a great candidates.

So he turned a very red district blue.

Came there Bravely voted for the Affordable Care Act, despite the misrepresentations that Republicans were putting out there and went home and won again, came back to Congress, came a champion on veterans' issues when it became the top Democrat on the committee, the members loved him.

They respect him.

He's so fabulous.

They were organizing for them within minutes of his being named, Madam Speaker, we should also say that we have Judy Woodruff joining our conversation seated next to you.

I know you two have known each other for a very long time on your own career paths, of course, but I wonder if we can take politics out of this for just a moment and.

Take a moment to reflect on what we're seeing here.

Democrat or Republican, we once again as a country are on the cusp of putting a woman in the highest office in the land.

And I would love for each of you if you don't mind to reflect on that, on what it took to get here, you navigating your path in politics, Judy, you navigating yours, covering politics and and how we arrived here what this moment means.

I can hear him better than I can hear you, but I think, I think maybe Judy's seated next to you can help isn't Governor Pritzker wonderful and the great weather he arranged.

One question I actually would like to put to you is, is you had dealings with Kamala Harris, maybe as district attorney in San Francisco, Attorney General of California and then as a senator, what do you, what can you tell us about her leadership style?

Is there, and people are going to make a big deal or not about whether she's a woman, is that a factor here or not?

I don't think I'm not when I ran for Speaker, I said don't vote for me because I'm a woman, but don't vote against me because I'm a woman.

I want you to know that I can get this job done, and that's what I If I make transfer that.

This is not about electing a woman president.

This is about electing the best, strongest person and I know her very well.

I know her personally as a person of of deep faith, who cares about the community and demonstrated that all the time.

I know we officially as a person very strong in her knowledge.

And her eloquence in talking about it as well politically, she's very astute to win those races was not easy in California for district attorney, attorney General, then Senate, she had a race all the time, but you saw and then Vice President was, well, that's the president's election, but you saw how with grace and dignity she came out of that.

Announcement of the president with his support.

That's a big deal, but nonetheless clear the debt because there was still room for people to get in.

But she settled the matter early so she has her own style about listening, learning, and um respecting views and and you know all of this is about the temperament of the person, and she has a beautiful temperament to be president.

That is strong, respectful.

Values based visionary.

Uh, I, I'm, I'm very excited about it and I said to the women's groups all day I'm speaking to groups.

I said the most of those groups today.

I had a large number of women there.

I'm not here to ask you to elect the next woman President of the United States.

I'm asking you to vote for Kamala Harris for President of the United States because I think that she has what is leadership require vision, knowledge, judgment, strategic thinking, and a heart full of empathy for the people.

Joe Biden has a, she has that, that's what they had in common.

Yeah, she, uh, if we have time, she, you In your book about how early on when you came to Congress and you were interested in moving up in leadership.

Some of the guys said to you, well, it's not really your turn, and these guys, some of them were Democrats, in fact, all of them were Democrats.

So what kind of, is there, is there that kind of resistance that she's going to face anywhere in the party in the country right now because she's a woman, as you faced a few decades ago when I ran, they said, imagine this is in this century.

Who said she could run?

Light my fire, you poor baby.

You think I'm waiting around for you to get a run.

Anyway.

Here's how I see it.

Hillary Clinton was the best qualified person to run for president in a generation.

Better than her husband, better than Obama, and he admits that certainly better than George Bush.

I haven't asked him that, but nonetheless, the best qualified.

It didn't happen.

It was a heartbreak to us people, I don't think had the full grasp of what the opposition was, but nonetheless, And she wants We know what he is now, right?

We know what he is now.

But Hillary, although she didn't win the election, she won the campaign.

She took women all the way down the field.

I always thought there'd be a woman president long before there'd be a woman speaker because Who said she could run, but I ran anyway and won and and then when Hillary didn't win, I was very disappointed, but Hillary's election or that campaign, I think, has been a trailblazer for Kamala Harris.

separated by years, generation, all the rest, but nonetheless.

I don't think that there's sufficient there are those who are never vote for a woman, but we're not waiting for never to happen.

We we're doing this right now.

I think it's, I think it has, well, if we didn't think we could win with Kamala Harris.

Do you think we would put her up against Somebody that should never set foot in the White House again, even for I don't know what a cupcake.

I spoke with uh Gary Peters, who chairs the Senate Democratic campaign arm and he said he's confident that Democrats can pick up.

50 seats in the Senate, maybe even 51.

Do you care to issue a prediction of how you think Democrats are going to do in terms of the House races, yeah.

Oh yeah, I'm, I'm looking for a trifecta.

I'm looking to win the White House, Chuck to be the majority leader Takeem Jeffries to be the Speaker of the House.

It must happen that way.

And this think of January 6th, if I didn't have the gavel.

Hakim must have the gavel that day.

Kamala will be the vice president, but we fully intend to win the White House.

I was just in Michigan last week at the invitation of the governor.

Our candidate for Senate there is Way ahead, take nothing for granted.

We think we can pick up a seat there and hold what we have, uh, I, I made a prediction today to our hunt, that would be.

He said maybe you can win 5.

I said, I want 10.

He said, Is that your prediction?

I said, I want 10 at least.

We want 31 when we won and win.

Now remember, in the last election they said we were going to lose 30 or 40 seats.

What?

I, they didn't know what they were talking about.

We would, we know our, we're different from the president.

We're very discreet.

This isn't just a Reptilian.

Cold blooded.

These are the races we have to win.

Others are winning the whole country 10.

Where do you pick up 10 seats if, if I can ask?

Well, I think we can pick up a chunk in New York because we lost 5 last time, 5 in New York.

We've already picked up one there.

We can do something in California like this we're 40 Democrats, 12 Republicans.

I'd like to take them down to single digits.

And then we have seats all over them.

We have, we have fabulous what we call red to blue.

Candidates and they are um Courageous and brave and out there and again strategic.

Informed knowledgeable in there, so.

Oh, she's wonderful.

I former House member and that is, of course, New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, we're going to take our audience to be able to listen to what she has to say, but Speaker Emerta Nancy Pelosi, thank you so much for coming by.

Always a pleasure to have you here.

Thank you.

We are fired up to elect Kamala Harris president of the United States.

This election is about protecting our democracy and securing our freedoms, including the right to affordable quality health care.

Now this issue is personal to Vice President Harris.

whose mom passed away after a battle with colon cancer.

And it's personal to me at 2 years old, my sister was diagnosed with a tumor that was incurable and made her uninsurable by the time she was 3.

And it's personal to Americans across the country who know what it's like when someone they love gets sick.

Donald Trump and JD Vance want to dismantle our health care system repeal the Affordable Care Act and eliminate protections for preexisting conditions.

Either these guys don't get it or they just don't care.

You know who gets it?

Kamala Harris gets it and she cares.

As Attorney general she took on drug companies that jacked up prices and hospitals that overcharge patients and when Republicans tried to kill the Affordable Care Act.

She stood up in the Senate voting not just no but hell no.

And Kamala Harris hasn't just stopped Republicans from making our health care system worse.

She fights every day to make it.

And I know I spent 20 years working to get Medicare, the ability to negotiate lower drug prices as vice president Kamala Harris delivered it.

You know what Donald Trump delivered.

Junk plans, higher premiums, and abortion bans.

And if you don't think.

A second term would be worse.

Then I've got a box of Trump steaks to sell you.

We have not just a better choice.

America, we have the best choice.

Yes we do Kamala Harris will protect your right to care.

She'll cap drug costs.

She'll go after corporate price gougers and ensure every woman who needs it can access reproductive health care.

That's the president I want.

And that's the president, America needs and with your help, that's the next president of the United States.

President Kamala Harris.

I love you too.

Yeah.

So My mom like Kamala's mom got sick.

When my mom died in 2021, Kamala called me.

She had lost her mother to cancer in 2009.

Kamala helped me navigate my grief.

She said That heartbreak and loss are the price for having loved.

And having been loved.

How I wish.

Our mothers could be here.

To see this moment.

In the next 4 years.

America will invariably have moments of great sadness and pain in our country.

Some will be natural disasters.

Some will be man-made disasters.

We need a president who can not only be commander in chief but also consoler in chief we need a president with empathy capable of lifting us up when we are down.

We need a president who is capable of holding us in a.

Big great hug when we need it that is Kamala Harris.

Donald Trump Donald Trump It's only capable of holding two things a grudge and a golf club.

I remember when Cama was first running for district attorney and people were like, oh, I don't know if she's tough enough and I just had to laugh because I'm like, you don't know my sister.

Kamala had been a.

Hard and tough prosecutor in Alameda County prosecuting men who were pimping young girls and rapists commonwealth wanted to make sure that murderers and child abusers face meaningful accountability and consequences for those actions.

One of the cases that she had early in her career was where a man had scalped his girlfriend and she ended up getting a conviction, getting just for that woman.

She came to San Francisco to protect victims, and she was elected to be district attorney of San Francisco.

Kamla knew that we needed to be smart on crime and if hell no one else was gonna do it that she was gonna do it.

I'm gonna keep my promise to you to keep you safe.

I better talk with you about what I'm doing in terms of crime prevention.

Investing in people coming out of prisons is the smart thing to do for law enforcement.

Forget that it's just the right thing to do.

I was a young Kamala Harris.

She's only gotten more fierce.

I've never seen her back down from a fight, and when she fights she wins.

When Kamala became Attorney general, she wanted to protect people, but also to fundamentally pursue justice being smart on crime starts with being tough on violent crime.

a statewide perspective, I think we were concerned about the rise of gang violence in San Joaquin County.

We saw this tremendous change in our community and it hit us like a wave.

We saw an increase in human trafficking, narcotics, and guns.

Let it be clear to anyone who would menace this state with violence to those who prey on the weak and the vulnerable justice will be swift and certain in the state of California.

She was always hunting the kingpins, but we didn't have partnerships with DOJ or FBI or DEA or any of those law enforcement agencies now we all work collaboratively to help all the counties in California.

Because of her, we destabilized organized crime, disrupt these flows of guns, human beings, and narcotics.

We are here this afternoon to announce the shutting down of one of the biggest and most organized threats to the safety of the Central Valley.

I really think of her as fearless, as a fighter.

Kamala just perseveres and mommy would say it's too hard is never an excuse.

Making excuses is a failure to not only take responsibility but to take action.

If you have the will, the desire, the passion, the commitment.

There is no challenge that is insurmountable.

Please welcome the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maryland, Angela also Brooks.

Good evening America.

And he And Like me Thank you.

People like me.

Stories Like mine.

Don't usually make it to the United States Senate.

But they should.

I'm the proud Granddaughter Of a housekeeper.

Sarah Daisy.

Who raised her three children in a one bedroom apartment.

It was her dream to work in government.

To help people That meant taking a typing test.

But she didn't know how to type.

And she couldn't afford a typewriter.

So She put a white piece of paper.

On the refrigerator.

And drew a keyboard on it.

And every night she stood in front of that refrigerator and taught herself to type.

She took the test.

Passed it And got the job she dreamed of.

I And her legacy.

And tonight I am a candidate for United States Senate from the great state of Maryland.

Always been inspired by women like my grandmother.

Women who imagine a better future and then have the grit.

To make it a reality.

One of those women is a friend.

A mentor And a role model.

That woman is Kamala Harris.

Let me tell you.

About the Kamala I've known for 14 years.

I first heard about her in 2009.

When I was running for state's attorney in Prince George's County, Maryland.

To In Essence magazine about a district attorney in San Francisco using new ideas to keep her community safe.

Few had a better record prosecuting violent crime.

She put rapists, child molesters and murderers behind bars.

But what she knew was that violent crime accounts for about 30% of all crimes.

For the 70% that are nonviolent she created a first of its kind program called Back on Track.

After serving time and pleading guilty.

These low level of Fenders will get the job training.

GED health.

And apprenticeships they needed to find a job.

The result The recidivism rate plummeted.

Now after reading about this super bad district attorney.

Talk nonstop about her on the campaign trail.

Two days after I won the election, my phone rings.

It's Kamala Harris calling to congratulate me and ask how she could help.

She helped me bring.

Back on track to Maryland.

And wouldn't you know a crime went down.

And economic growth went up.

Back on track is now a national model.

Now Now Donald Trump says.

If Kamala Harris is elected tough guys will treat her like a play toy.

Do you know Who else thought that?

The drug cartels she busted.

The big oil company she may pay for polluting.

The big banks that she may pay $20 billion to homeowners they ripped off.

Getting justice for others.

Isn't a power trip for her.

It's a sacred calling.

And hear me Kamala Harris knows how to keep criminals off the streets.

And come November.

With your help She'll keep one out of the Oval Office.

It Donald Trump Rode down that ridiculous escalator.

We as a nation have felt trapped.

Every national decision has been made in reaction to this one man.

And his extremist maga movement.

We are still frozen.

By the fear That Donald Trump might once again come to power.

And it's not just our politics that have been trapped.

It's our imagination.

And then Kamala came along.

Kamala Has reminded us.

That we don't need to fear.

Anything Not the future.

And certainly not that man.

This is our Moment To leave Donald Trump where he belongs.

In America's past.

We stand with Kamala Harris because we.

As a country are not.

Going back.

Who sat at lunch counters and made sure that we all had the right to vote.

We are not.

Going back But the and grandmamas who marched to make sure that women could control our own bodies we.

are not Going For the parents who work from can't see in the morning until can't see at night, not so that they will have a better future, but so that their children will have a better life we are not.

Going When facing an obstacle.

My father has often said to me, Your faith Is stronger than your fears.

Tonight Our faith Is stronger than our fears.

Faith and the promise of America faith in the American idea in the American American values that we share, faith that we the people can choose a new leader, a better future for The people.

It's dark as our days and challenges have sometimes felt.

It's always darkest before the dawn.

We know that we can endure for at night because joy cometh in the morning.

Morning It's coming.

Morning is coming.

And that joy will be led.

Kamala Harris, thank you so much.

Please welcome Mesa Arizona Mayor John Giles.

Angela Albrooks, who's running for the Maryland Senate seat.

Let's head down to the floor where our La Baron Lopez is.

Laura, you with us?

Yes, I'm here with you, Jeff.

So one of the things we've been talking about up here is that all of the energy and enthusiasm in this room, the momentum that the Harris campaign has really across the country, it risks masking the fact that this is still a competitive race.

It's still a tight race.

I know you've been talking to Democratic operatives about that very thing.

What are they telling you?

Yeah, it is definitely a tight race.

I was just talking to Ken Martin.

He is the head of the Democratic State Party chairs coalition.

He's also the chair of the Minnesota State Democrats, and he was telling me that Democrats need to make sure that they don't do what they did in 2016, which was that when they left the convention in 2016 after nominating Hillary Clinton, he said they just started measuring the drapes for the Oval Office and that they can't do that this time around.

He also told me that he feels as though this the way the energy that he is feeling from Democrats and the electrification that he is feeling from Democrats and motivation across the board, he said that it's bigger than 2008 with Obama, but Jeff, if I could bring in, I do have a Delegate here with me from the swing state of Georgia.

If you could come in here with me and tell me what's your name again?

My name is Parker Short.

I'm the chairman of the Young Democrats of Georgia and a delegate from Georgia's 4th congressional district.

And could you just tell me, I mean, do you, how has the energy changed on the ground in Georgia?

Look, I've been involved in Georgia politics since I was 15.

My first job was as an intern for John Ossoff's congressional campaign, so I think I know Georgia politics even though I'm a young man.

I have seen a lot, and I will tell you the energy on the ground is absolutely incomparable Georgia Democrats are fired up.

And ready to go.

We know how much is at stake in abortion rights are on the ballot and we're ready to make the change, can you just tell me, I mean, do you feel as though was Georgia slipping away when President Biden was still at the top of the ticket because there was some concern from Democrats that they were going to potentially lose Georgia.

Do you think that now it's winnable.

Oh, I think it's more than winnable.

I'm ready to put in the work and we've got more than 20 field offices open across the state of Georgia for the Harris campaign, and I know the organizers, I know.

running this party and we're going to put the work in.

We're going to knock these doors, we're going to talk to these voters, and we're going to make it very clear that Georgia, as we did in 2020, saving democracy, supporting President Biden's agenda.

We want a better future for Georgia, and I know we're going to realize it on November 5th.

So as you heard there, Jeff, I mean they're pretty energized in Georgia as well as Democrats are trying to really make sure that they're expanding the pathway of 270 with Harris.

Laura, thank you to Parker for Joining you there we can let him go back and enjoy the festivity.

Sounds like he's losing his voice maybe from participating in some of the cheering out here say Parker is a is a viral star.

He became famous for a few days, uh, for, for dancing in the, in the stands of a Harris rally that was captured on PBS News stream.

Turned out he was the chair of the Young Democrats of Georgia.

I'm sorry, I'm gonna go ahead.

No, not at all.

In case he's familiar to many of you, uh, viewers back at home.

Laura, what else stands out to you from some of the speakers we've heard on the stage tonight there's been a range of voices there, of course, a progressive leader and Senator Bernie Sanders as well.

Have you been hearing from your Democratic sources about how many of those more progressive policies they feel like the Harris Walls ticket can take on or whether they need to run a more centrist moderate campaign to appeal to some of the independent voters they need as well.

Well, the thing that I've been hearing from the Democrats I've been talking to, whether it was Ken Martin of Minnesota or a state representative from Georgia, Sam Park, or as well as Tom Swazi, congressman from New York, who won a competitive district there.

They think that Harris essentially build upon what President Biden was able to do during his time in office that she should just expand more when it comes to elder care, when it comes to childcare.

And I think that we have Tammy Duckworth coming on the stage, so I'm going to toss it back to you, Jeff phenomenon.

She is indeed Senator Tammy Duckworth from Illinois now speaking.

Let's listen in.

You know You know I went to war to protect America's rights and freedoms.

So I take it personally when a 5 time draft dodging coward like Donald Trump tries to take.

way To take away my rights and freedoms in return.

Especially when it concerns my daughters.

My girls Gamer girl Abigail.

And queen of the monkey bars Miley.

Our everything to me.

But they would never have been born without access to reproductive care.

Because After 10 years of struggling with infertility.

I was only able to have them through the miracle of IVF.

But now Trump's anti-woman crusade has put other Americans right to have their own families at risk.

Because if they win.

Republicans will not stop at banning abortion.

They will come for IVF next.

They'll prosecute doctors.

They all shame and spy on women.

And if you think.

That's farfetched.

Just looked up what happened in Alabama last year.

So let me say to every would-be parent.

I see you.

I'm with you.

And together In November We'll send a message to old Cadet Bone spurs.

Stay Of our doctor's offices and where you are at it out of the Oval Office too.

Look My struggle with infertility was more painful than any wound I earned on the battlefield.

So how dare a convicted felon like Donald Trump treat women seeking health care like they're the ones breaking the law.

How dare JD Vance criticized childless women on cable news then.

Then vote against legislation that would have actually helped Americans to start families.

Dare the GOP endangered the dreams of countless veterans whose combat wounds prevent them from having kids without IVF.

Punishing our heroes for their willingness to serve.

It's simple.

Every American deserves the right to be called mommy or daddy without being treated like a criminal.

I'm Harris believes that.

So let's make some history and elect her in November.

God bless America.

They'll come to us.

Senator Tammy Duckworth.

of Illinois wrapping up her remarks there.

Course retired from the Army National Guard as a lieutenant colonel and has been a vocal advocate for the Harris Walls campaign and we're about to hear from what I would say easily billed as the headliners for the evening.

The second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, will be speaking shortly.

We'll bring you his remarks in just a moment, but we're still here with our panel.

Amy Walter, Judy Woodruff, David Brooks, and Jonathan Capehart.

Guys, this program is moving along, I'd say at a faster clip than last night's.

Fact check true, but we've heard from a range of voices.

David, just reflect for a moment on what we've been hearing so far, some of these messages, a mix of both Republicans and Democrats, speaking on behalf of the ticket tonight.

Well, I mean the goal tonight is to fill in the vision for the future, the vision for growth, and I've especially been paying attention to economic policy and there hasn't been much of it.

There's been a lot of abortion rights, but there was one video up there, well, it wasn't even a speech, it was a video of her domestic it was claimed to be the economic.

Policy part of the speech, but it had the prescription drugs, housing subsidies, child tax credit.

Those are good policies or bad policies, but they're not economic policies.

Conference board says the economy is going to slow to 0.6% growth in quarter 3 and flatline in Q4, which could mean a pretty sour economic environment for the incumbent party in the fall.

She better have an economic policy to talk about, and so far that's a gap.

She's got 2 more days obviously to do that and then a whole campaign, but There's got to be something about jobs, about growth, about inflation, about productivity, the normal economic issue.

What about that Jonathan?

Yeah, because President Biden is part of his social spending plan, spent trillions of dollars.

You can argue the merits of whether or not those policies were, were necessary, but it, it, where does Kamala Harris go after that?

How do you spend trillions more potentially without making inflation worse just as Democrats are trying to get a handle on it.

This is where I will agree with David up to a point.

We do need to know we need we do need the vice president to fill in these gaps to tell us what her economic policy is.

I don't think she, I mean, if she doesn't do it by Thursday.

I'm glad you said she has the campaign to do it.

There's a lot of gaps and policy holes that the vice president will have to fill so that the American people know where she wants to take the country beyond what we already know, but I'm not clear.

I'm not an economist.

Clearly I'm not as worried about her economic policy as David is.

I have a little more faith and trust in her and the people around her, but David is right, we need to know what it is.

Amy, to that point, we know the economy remains the number one issue for voters.

There's only so much they can control.

I should note we're going to keep an eye on the stage here and have to go to the Amha family when they come up, but what's your view on how people are feeling about that right now?

Yeah, I mean what we're seeing is voters aren't any more optimistic today about the economy, even though inflation continues to tick down, they're basing it on how prices looked.

4 years ago, more so than what it is now, and here we go, here we go indeed back to the stage now we believe Cole Mhoff, Kamala Harris's stepson is now top the stage.

Doug Emhoff You I guess he didn't want me to give this speech.

He just.

Thank you, thank you so much.

Hello.

Thank you Hello to my big, beautiful blended family up there.

So Aren't you proud of Cole?

Wow.

Special shout out to my mother.

I see you.

My mother is the only person in the whole world who thinks Kamala is the lucky one for marrying me.

Yeah And to Kamala who, well, we just saw where she is.

She's out on the trail listening to and talking with voters.

Jaime I can't wait for you to come back to Chicago because we're having a great time here.

I love you so much.

I'm so proud of how you're stepping up for all of us.

But that's who she is.

Wherever she's needed, however she's needed, Kamala rises to the occasion.

And she did it for me and our family.

And now that the country needs her, she's showing you what we already know.

She's ready to lead.

She brings both joy and toughness to this task, and she will be a great president.

We will all be proud of.

Now I'm the son of two Brooklynites.

Mike and Barb They've been together almost 70 years.

My dad worked in the shoe business in Manhattan.

And he moved our family out to New Jersey.

Where's New Jersey?

See you When I was a little kid.

And in a lot of ways.

I had a typical Jersey suburban childhood.

I biked around the neighborhood.

I took the bus to Hebrew school.

And I rode to Little League practice in the way back of my coaches wood paneled station wagon.

And if we did well, we got to have a slurpee after.

In my neighborhood, everyone left their garage door open.

Wherever you ended up at dinner time, that's the family that fed you.

Everyone took care of everyone else.

And the guys I grew up with are still my best friends.

The group chat is active every day and it's probably blowing up right now guys.

Well my dad had to get a new job, we moved across the country to LA.

Money was tight.

hey California.

My Money was tight, so I worked at McDonald's in high school for some extra cash.

Not only was I employee of the month.

But I still have the frame picture which you just saw.

And there was a ring, golden arches and all.

And then I waited tables, parked cars.

I was working full time so I could afford to go to college part-time.

And thanks to.

Thanks to partial scholarships, student loans, and a little help from my dad.

I got myself through law school and I got my first job as a lawyer.

Which is also where I met the guys in my fantasy football league.

And uh A lot has changed in our lives since the early 90s, but my team name is still Nirvana.

Um Yes, after the ban.

Uh, I worked hard and I love being a lawyer, and by the way, I still get to be part of the profession by teaching students at Georgetown Law School.

I got married.

Became a dad to Colin Ella.

Unfortunately, I went through a divorce.

But eventually started worrying about how I would make it all work.

And that's when something unexpected happened.

In 2013, I walked into a contentious client meeting.

We work through the issue and by the end of the meeting, the now happy client.

Offered to set me up on a blind date.

Which is how I ended up with Kamala Harris's phone number.

Now For generations.

People have debated when to call the person you're being set up with.

And never in history has anyone suggested 8:30 a.m. And yet That's when I dialed.

I got Kamala's voicemail and I just started.

Rambling Hey, it's Doug.

I'm on my way to an early meeting.

Again, it's Doug.

I remember I was trying to grab the words out of the air and just put them back in my mouth.

And for what seemed like far too many minutes I hung up.

By the way, Kamala saved that voicemail.

And she makes me listen to it on every anniversary.

But that message wasn't the only unusual thing about that day.

Now Kamala, who normally would have been working hard at her office, I just happened to be waiting at her apartment for a contractor to do some work on her kitchen.

I was eating at my desk, which was not a regular occurrence for a busy lawyer like me who appreciated a good business lunch.

But that's when she called me back.

And we talked for an hour and we laughed.

You know that laugh?

I love that laugh.

And Maybe.

That counted as our first date.

Or maybe it was that Saturday night when I picked her up and told her.

Buckle up, I'm a really bad driver.

Because you can't hide anything from Kamala Harris, so you might as well own it.

And 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 4 years and especially these past 4 weeks.

She finds joy in pursuing justice.

She stands up to bullies just like my parents taught me to.

And she likes to see people do well.

But hates when they're treated unfairly.

She believes this work requires a basic curiosity and just how people are doing.

Her empathy is her strength.

Over the past decade, Kama has connected me more deeply to my faith.

Even though it's not the same as hers.

She comes to synagogue with me for high holiday services and I go to church with her for Easter.

I get to enjoy her mom's chili relleno recipe every Christmas and she makes a mean brisket for Passover.

It brings me right back to my grandmother's apartment in Brooklyn, you know, the one with the plastic covered couches.

McCammala has fought against anti-Semitism and all forms of hate her whole career.

She is the one who encouraged me as second gentleman to take up that fight, which is so personal to me.

And those of you who belong to blended families know that they can be a little complicated.

But as soon as our kids started calling her Mamala.

I knew we'd be OK. Ella Ella calls us a three-headed parenting machine.

Kala and Kirsten.

Thank you both.

Thank you both.

We're always In your family and the kids first.

Now Colin Ellis's friends knew that when they come over for Sunday dinner with Mamala, it was gonna be real talk.

In between taking cooking instructions they'd have to answer questions about what problem they wanted to solve in the world.

They learned that you've always got to be prepared because Kama is going to prosecute the case.

And in the same breath that Colin Greenley told us that they were engaged.

They ask Kamala to officiate their wedding.

And in the same way that she always steps up when it matters.

Kamala puts so much time into those remarks.

And she bound them in a book.

That matched her dark red dress.

And then turn that into a gift for the happy couple.

A few days ago.

During this incredible time we're going through, there was a brief window when Kama was back at home.

And I saw her sitting on her favorite chair.

And in the middle of a wild month, I just hoped that she was having a quiet moment to herself.

But then I realized she was on the phone and of course my my mind went to all the potential crises that the vice president could be dealing with was it domestic?

Was it foreign?

Was it campaign.

I could see she was focused and all I knew was that it must be something important.

And it turns out it was.

Ella had called her.

That's Kamala.

That's Kamala.

Those kids are hard priorities, and that scene was a perfect map of her heart.

She's always been there for our children, and I know she'll always be there for yours too.

Hama is a joyful warrior.

It's doing for her country what she has always done for the people that she loves her passion will benefit all of us when she's our president.

And here's the thing about joyful warriors.

There's still warriors and Kamala is as tough as it comes.

Just ask the criminals, the global gangsters, and the witnesses before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

She never runs from a fight.

And she knows the best way to deal with a coward is to take him head on because we all know cowards are weak and Kamala Harris can smell weakness.

She doesn't tolerate any BS.

You've all seen that look and you know that look I'm talking about.

That look is not just a meme, it reflects our true belief in honest and direct leadership and it's also why she will not be distracted by nonsense.

Pamela knows that in order to win we cannot lose focus.

America In this election you have to decide who to trust with your family's future.

I trusted Kamala with our family's future.

It was the best decision I ever made.

This Thursday will be our 10th wedding anniversary.

Which I know, I know it means I'm about to hear that embarrassing voicemail again, however, That's not all I'll be hearing.

That same night I'll be hearing my wife Kamala Harris, except your nomination for President of the United.

S Your She will Joy Toughness with that laugh and that.

Look with compassion and conviction, she'll lead from the belief that wherever we come from, whatever we look like we're strongest when we fight for what we believe in, not just against what we fear.

Pamela Harris was exactly the right person for me at an important moment in my life.

And at this moment in our nation's history, she is exactly the right president.

Thank you so much.

Please welcome former First Lady Michelle Obama.

Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn't it?

And now we're feeling here in this arena, but it's spreading all across this country we love.

A familiar feeling that's been buried too deep for far too long.

You know what I'm talking about.

The contagious power of hope.

The anticipation.

The energy, the exhilaration of once again being on the cusp.

Of a brighter day.

The chance To vanquish the demons of fear, division and hate that have consumed us and continue pursuing the unfinished promise of this great nation.

The dream that our parents and grandparents fought and died and sacrificed for.

America Hope is making a comeback.

To be honest.

I am realizing that until recently, I have mourned the dimming of that hope.

And maybe you've experienced the same feelings?

Is that deep pit in my stomach.

A palpable sense of dread about the future.

And for me that morning has also been mixed with my own personal grief.

The last time I was here in my hometown was to memorialize my mother.

The woman who showed me the meaning of hard work and humility and decency.

The woman who set my moral compass high.

And showed me the power of my own voice.

Folks I still feel her loss so profoundly.

I wasn't even sure if I'd be steady enough to stand before you tonight.

But my heart compelled me to be here because of the sense of duty that I feel to honor her memory.

And and to remind us all.

Not to squander the sacrifices our elders made to give us a better future.

You see My mom In her steady, quiet way lived out that striving sense of hope, every single day of her life.

She believed that all children, all, all people have value.

That anyone can succeed if given the opportunity.

She and my father.

didn't aspire to be wealthy.

In fact, they were suspicious of folks who took more than they needed.

They understood.

That it wasn't enough for their kids to thrive if everyone else around us was drowning.

So my mother.

Volunteered at the local school.

She, she always looked out for the other kids on the block.

She was glad to do the thankless unglamorous work that for generations has strengthened the fabric of this nation.

The belief that if you do unto others if you love thy neighbor if you work and scrape and sacrifice, it will pay off if not for you, then maybe for your children or your grandchildren.

You see those.

Values.

have been passed on.

Through family farms and factory towns through tree-lined streets and crowded tenements through prayer groups and National Guard units and social studies classrooms.

Those were the values my mother poured into me until her very last breath.

Kamala Harris and I built our lives on the same foundational values.

Even though our mothers grew up in ocean apart.

They shared the same belief in the promise of this country.

That's why Her mother moved here from India at 19.

It's why she taught Kamala about justice, about the obligation to lift others up.

About our responsibility to give more than we take.

She'd often tell her daughter.

Don't sit around and complain about things, do something.

So With that voice.

In her head.

Kamela went out and she worked hard in school graduating from an HBCU.

State school.

And then she went on to work for the people fighting to hold lawbreakers accountable, strengthening the rule of law, fighting to get folks better wages, cheaper prescription drugs, a good education, decent health care, child care, elder care from a middle class household, Kamala worked her way up to become vice president of the United States of America.

is more Then ready for this moment.

She is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency.

And She is one of the most dignified.

A tribute to her mother, to my mother, and to your mother too.

The embodiment.

Of the stories we tell ourselves about this country, her story is your story.

It's my story.

It's the story of the vast majority of Americans trying to build a better life.

Look, Kamala knows like we do that regardless of where you come from, what you look like, who you love, how you worship, or what's in your bank account we all deserve the opportunity to build a decent life.

All of our contributions deserve to be accepted.

valued.

Because No one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American no one.

Has shown her allegiance to this nation, not by spewing anger and bitterness.

But by living a life of service and always pushing the doors of opportunity open to others.

She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward.

We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth.

If we the business If we bankrupt a business.

choke in a crisis we don't get a 2nd, 3rd or 4th chance.

Don't go our We We don't have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead, no.

Change the rules so we always win if we see a mountain in front of us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top.

Oh We get to work.

In America We do something.

Entire life.

That's What we've seen from Kamala Harris.

The steel of her spine.

The steadiness of her upbringing, the honesty of her example and yes, the joy of her laughter and her lights.

Yes Of the two major candidates in this race.

Only Kamala Harris truly understands the unseen labor and unwavering commitment that has always made America great.

Now unfortunately, We know what comes next.

We know folks are going to do everything they can to distort her truth.

My husband and I sadly know a little something about this.

For years Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us.

See his his limited narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardwork and highly educated, successful people who happen to be black.

Oh Oh To tell him Gonna tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those black jobs.

The same One Doubling down On ugly misogynistic, racist lives as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people's lives better.

Look, because cutting.

Health care Taking away our freedom to control our bodies, the freedom to become a mother through IVF like I did.

Those things are not going to improve the health outcomes of our wives, mothers and daughters.

Shutting down the Department of Education banning our books, none of that will prepare our kids for the future demonizing our children for being who they are and loving who they love.

Look that.

Doesn't make Everybody's life better In Instead It only makes us small.

And let me tell you this, going small is never the answer.

Going small is the opposite of what we teach our kids.

Going small is petty.

It's unhealthy and quite frankly it's unpresidential.

No Would any of us.

Except this from anyone seeking our highest office.

Why will we normalize that type of backward leadership.

Doing so only demeans and cheapens our politics.

It only serves to further discourage good big-hearted people from wanting to get involved at all.

America.

Parents taught us better than that.

We deserve so much better than that.

We must do everything in our power to elect two of those good big-hearted people.

There is no other choice than Kamala Harris and Tim Walsh, no other choice.

But As we Embrace this renewed sense of hope.

Let us not forget the despair we have felt.

Let us not forget what we are up against.

Yes, Kamala and Tim are doing great now.

We're loving it.

They're packing arenas across the country, folks are energized.

We are feeling good.

But Remember there are still so many people who are desperate for a different outcome.

Who are ready to question and criticize every move Kamala makes who are eager to spread those lies who don't want to vote for a woman who will continue to prioritize building their wealth over ensuring that everyone has enough.

So no matter how good we feel tonight or tomorrow or the next day.

This is going to be an uphill battle.

So folks.

We cannot be our own worst enemies.

No.

Because the minute Something goes wrong.

The minute a lie takes hold, folks, we cannot start wringing our hands.

We cannot get a Goldilocks complex about whether everything is just right.

We cannot Indulge Anxieties about whether this country will elect someone like Kamala instead of doing everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected.

And Tim They have lived amazing lives.

And I, I am confident that they will lead with compassion, inclusion, and grace, but.

They are still only human.

They are not perfect.

And like all of us, they will make mistakes.

But luckily y'all, this is not just on them.

No, uh uh, this is up to us, all of us to be the solution that we seek.

It's up to all of us to be the anecdote to the darkness and division.

Look, I don't care how You identify politically whether you're Democrat, Republican, Independent, or none of the above.

This is our time to stand up for what we know in our hearts is right.

To stand up Not just for our basic freedoms.

But for decency and humanity.

For basic respect, dignity, and empathy.

For the values at the very foundation of this democracy.

It's up to us to remember what Kamala's mother told her, Don't just sit around and complain, do something so if they lie about.

And they will, we've got to do something.

If we see a bad poll, and we will, we got to put down that phone and do something.

Start feeling tired if we start feeling that dread creeping back in.

We gotta pick ourselves up, throw water on our face, and what?

We only have 2.5 months, y'all.

To get this done.

Only 11 weeks to make sure every single person we know is registered and has a voting plan.

So We cannot afford.

For anyone, anyone, anyone America to sit on their hands and wait to be called.

Don't complain if no one from the campaign has specifically reached out to you to ask you for your support.

There is simply no time for that kind of foolishness.

No You need to do Oh Consider Yes To be Your official ask.

Michelle Obama is asking you, no, I'm telling y'all to do something.

Because This election It's gonna be close.

In some states just a handful, listen to me, a handful of votes in every precinct could decide the winner.

So we need to vote in numbers that have raised any doubt.

We need to overwhelm any effort to suppress us.

fate is in our hands in 77 days we have the power to turn our country away from the fear, division, and smallness of the past.

We have the power.

To marry our hope with our action.

We have the power.

To pay forward the love.

Sweat and sacrifice of our mothers and fathers and all those who came before us.

We did it before y'all.

And we sure can do it again.

Let us work like I've lived.

depend on it.

And moving For Go Yes, always higher than we've ever gone before as we elect the next president and vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris and Tim Walsh, thank you all.

God bless.

Before Go One more job tonight.

One more job You all, thank you for all the love.

But it is now my honor.

To introduce A whole lot about hope.

Someone who has.

spent his life strengthening our democracy and let me tell you as someone who lives with him.

He wakes up every day.

Every day.

And thinks about what's best for this country.

Please welcome America's 44th president and the love of my life.

Hello Chicago Thank you, thank you.

Thank them Thank you, thank you.

Chicago It's good to be Yeah Go and Ah I don't know about you, but.

I'm feeling fired up.

Ah I, I am feeling ready to go.

Even if Even if I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama.

I am feeling hopeful.

Because this convention has always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe.

In a country where anything is possible.

Because we have a chance to elect someone who has spent Her entire life trying to give people the same chances America gave her.

Someone who sees you.

And here's you And we'll get up every single day and fight for you.

The next president of the United States of America, Kamala Harris.

It's been 16 years since I had the honor of accepting this party's nomination for president.

And I know that's hard to believe because I have not aged a bit.

But it's true And, and looking back.

I can say without question.

That my first big decision as your nominee turned out to be one of my best.

And I was asking Joe Biden to serve by my side as vice president.

Oh other, other than some common Irish blood.

Joe and I Come from different backgrounds.

When we became brothers.

And as we work together for a Sometimes pretty tough years.

When I came to admire most about Joe wasn't just as smart, his experience.

It was his empathy.

And his decency.

And it's hard earned resilience.

His unshakable belief that everyone in this country deserves a fair shot.

And over the last 4 years, those are the values.

America has needed most.

At a time when millions of our fellow citizens were sick and dying.

We needed a leader with the character to put politics aside and do what was right.

At a time when our economy was reeling.

We needed a leader with the determination to drive what would become the world's strongest recovery, 15 million jobs, higher wages, lower health care costs.

At a time when the other party had turned into a cult of personality.

We needed a leader who was steady.

And brought people together.

And was selfless enough to do the rarest thing there is in politics.

Putting his own ambition aside for the sake of the country.

History We'll remember Joe Biden as an outstanding president.

Who defended democracy.

At a moment of great danger.

And I am proud to call him my president, but I am even prouder to call him my friend.

No The torch has been passed.

Now it is up to all of us.

To fight For the America we believe in.

And make no mistake, it will be a fight.

For all the incredible energy we've been able to generate over the last few weeks for all the rallies and the memes.

This will still be a tight race.

In a closely divided country.

A country where too many Americans are still struggling.

Where A lot of Americans don't believe government can help.

And as we gather here tonight, the people who will decide this election.

are asking a very simple question.

Who will fight for me?

Who's thinking about my future, about my children's future, about our future together.

One thing is for certain.

Donald Trump is not losing sleep over that question.

Here's a 78 year old billionaire.

Who has not stopped whining about his problems.

Since he wrote down his golden escalator 9 years ago.

It has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances.

That that's actually been getting worse now that he's afraid of losing the common.

There's the childish nicknames.

The crazy conspiracy theories.

This weird obsession with crowd sizes.

It just goes and on and on.

The other day I heard someone compare Trump.

To the neighbor who keeps running his leaf blower outside your window every minute of every day.

Now From a neighbor That's exhausting.

From a president It's just dangerous.

The, the, the truth is Donald Trump seized power as nothing more than it means to his ends.

He wants the middle class to pay the price for another huge tax cut that would mostly help him.

And his rich friends.

He killed a bipartisan immigration deal.

Written in part by one of the most conservative Republicans in Congress.

That would have helped secure our southern border because He thought Trying to actually solve the problem.

Would hurt his campaign.

He doesn't Do not vote Boat He doesn't seem to care if more Women lose their reproductive freedom since it won't affect his life.

And most of all, Donald Trump wants us to think that this country is hopelessly divided.

Between us and them.

Between The real Americans, who of course support him.

And the outsiders who don't.

And he wants you to think that you'll be richer and safer.

If you will just give him the power to put those other people back in their place.

It is one of the oldest tricks in politics.

From a guy whose act has, let's face it, gotten pretty stale.

We do not need 4 more years.

A bluster And bumbling and chaos we have seen that movie before and we all know that the sequel is usually worse.

America's ready for a new chapter.

America's ready for a better story.

We are ready for a president, Kamala Harris.

And Kamala Harris is ready for the job.

This is a person who has spent her life.

Fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a champion.

As you heard from Michelle, Kamelo was not born into privilege.

She had to work for what she's got.

And she actually cares about.

What other people are going through.

She's not the neighbor running the leaf blower.

She's the neighbor rushing over to help when you need a hand.

As a prosecutor.

Kamala stood up for children who had been victims of sexual abuse.

As an attorney general of the most populous state in the country.

She fought big banks.

And for-profit colleges.

Securing billions of dollars.

For the people they had scammed.

After the home mortgage crisis, she pushed me and my administration hard.

To make sure homeowners got a fair settlement.

Didn't matter that I was a Democrat.

It didn't matter that you had knocked on doors for my campaign in Iowa she was going to fight to get as much relief as possible for the families who deserved it.

As vice president.

She helped take on the drug companies to cap the cost of insulin.

Lower the cost of health care.

Get families with kids a tax cut.

And she is running for president with real plans to lower costs even more and protect Medicare and Medicaid and sign a law to guarantee every woman's right to make her own health care decisions.

In other words, Kamala Harris Won't be focused on her problems.

She'll be focused on yours.

As President, she won't just cater.

To her own supporters and Punish those who refuse to kiss the ring or bend the knee.

She'll work on behalf of every American.

That's who Kamala is.

And in the White House she will have an outstanding partner.

And governor Tim Wals.

Let, let, let me Tell you something Let me, let, let, let, let, let me tell you something.

I love this guy.

Tim is the kind of person who should be in politics.

Born in a small town.

served his country taught kids, coached football.

took care of his neighbors.

He knows who he is.

And he knows what's important.

You can tell those those flannel shirts he wears don't come from some political consultant.

They come from his closet.

And they have been Through some stuff.

I Through some stuff Right Together Kamala and Tim.

have kept faith with America's central story.

A story that says we are all created equal.

All of us endowed with certain inalienable rights that everyone deserves a chance that Even when we don't agree with each other.

We can find a way To live with each other.

That's Kamala's vision.

That's Tim's vision.

That's the Democratic Party's vision.

And our job over the next 11 weeks is to convince as many people as possible.

To vote for that vision.

Now it won't be easy.

The other side knows.

It's easier to play on people's fears and cynicism, always has been.

They will tell you that.

Government is inherently corrupt that that sacrifice and generosity are for suckers.

And Since the game is rigged, it's OK to take what you want and just look after your own.

That's the easy path.

We have a different task.

Our job is to convince people that democracy can actually deliver.

And, and in doing that we can't just point to what we've already accomplished.

We can't just rely on the ideas of the past.

We need to chart.

A new way forward To meet the challenges of today.

And Kamala understands this.

She knows, for example, that if we want to make it easier for more young people to buy a home.

We need to build more units and clear away some of the outdated laws and regulations that made it harder to build homes for working people in this country.

That is a priority, and she's put out a bold new plan to do just that.

On health care, we should all be Proud of the enormous progress.

That we've made through the Affordable Care Act.

Providing millions of people access to affordable coverage protecting millions more from unscrupulous insurance practices.

And I noticed, by the way, that since it's become popular, they don't call it Obamacare no more.

But Kamala knows we can't stop there.

Which is why I shall keep working to limit out of pocket costs.

Kala knows that if we want to help people get ahead.

We need to put a college degree within reach of more Americans.

But, but she also knows.

College shouldn't be the only ticket to the middle class.

We need to follow the lead of governors like Tim Walls who said if you've got the skills and the drive.

You shouldn't need a degree to work for state government.

And in this new economy, We need a president who actually cares about the millions of people all across this country who wake up every single day to do the essential often thankless work.

To care for our sick, to clean our streets, to deliver our packages.

We need a president who will stand up for their right.

To bargain for better and working conditions.

Pamela President Yes, she can Yes you can Harris Wals administration.

Can help us move past some of the tired old debates.

That keeps stifling progress.

Because of their core.

Kamala and Tim understand that when everybody gets a fair shot.

We are all better off.

They understand that when every child gets a good education, the whole economy gets stronger.

When women are paid the same as men for doing the same job all families benefit.

They understand that we can secure our borders without tearing kids away from their parents.

Just like we can keep our streets safe while also building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve and eliminating bias that will make it better for everybody.

Donald Trump and his well-heeled donors, they don't see the world that way.

For them, One group's gains.

is necessarily another group's loss.

For them Freedom means that the powerful can do pretty much what they please.

Whether it's fireworkers trying to organize a union or Poison in our rivers or avoid paying taxes like everybody else has to do.

Well, we have a broader idea of freedom.

We believe in the freedom to provide for your family if you're willing to work hard.

The freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water and send your kids to school without worrying if they'll come home.

We believe that true freedom Gives each of us the right to make decisions about our own life.

How we worship what our family looks like, how many kids we have, who we married.

And we believe that freedom requires us.

To recognize that other people have the freedom to make choices that are different than ours.

That's OK. That's the America Kamala Harrison Tim Walls believe in.

An America where we, the people Includes everyone.

Because that's the only way this American experiment works.

And despite what our politics might suggest, I think most Americans understand that.

Democracy isn't just a bunch of abstract principles and and and dusty laws and and some books somewhere.

It's the values we live by.

It's the way we treat each other.

Including those who don't look like us.

Or pray like us or see the world exactly like we do.

That That sense of mutual respect.

Has to be part of our message.

Our politics have become so polarized these days that all of us across the political spectrum.

Seem so quick to assume the worst in others unless they agree with us on every single issue.

We start thinking that the only way to win is to scold and shame and out yell the other side.

And after a while, regular folks just tune out.

Or they don't bother to vote.

Now that approach may work.

For the politicians who just want attention.

And thrive on division.

But it won't work for us.

To make progress on the things we care about.

The things that really affect people's lives.

We We need to remember that we've all got our blind spots and contradictions and prejudices.

And that if we want to win over those who Aren't yet ready to support our candidates.

We need to listen to their concerns.

And maybe learn something in the process.

Uh After all, If a parent or grandparent occasionally says something that makes us cringe.

We, we don't automatically assume they're bad people.

We recognize that the world is moving fast.

That they need time and maybe a little encouragement to catch up.

Our fellow citizens deserve the same grace we hope they'll extend to us.

That's how we can build a true democratic majority.

One that can get things done.

And by the way That does not just matter to the people in this country.

The rest of the world is watching to see if we can actually pull this off.

No nation.

No society has ever tried to build a democracy as big.

And as diverse as ours before.

One that includes people that Over decades.

They come from every corner of the globe.

One where our allegiances and our community are defined not by race or blood.

But by a common creed.

And that's why when we uphold our values, the world's a little brighter.

When we don't, The world's a little dimmer.

And dictators and autocrats feel emboldened.

And over time we become less safe.

We shouldn't be the world's policemen.

And we can't eradicate every cruelty and injustice in the world.

But America can be and must be a force for good.

Discouraging conflict.

Fighting disease, promoting human rights.

Protecting the planet from climate change, defending freedom.

Brokering peace.

That's what Kamala Harris believes, and so do most Americans.

Yeah I I I, I, I, I know these ideas.

can feel pretty naive right now.

We live in a time of such.

With a culture that puts a premium.

On things that don't last.

Money, fame, status.

Likes We chased the approval of strangers on our phones.

We build all manner of walls and fences around ourselves, and then we wonder why we feel so alone.

We don't trust each other as much because we don't take the time to know each other.

And in that space between us.

Politicians and algorithms teach us to caricature each other.

And troll each other.

And fear each other.

But here's the good news, Chicago.

All across America.

In big cities and small towns.

Away from all the noise.

The ties that bind us together are still there.

We still coach Little League and look out for our elderly neighbors.

We still feed the hungry in churches and mosques and synagogues and temples.

We share the same pride when our Olympic athletes compete for the gold.

Because Because the vast majority of us do not want to live in a country that's bitter and divided.

We want something better.

We want to be better.

And the joy And the excitement that we're seeing around this campaign tells us we're not alone.

You know, I've spent A lot of time thinking about this these past few months because As Michelle mentioned, this summer we lost her mom.

Ms. Marian Robinson.

And I don't know that anybody.

has ever loved.

The mother-in-law.

Any more than I love mine.

Mostly it's because she was funny.

And wise.

And the least pretentious person I knew.

That and she always defended me with Michelle when I messed up.

I'd hide behind her.

But I also think one of the reasons Mary and I became so close was she reminded me of my grandmother.

The woman who helped raise me as a child.

And on the surface, the two of them did not have a lot in common.

One was a black woman.

From right here, south side of Chicago, right down the way.

Went to Englewood High School.

The other was a little old white lady born in a tiny town called Peroo, Kansas.

I know there aren't that many people from Peru.

And yet they shared.

A basic outlook on life.

There were strong, smart, resourceful women.

Full of common sense.

Who regardless of The barriers they encountered and Women growing up in the 40s and 50s and 6, they, they encountered various.

They still went about their business without fuss or complaint.

And provided an unshakable foundation of love for their children and their grandchildren.

In that sense, they both represented An entire generation.

of working people who through war and depression, Discrimination and limited opportunity helped build this country.

A lot of them toiled every day at jobs.

that were often too small for them.

And didn't pay a lot They willingly went without.

Just to Keep a roof over the family's heads just to give their children something better.

But they knew what was true.

They knew what mattered.

Things like honesty and integrity.

Kindness and hard work.

They were They weren't impressed with Braggart's or bullies.

They they didn't think putting other people down, lifted you up or made you strong.

They didn't Spend a lot of time obsessing about what they didn't have.

Instead They appreciated what they did.

They, they, they, they, they found pleasure in simple things.

A card game with friends.

A good meal And laughter around the kitchen table.

Helping others.

And most of all, seeing their children.

Do things and go places that they would have never imagined for themselves.

Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican or Somewhere in between.

We have all had people like that in our lives.

People like Kamala's parents who crossed oceans because they believed in the promise of America.

People like Tim's parents who taught Him about the importance of service.

Good, hardworking people.

who weren't famous or powerful.

But who managed in countless ways.

To lead this country.

Just a little bit better than they found it.

As much As any policy or program.

I believe that's what we yearn for.

A return to an America where we work together.

And look out for each other.

A restoration.

Of what Lincoln called on the eve of civil war.

are bonds of affection.

An America of the taps what he called The better angels of our nature.

That is what this election is about.

And I believe that's why if we each do our part over the next 77 days.

If we knock on doors, if we make phone calls, if we talk to our friends.

If we listen to our neighbors.

If we work like we've never worked before.

If we Hold firm to our convictions.

We will elect Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States.

T President of the United States.

Leads up Who will fight For the hopeful.

Forward looking America we all believe in and together we too will build a country that is more secure and more just.

More equal And more free So let's get to work.

God bless you.

God bless the United States of America.

Michelle and Barack Obama returning to center stage here in Chicago, the city where they launched their history making political ascent some 30 years ago.

Michelle Obama speaking first with a rousing.

Unvarnished takedown of Donald Trump, which electrified this crowd, Barack Obama with a full-throated endorsement of Kamala Harris, the former president saying America is ready for a new chapter.

America is ready for a better story.

Let's bring in our panel here.

Judy Woodruff, Amy Walter, Jonathan Capehart, David Brooks.

David, we'll start with you.

Reflecting on you've heard this evening.

Yeah, I thought the half hour 45 minutes between Doug Amhoff and Michelle Obama was one of the most gripping 45 minutes of convention rhetoric that I've ever encountered.

I thought Doug Eamhof was funny.

He was just a tremendous advertisement for his wife.

So as a personality witness, I thought he was just sensational.

Uh, Michelle Obama, touch of magic.

It's rare that you get a speech that is so filled with moral uplift that politics is politics, it's fine, but I think she took us beneath politics to talk about what really matters, that story of the generations and not just uh you know, a nice person hoping your kid does well, but sitting at the kitchen table doing all the sacrificial work that goes in the Jews have a concept of the door the door from generation to generation, and that was just a moral theme she tied through it.

And as I say, it wasn't explicitly political, but under a style of politics that at its best the Democratic Party represents, so I thought those two speeches were just sensational.

Jonathan, what stood out to you?

Can I go last Amy.

You know, you were the one, Jeff, who said, I hope we don't mangle the passing the torch theme.

So I'll do it for you.

I'm gonna mangle it, but it was a throwback, especially President Obama's, he talked about hope and change.

He he's used his don't boo vote, you know, for anybody who followed the 2008, 2012 campaigns.

This was Obama basically saying I'm giving over to the next generation we can pass that on, but both of them were saying is don't take what we're feeling right now.

To be everything.

This is fun right now.

It's going to get really hard.

This was both of their speeches were directed at the party faithful.

Um, I thought Michelle Obama giving a speech about Donald Trump.

That the folks in this hall and Democrats who are watching have wanted to hear someone like Michelle Obama give for a long time, so she gave them that, but also gave them this marching orders.

This isn't now about everything Democrats did in 2016 and 2020.

Trump so bad.

Oh, we're not going to win.

Oh, how are we going to make it?

It's you got to get out there and you got to do the work and.

President Obama also saying you can win if you don't.

Also take for granted the people that may not be with us right now.

Judy, what stood out to you from what you just heard so much, uh, so much a reminder of Barack Obama's amazing uh oratorical skills just holding this room in the palm of his hand, but so did his wife.

So did Michelle Obama between the two of them, I don't think we've heard a more effective takedown of Donald Trump, the billionaire, bully who only cares about himself.

Her line about um he did all in his power to make people fear.

I wrote this.

Down to highly educated successful.

People who happened to be black, he said, she said, who's going to tell him that he's the job he's seeking is a black job, of course, a play on what President Trump has said, I thought what Amy, I agree with Amy, you from both of them this urgent plea just because this has been an uplifting week.

You've got a lot of work to do, 78 days, 77 days, whatever it is, go out there and work and the other thing that struck me.

Coming from President Obama.

Is his as someone who's been covering going around the country covering our division how focused he is on how divided we are, how that's hurting us as a country.

It's hurting us as Americans, and he painted it and he portrayed it as something that for Democrats it's something they need to work on that can that can not only bring the country together, it can bring people back to the values that really that really matter.

Jonathan Capehart, final word, friend.

Um, so I agree with everything that everyone said.

Um, the political analysis, um, I can't find fault with with anything.

I agree 100%.

I'm going to speak personally.

Um, As an American.

And as a black person.

Michelle Obama's speech and I'm trying not to look at Amna because I'm I have my handkerchief that Omni gave me for the holidays, um.

Yesterday I said in politics people want to be seen.

They, they want to be seen.

In the way that politicians talk to them and talk about them.

And when I pulled out my I the hanky.

It was when Michelle Obama said that Kamala Harris, you know, we never have the grace of failing forward.

We never have the benefit of generational wealth.

Um, if things don't go our way, we, we don't get to complain.

That's how Michelle Obama lived her life, lives her life.

That's how Barack Obama lives her life.

That's how I live my life.

And to hear that coming from the former First Lady.

It's just too.

And I'm sorry.

But I feel seen.

And I think people in this hall feel scene.

And I'm certain millions of Americans feel seen.

I needed it there.

Jonathan Capehart, don't apologize.

Can't think of a better note to end this conversation on.

A lot to reflect on.

We will have much more coverage and conversations in the hours ahead.

For now, just a big thank you to everyone here, Judy Woodruff, Amy Walter, David Brooks, Jonathan Capehart, of course, my friend Jeff Bennett, that concludes our broadcast coverage of the 2nd night of the Democratic National Convention.

If you're watching on YouTube, don't go anywhere.

Our coverage continues with Laura Barone Lopez and Ardema Zain reviewing the.

Highlights of the night and we'll have full analysis of the convention and the day's other news on tomorrow's PBS Newshour, and we'll be right back here tomorrow night for the 3rd day of the convention when Tim Walls will speak and formally accept the vice presidential nomination.

I'm Jeff Bennett and I'm Ana Navaz for all of us here at PBS News.

Thank you so much for joining us.

This program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you.

Thank you.