The Democratic Convention is now in the history books and the Biden-History ticket is officially set. Here are the highlights of the DNC 2020 Closing Night.
Politics
Hosted by actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, DNC 2020 Closing Night began with a “This Time Next Year” video featuring lawmakers and regular people expressing their wish for America in 2021. The Chicks sang a beautifully arranged acapella rendition of the National Anthem and then, the fun began.
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Unlike the other hosts before her, Louis-Dreyfus brought a touch of comedy and a boatload of Trump-zingers to her duties.
“Joe Biden goes to church so regularly that he doesn’t even need teargas and a bunch of federalized troops to help him get there,” she quipped. “When Trump spoke of American carnage, I assumed it was something he was against and not a campaign promise, “ she added.
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THE SPEAKERS:
The speakers for DNC 2020 Closing Night included Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, Sen. Cory Booker, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Sen. Chris Coons, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico, Secretaries of State Alex Padilla of California and Jocelyn Benson of Michigan, former surgeon general Dr. Vivek Murthy, presidential historian Jon Meacham, and Mike Bloomberg.
“Donald Trump doesn’t deserve to call himself commander in chief for another 4 minutes, let alone another 4 years.” – Sen. Tammy Duckworth
In a show of unity, the 2020 Primary challengers to Biden and Harris came together for a Zoom-like discussion of the new Democratic ticket.
NBA superstar Steph Curry and his wife and daughters also appeared via video in support of Biden-Harris.
A rousing musical selection from John Legend featuring Common entitled “Glory” almost certainly had Democrats on their feet while watching from home.
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THE VIDEOS
Several video presentations were interspersed throughout the evening, including a tribute honoring civil rights icon John Lewis, a video in support of military families, and a video featuring 95-yr-old World War II vet Edward Good who is a member of the NRA and lifelong Republican who boldly proclaimed he’s voting for Biden.
“Trump is the worst president we’ve ever had,” he said.
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THE HIGHLIGHT
By far THE highlight of the evening was a speech from 13-year-old Brayden Harrington. Like Biden, Brayden stutters and has been frequently made fun of by his peers. When Joe Biden met Brayden on the campaign trail he took him under his wing, gave the teen his personal cell phone number to use anytime he needed to talk, and provided him with encouragement to speak on national television in support of Joe Biden for president.
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JOE BIDEN
In preparation for the main event of DNC 2020 Closing Night, the Biden grandchildren spoke lovingly of their “Pop” in a family video. Then Ashley and Hunter Biden introduced their dad for what has since been widely hailed as the best speech of his lifetime.
Joe Biden accepted the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, then veered into a biting indictment of Donald Trump. He warned Americans that 4 more years of Trump could mean hundreds of thousands of more lives lost due to COVID-19. He carved out a distinction between the hate and division Trump will continue if given a 2nd term versus the unity and empathy he will immediately reintroduce to America.
Biden discussed his policies for America, including protecting health care for all, improving social security and medicare, boosting the economy, measures to preserve the environment, tackling racism, and implementing measures on DAY ONE to fight COVID-19.
Here are some of the most memorable lines of his speech:
“In America, everything is possible. The choice could not be more clear.”
“Love is more powerful than hate, hope is more powerful than fear, and light is more powerful than dark.”
“I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not the darkness… This is not a partisan moment, this must be an American moment.”
At the end of his speech, Jill Biden as well as Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff joined him on stage for a picture of unity. From there, the new Biden-Harris ticket headed outside to a tailgate party in the parking lot in Wilmington, Delaware, where dozens of cars and socially-distanced supporters honked their horns and waved in support as fireworks burst into the night sky.
Despite the historic virtual nature of the convention due to the pandemic, the Democrats pulled off a successful gathering. Now, the Republicans are up next with their convention, which will begin on Monday.
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Thanks for this wrap-up DJ. As I expressed yesterday, I do think the Dems did a fine job with their virtual convention.
I am curious about the ratings. I know that most Americans love to be Entertained (more than being informed) so I’m not expecting the ratings to be that high. But I am hopeful that after nearly 4 rs of having to deal with with ALL the chaos and madness of the Trump presidency – to say nothing of the loss of jobs, and needless suffering and loss of life related to Covid-19 – more and more Americans are finally waking-up and realizing just how important it is to be informed about anyone who runs for office, especially the Presidency!