Several Republicans will speak at the convention tonight

4 years ago 301

21 min ago

These Republicans will be speaking tonight

From CNN's Eric Bradner and Gregory Krieg

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich participates in a discussion with former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper as part of the Brookings Institution's Middle Class Initiative October 10, 2018 in Washington. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The most out-of-place figure on the first night of the DNC will be John Kasich, the Republican former governor of Ohio.

Kasich was a candidate for the GOP nomination in 2016, and has turned into a prominent voice of the party's "Never Trump" movement. And while his selection for a speaking slot at the convention angered progressives, handing the spotlight to such a well-known Republican could help Biden's campaign strike chords of unity.

Kasich won't be alone among the Democrats.

Former New Jersey Republican Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, former Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman, who ran for governor as a Republican in California in 2010 but backed Hillary Clinton in 2016, and former New York Republican Rep. Susan Molinari will speak in the run-up to Kasich's address.

There is a history of political parties inviting a former political rival into their convention lineup. In 2008, then-Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman — just eight years after being the Democratic vice presidential nominee — spoke at the Republican National Convention in favor of then-Arizona Sen. John McCain. In 2012, Charlie Crist, who had previously served as the Republican governor of Florida (and is now a Democratic congressman), backed former President Barack Obama's re-election at that year's DNC.

What we know: Kasich's message is likely to be oriented toward the need for a functioning government. As a 2016 presidential contender, he often touted his role as a one-time House budget chairman who negotiated spending plans with a surplus with former President Bill Clinton.

44 min ago

These are the musical guests expected to perform during the DNC

From CNN's Sarah Mucha

Billie Eilish performs onstage during the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on January 26. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The Democratic National Convention Committee announced several artists that will perform during the convention, including Leon Bridges, The Chicks, Common, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Hudson, John Legend, Billy Porter, Maggie Rogers, Prince Royce, and Stephen Stills.

According to a news release, the performances will range from renditions of the national anthem, to American classics, to new songs.

Additionally, 57 youth choir members representing each of the 57 states and territories will perform the National Anthem Monday evening.

"It will truly be a convention across America, and these incredible artists will help us tell the story of where we are as a country today under Donald Trump’s failed leadership, and the promise of what we can and should be with Joe Biden as president,” Stephanie Cutter, 2020 Democratic National Convention program executive, said in the statement. “These artists are committed to engaging with, registering and mobilizing voters to get us over the finish line in November.”

52 min ago

Biden and Harris will formally accept their Democratic nominations later this week

From CNN's Kate Sullivan, Jessica Dean and Dan Merica

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris arrive to deliver remarks at Alexis Dupont High School on August 12 in Wilmington, Delaware. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic party's presumptive nominee, is set to accept the party's nomination and deliver his acceptance speech this Thursday during the Democratic National Convention held in a virtual setting. His running mate Kamala Harris will do the same a night earlier.

“I'm gonna be accepting the nomination, God willing, the end of the week, of the Democratic Party, and I'm proud to be a Democrat my whole life,” Biden said today during a virtual fundraiser with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “But when I win—if we win—we're going to be in a position where I'm going to represent everyone, even those people didn't vote for me."

“You got to unite this country. The only way it's going to work, I think we can do it,” he continued.

A scaled-back event: The convention was originally going to take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but due to the pandemic and safety concerns, Biden and keynote speakers will not be traveling to the city and speeches will be streamed from multiple locations on video. Biden and Harris will deliver their convention speeches from the Chase Center in Biden's hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, spokesperson Michael Gwin confirmed to CNN.

The convention will feature just two hours of prime time programming on each of the four nights. The decision to limit the programming, which will be streamed online and aired by TV networks, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET each night is one of the starkest signs yet of how unconventional this year's gathering will be in the age of coronavirus compared to previous conventions, typically filled with various events and speakers for many hours each day.

The Democratic National Convention has announced "Uniting America" as the theme for its four-night convention that will seek to argue why Democrats believe Biden is the candidate to lead the US out of a global crisis, contrasting his leadership style with that of President Trump.

1 hr 13 min ago

Cory Booker says DNC will be different but more intimate

From CNN's Chris Boyette

Sen. Cory Booker speaks as Sen. Kamala Harris looks from behind him during a Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill on June 16 in Washington. Jonathan Ernst/Pool/Getty Images

Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said Monday that he’s excited about the Democratic National Convention this week, acknowledging that the all-virtual format will not look quite the same as years past but will be no less important.

“I know this is going to be different. But i think it's actually going to be a little more intimate,” Booker told CNN’s John Berman on new day.

"I think people are going to really enjoy it. It's going to be tight and really informative that we're going to make our case very plainly, not simply what we're against — we know the catastrophic leadership of this President, especially in this time of pandemic, economic decline — but, really, here are two candidates that are going to talk about what we're for, not just the policies, but what i think is one of the most important calls that we have as a society right now, which is for revival of civic grace, for us bringing decency and kindness and honor back, not just to the oval office but inspiring it throughout our nation.”

Booker said he was very happy when it was announced that Joe Biden had chosen Kamala Harris as his running mate.

“I was so happy, not just because I love her dearly, but because I knew what this would mean for America, for generations yet unborn that will look to her and now in the pantheon of great Black women, great women, great Americans of history,” Booker said. “You haven't seen anything yet. when America gets to know her better, they are going to continuously be inspired by the kind of heart, grit, guts and love that she has and has for this nation.”

1 hr 11 min ago

Read a portion of what Republican John Kasich will say tonight during the DNC

In this Dec. 4, 2018, then Ohio Gov. John Kasich speaks at The City Club of Cleveland, in Cleveland. Tony Dejak/AP

John Kasich, the Republican former governor of Ohio, will be delivering remarks tonight at the Democratic National Convention.

According to excerpts released by organizers, Kasich will use his speech to support presumptive presidential nominee Joe Biden and say his attachment to the Republican party "holds second place to my responsibility to my country."

"That’s why I’ve chosen to appear at this convention. In normal times, something like this would probably never happen, but these are not normal times," Kasich will say, according to the excerpt.

Kasich was a candidate for the GOP nomination in 2016, and has turned into a prominent voice of the party's "Never Trump" movement.

And while his selection for a speaking slot at the convention angered progressives, handing the spotlight to such a well-known Republican could help Biden's campaign strike chords of unity.

Read excerpts of his speech here:

“I’m a lifelong Republican, but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country. That’s why I’ve chosen to appear at this convention. In normal times, something like this would probably never happen, but these are not normal times.”“Yes, there are areas where Joe and I absolutely disagree. But that’s OK because that’s America. Because whatever our differences, we respect one another as human beings, each of us searching for justice and for purpose.”“We can all see what’s going on in our country today and all the questions that are facing us, and no one person or party has all the answers. But what we do know is that we can do better than what we’ve been seeing today, for sure. And I know that Joe Biden, with his experience and his wisdom and his decency, can bring us together to help us find that better way.”

1 hr 20 min ago

Sanders will deliver message of urgency: "The price of failure is just too great to imagine"

Then Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders delivers a campaign update at the Hotel Vermont on March 11 in Burlington, Vermont. Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Sen. Bernie Sanders is set to be one of the major speakers tonight as the Democratic Convention begins virtually.

In excerpts released by organizers, the former presidential candidate will call the 2020 election the "most important in the modern history of this country" and call on the country to unite to "defeat Donald Trump."

Read more of the excerpts here:

"This election is the most important in the modern history of this country. In response to the unprecedented set of crises we face, we need an unprecedented response - a movement, like never before, of people who are prepared to stand up and fight for democracy and decency—and against greed, oligarchy and authoritarianism.""My friends, I say to you, and to everyone who supported other candidates in this primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election. The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake. We must come together, defeat Donald Trump and elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as our next president and vice president. My friends, the price of failure is just too great to imagine."

1 hr 33 min ago

Listen to an excerpt of Michelle Obama's speech tonight

Just hours before the Democratic National Convention is set to kick off, organizers published an excerpt on YouTube of former first lady Michelle Obama's speech tonight where she praises presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

"I know Joe," Obama says. "He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country. And he listens. He will tell the truth."

The first night of the convention begins tonight at 9 p.m. ET.

Watch the full excerpt here:

2 hr 1 min ago

Biden's campaign is hosting virtual watch parties in all 50 states during the DNC

From CNN's Sarah Mucha

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about economic recovery during a campaign event in New Castle, Delaware on July 21. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden's presidential campaign is forging a new path, gathering a nationwide audience of supporters over Zoom to make up for a Democratic National Convention devoid of its usual live audience of thousands due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The campaign announced Friday that virtual watch parties will take place in all 50 states throughout next week's convention, with elected officials like Pete Buttigieg and celebrities like Alyssa Milano acting as hosts, according to a news release shared first with CNN.

The watch parties offer a glimpse into how the campaign is making do with the challenges of hosting a virtual convention — a fanfare celebration that typically sees tens of thousands of supporters gathering together in person — almost entirely in the virtual realm due to restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic.

For the evenings that presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Biden deliver their speeches — Wednesday and Thursday, respectively — the campaign has recruited an array of high-profile guests to host watch parties in different states across the nation.

Biden's former Democratic rivals from the presidential primary, including Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Yang, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Buttigieg, are among the hosts.

Other high-profile hosts include New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, L.A. Mayor and Biden campaign co-chair Eric Garcetti, actors Connie Britton, Milano and BD Wong, Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez and Biden's sister, Valerie Biden Owens.

"Americans across the country are fired up to vote for the Biden-Harris ticket in November and restore the soul of our nation," Biden for President National Organizing Director Kurt Bagley said in a statement. "There are 81 days until Election Day and we are ready to harness the energy on the ground to ensure that Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Democrats up and down the ticket are elected on November 3rd."

15 min ago

Why we still have political conventions

A Q&A between CNN's Zachary B. Wolf and Adam Levy

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris participate in a virtual grassroots fundraiser at the Hotel DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware. Carolyn Kaster/AP

The quadrennial national US political conventions are scheduled, even in this time of Covid, to formally nominate each party's presidential candidate and settle on official party platforms for the general election.

Democrats will meet, mostly virtually, August 17-20 to nominate former Vice President Joe Biden. Republicans will meet August 24-27 in Charlotte, North Carolina, to nominate President Trump for a second term — a nomination he's said he'll accept somewhere else, possibly at the White House.

CNN's Zachary B. Wolf talked to Adam Levy, who oversees CNN's political research team, about what's different this year — how things might play out, and whether these things are still important.

Part of their email conversation is below:

ZBW: My personal view is political conventions are a relic of a time when party bigwigs picked presidential nominees. Now, it's voters in primaries. Is there still a functional purpose for these things?AL: TECHNICALLY, yes. Voters choose delegates when they go to the polls during the primaries who actually make the nominee official at the convention (after which, the parties submit the names to the states to put them on the ballot). Do we still need a multi-day lovefest for a candidate we already knew was going to be the nominee? That's definitely up for debate. I think the scaled-down versions of the conventions we're seeing this year due to the pandemic could have a lasting impact on the scale of future conventions, but I'm not quite ready to completely bet against a politico's love of a balloon drop.ZBW: How did conventions evolve from smoke-filled rooms with party bosses to the public shows we see today?AL: People speaking out against them and demanding change. Smoke-filled rooms evolved from conventions without predetermined nominees that went on for multiple ballots. That hasn't happened in more than 50 years because voters didn't want party bosses deciding the presidential nominees. Both parties have made changes to the system that began in earnest after 1968. Adding primaries instead of caucuses, creating more pledged delegates that reflect the people's votes, and public transparency all played a role in the system we have today.

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