Christine Bohan reports from Chicago
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE will attend the Democratic National Convention in Chicago which begins today, as the party looks to capitalise on the wave of momentum it has experienced since Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election.
Buoyed by recent poll results, the Democrats will be looking to solidify Kamala Harris’s role as the successor to Joe Biden and position her to swing voters as a strong alternative to another Donald Trump presidency.
The streets of Chicago are filled with signs welcoming the huge number of delegates and guests, with volunteers dotted on most streets in the downtown area to offer help with directions and public transport to any visitors who need it.
The convention lasts until Thursday with a mixture of internal party meetings during the day and prime-time speeches from major party figures lasting for four hours each evening.
The line-up of speeches was officially confirmed late last night.
Joe Biden, his wife Jill, and Hillary Clinton will headline tonight’s speeches, followed by Barack and Michelle Obama on Tuesday night.
Vice presidential pick Tim Walz, Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and Pete Buttigieg will speak on Wednesday while Kamala Harris’s speech on Thursday night (at around 3am Irish-time) will bring the convention to a close.
Each night of speeches will have a different theme.
“The story here is simple and it’s one that will resonate with Americans across the country: Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are fighting for the American people and America’s future – Donald Trump is only fighting for himself,” said Minyon Moore, the chair of the convention.
The convention is technically a tick-box exercise, as Harris and Tim Walz have already been officially nominated as the party’s choice for president and vice president in November’s election.
Democrats will be hoping however that it will provide them with four days of positive wall-to-wall news coverage, amplifying the newly-found energy of the party and taking oxygen away from Donald Trump.
The party hopes to double down on a sense that the convention is a celebration. “It’s a party and everyone is invited,” a senior member of the DNC told The Washington Post.
There is a lot at stake: it will be the biggest stage yet for Kamala Harris to make her pitch to American voters, just weeks after she became the party’s nominee for president. The vice president has not done any interviews with the media since her annointment, relying instead on speeches at rallies and social media.
It will also be one of the final set pieces of Joe Biden’s presidency. The party faces a delicate balancing act to acknowledge the achievements of the outgoing president while handing the baton over to a new nominee, which he repeatedly and publicly said he would not do. The party has framed his stepping down as a major act of public service, which is likely to be a theme of tonight’s address.
The speeches each night will be broadcast live on US television but will also be live-streamed to a wider audience across a large number of platforms including YouTube, TikTok, X and Instagram.
The convention will not be without its issues. A large protest against the party’s lack of action on Gaza will be taking place later today outside the DNC, with estimates suggesting that up to 30,000 people could take part.
The protest is one of the potential issues that could fracture the Democrats’ hopes for a perfect week. But the party’s focus is on the future.
“Our convention is an opportunity to bring the story of our party to the American people,” said Moore. “Not just the story of what we’ve achieved under the Biden-Harris administration but how the Harris-Walz ticket is planning to build on that historic record for a new way forward into the future.”
An estimated 5,000 journalists will be attending the DNC in Chicago this week – including The Journal’s Christine Bohan. You can follow her coverage here on the site.
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