The 2024 Democratic National Convention began Monday, with a strong list of speakers hitting the main stage at the United Center in Chicago.
Before the convention began, many media members shared behind-the-scenes pictures and videos of the pre-event happenings.
During the opening night’s festivities, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) spoke about a variety of topics. One portion of her speech, however, that went viral included comments she made about Republican nominee Donald Trump.
“I, for one, am tired of hearing about how a two-bit union buster thinks of himself as more of a patriot than the woman who fights every single day to lift working people out from under the boots of greed trampling on our way of life,” the New York representative said.
Also included in the opening night festivities was a surprise appearance from Vice President Kamala Harris, who is expected to be officially tabbed as the party’s nominee for President later this week.
In her succinct speech, the candidate said “Looking out at everyone tonight, I see the beauty of our great nation. People from every corner of our country and every walk of life are here. United by the shared vision for the future of our country. This November we will come together and declare with one voice, as one people, ‘We are moving forward.'”
Some media members joked that the wardrobe choice of Kamala Harris — wearing a light brown pantsuit — was an intentional one that harkened back to one of the “controversies” during Barack Obama’s administration.
2016 Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton spoke passionately on a variety of issues, including attacks from her opponent and now Harris opponent Donald Trump.
She said it was “no surprise, is it, that (Trump) is lying about Kamala’s record. He’s mocking her name and her laugh.”
She continued by noting “But we have him on the run now. So no matter what the polls say, we can’t let up. We can’t get driven down crazy conspiracy rabbit holes. We have to fight for the truth. We have to fight for Kamala as she will fight for us.”
Clinton’s speech drew rave reviews, with members of both sides of the political aisle applauding her appearance.
One of the biggest criticisms of the Democratic National Convention Monday evening was how behind schedule the speaker schedule got. President Joe Biden saw his speech air much later than originally expected.
The sitting President did not reach the main stage until after 11 PM ET. Some observers argued it was an intentional ploy by the party to push Biden out of primetime on the East Coast. However, Biden’s speech began after a four-minute ovation from those assembled at the Democratic National Convention. He then opined on the work his administration has done during his remarks.
“Because of you – and I’m not exaggerating – because of you, we’ve had one of the most extraordinary four years of progress ever, period,” Biden said. “When I say we, I mean Kamala and me.”
