DNC opens with Clinton and Biden rallying behind Harris (Full Transcript)

[00:00:23] Speaker 1: Thank you, my fellow Democrats, thank you, my fellow Americans, thank you so much. No. Thank you all. Thank you, thank you. Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much. Wow.

[00:00:58] Speaker 2: There's a lot of energy in this room, just like there is across the country. Something, something is happening in America. You can feel it. Something we've worked for and dreamed of for a long time. First, though, let's salute President Biden. He has been democracy's champion at home and abroad. He brought dignity, decency, and confidence back to the White House. And he showed what it means to be a true patriot. Thank you, Joe Biden, for your lifetime of service and leadership. And now, and now we are writing a new chapter in America's story. You know, my mother Dorothy was born right here in Chicago before women had the right to vote. That changed 104 years ago yesterday. Think about it. Tennessee became the final state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the Constitution. The state legislature was deadlocked until one lawmaker's mother, a widow who read three newspapers a day, sent a letter. A letter to her son. No more delays, she wrote. Give us the vote. And since that day, every generation has carried the torch forward. In 1972, a fearless black congresswoman named Shirley Chisholm. She ran for president. And her determination let me and millions of others dream bigger, not just because of who she was, but because of who she fought for. Working parents, poor children, the last, the least, and the lost. In 1984, I brought my daughter to see Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman nominated for vice president. If we can do this, Jerry said, we can do anything. And then, there was 2016, when it was the honor of my life to accept our party's nomination for president. And nearly 66 million Americans voted for a future where there are no ceilings on our dreams. And afterwards, we refused to give up on America. Millions marched, many ran for office. We kept our eyes on the future. Well, my friends, the future is here. I wish my mother and Kamala's mother could see us. They would say, keep going.

[00:05:48] Speaker 1: Shirley and Jerry would say, keep going. Women, women fighting for reproductive health care are saying, keep going.

[00:06:09] Speaker 2: Families building better lives, parents stretching to afford child care, young people struggling to pay the rent. They're all asking us to keep going. So, with faith in each other and joy in our hearts, let's send Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to the White House. You know, the story of my life and the history of our country is that progress is possible but not guaranteed. We have to fight for it and never, ever give up. There is always a choice. Do we push forward or pull back? Come together as we, the people, or split into us versus them? That's the choice we face in this election. Kamala has the character, experience, and vision to lead us forward. I know her heart and her integrity. We both got our start as young lawyers helping children who were abused and neglected. That kind of work changes a person. Those kids stay with you. Kamala carries with her the hopes of every child she protected, every family she helped, every community she served. So, as president, she will always have our backs. And she will be a fighter for us. She will fight to lower costs for hard-working families, open the doors wide for good-paying jobs, and, yes, she will restore abortion rights nationwide. As a prosecutor, Kamala locked up murderers and drug traffickers. She will never rest in defense of our freedom and safety. Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial. And when he woke up, he made his own kind of history, the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions. As vice president, Kamala sat in the Situation Room. But we also know, as vice president, Kamala sat in the Situation Room and stood for America's values. I know what it takes, and I can tell you, as commander-in-chief, Kamala won't disrespect our military and our veterans. She reveres our Medal of Honor recipients. She won't be sending love letters to dictators. She will defend democracy and our Constitution and will protect America from enemies, foreign and domestic. Think about it. The Constitution says the president's job is to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Those are the words of our founders, take care. Just look at the candidates. Kamala cares, cares about kids and families, cares about America. Donald only cares about himself. On her first day in court, Kamala said five words that still guide her. Kamala Harris for the people. That is something that Donald Trump will never understand. So it is no surprise, is it, that he is lying about Kamala's record? He's mocking her name and her laugh. Sounds familiar. 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. Because you know what? It still takes a village to raise a family, heal a country and win a campaign. And America needs every one of us, our energy, our talents, our dreams. We're not just electing a president, we're uplifting our nation. We're opening the promise of America wide enough for everyone. Together we put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling. And tonight, so close to breaking through once and for all, I want to tell you what I see through all those cracks. And why it matters for each and every one of us. What do I see? I see freedom. I see the freedom to make our own decisions about our health, our lives, our loves, our families. The freedom to work with dignity and prosper. To worship as we choose or not. To speak our minds freely and honestly. I see freedom from fear and intimidation, from violence and injustice, from chaos and corruption. I see the freedom to look our children in the eye and say, in America you can go as far as your hard work and talent will take you, and mean it. And you know what? On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris raising her hand and taking the oath of office as our 47th president of the United States. Because, my friends, when a barrier falls for one of us, it falls, it falls and clears the way for all of us. So for the next 78 days, we need to work harder than we ever have. We need to beat back the dangers that Trump and his allies pose to the rule of law and our way of life. Don't get distracted or complacent. Talk to your friends and neighbors. Volunteer. Be proud champions for the truth and for the country that we all love. I want my grandchildren and their grandchildren to know I was here at this moment. That we were here and that we were with Kamala Harris every step of the way. This is our time, America. This is when we stand up. This is when we break through. The future is here. It's in our grasp.

[00:16:13] Speaker 1: Let's go with it.

[00:16:34] Speaker 3: Secretary of State, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, let's go to Sarah Smith, our correspondent, North America editor on the floor. Sarah, it is very loud up here. Tell us what it's like down there.

[00:16:49] Speaker 4: This very, very exciting crowd here. Absolutely ecstatic with the preparation Hillary Clinton gave there. It was an uplifting and buoyant message to a crowd who think they are now within sight of victory with their candidate Kamala Harris. And that's very much what Hillary Clinton was telling them and they loved it.

[00:17:11] Speaker 3: Yeah, we certainly heard that. What did you make of her message, Sarah?

[00:17:19] Speaker 4: It was fascinating, wasn't it? Listening to the only woman who has run for president as the candidate of a major party and the only candidate who has lost against Donald Trump. Later on we're going to hear from Joe Biden, the only Democratic candidate who has beaten Donald Trump. And so, you know, she was selling us a message of progress that even though she didn't make it, she is confident that Kamala Harris can. Because as she said, Donald Trump, we've got him on the run, was how she put it. After she had led the crowd in chants, I thought it was quite amusing of lock him up, lock him up, after she was talking about Donald Trump's felony convictions. Which was of course a parody of the way he used to get his votes in chants. Lock her up at his rallies.

[00:18:05] Speaker 3: All right, Sarah, thank you. We're going to go back to the stage to listen to Representative Jim Clyburn now, I think. Let's hear a little bit of what he has to say.

[00:18:13] Speaker 5: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And good evening.

[00:18:39] Speaker 6: Thank you, South Carolina. Thank you. Four years ago, Americans were experiencing high anxieties and great uncertainties. A daily virus ranged, schools closed, businesses shuttered. Donald Trump mismanaged the crisis from day one, looking out for himself instead of the country. The American people responded to the crisis in leadership by electing new leaders. Thanks to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we reopened our schools, brought back our businesses, and restored our faith in the American can-do spirit. Thanks to Joe and Kamala, we reduced the price of prescription drugs, repaired roads and bridges, and replaced lead pipes. Thanks to Joe and Kamala, we are honoring our heroes in uniform and expanding benefits to over a million veterans. Thanks to Joe and Kamala, make it in America is no longer just a slogan, but a movement that is bringing millions of manufacturing jobs back to America. For President Biden's lifetime of achievement in service of his country, we owe him a great debt of gratitude. And we are all grateful for one of the best decisions he made, selecting Kamala Harris as his Vice President and endorsing her to succeed him. I often say that we are but the sum of our experiences. In the introduction of my memoir, I wrote, all my experiences have not been pleasant, but I consider all of them to be blessings. So has been the case with Kamala. Her experiences have prepared her for this moment. Kamala Harris is a true battle-tested leader, a District Attorney, Attorney General, Senator, and Vice President who gets things done. While Donald Trump has been bragging about how he overturned Roe, Kamala has been fiercely advocating for the restitution of reproduction freedoms. While Trump has been looking out for himself and his billionaire brothers, Kamala has been fighting to lower costs for all Americans. And while Trump falsely pleads ignorance of Project 2025, which in my opinion is Jim Crow 2.0, Kamala has been offering the American people enlightening proposals and visionary leadership. Having grown up in a postage, I often look to the good book for understanding and guidance. As 2 Corinthians informs, we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed. Our great democracy has been tested, and so has the basic goodness of the American people. But our resolve to remain a great country with freedom and justice for all will not falter. We will continue our march toward a more perfect union, united in our common purpose and emboldened by our resolve to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as the next President and Vice President of the United States of America.

[00:23:47] Speaker 3: Thank you and Godspeed. We have my guests with me here tonight, Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Jeff Nussbaum has also joined us. Jeff is a former special assistant and speechwriter to President Biden. And just to give our viewers an idea, I should say, Jeff, I think it was as interesting watching the speeches as it was watching Congresswoman Waters' reaction to the speeches because you were really jumping out of your chair during Hillary Clinton's speech in particular. What did you like about it so much?

[00:24:40] Speaker 7: Well, first of all, I love the fact that Hillary was here. I love the fact that she worked very hard and she should have been President of the United States of America. I like the fact that she did not let her, that did not cause her to lose faith. She stayed working hard in the Democratic Party, traveling, showing up, and she came here tonight to talk about why it's so important to elect Kamala, talked about the issues, talked about how bad Trump is and was. And the people delighted in seeing her and remembering her and the campaign and the fact that there was a woman who was almost President of the United States of America. And so, yes, I was excited. I really loved her. I care so much about her. I worked in her campaign. And I, too, believe she could have been and should have been the President of the United States. However, she took her licks and she kept on ticking. And she's here now talking about another woman who could be President and will be President of the United States. You're right. I was excited.

[00:25:56] Speaker 3: Well, as were a lot of people in here, Jeff, as we heard as well, she took a few digs at President Trump as well, didn't she? She did.

[00:26:02] Speaker 8: She did. And, by the way, being here, I'm having to take the advice I offered speakers over years, which is don't yell into the microphone when it gets loud. This arena has gotten electric over the last 30 minutes or so. And before we talk about the digs, I want to build on something Congressman Waters said, which is tonight really feels like a torch passing. Whatever the official theme of the evening is, it's Hillary Clinton, it's Joe Biden saying we've given our lives to service. These are our shoulders. Now you go stand on them without bitterness, without recriminations, maybe a couple recriminations for President Trump. But so there's something really beautiful in the way this is happening and the way this is unfolding this evening. And what Congressman Waters said about Hillary, that she takes a lick and keeps on ticking, absolutely true. She also showed that she can throw a punch or two. And she's an effective politician. We sort of forget that she's been a stateswoman, but she is a politician. And that's what these conventions are about, the leadership, the statesmanship, but also the fact that you've got to win.

[00:27:09] Speaker 3: She talked about that glass ceiling very much from her perspective as a woman and said, you know, we can see now through these cracks of this glass ceiling, we see Kamala Harris. I want to ask you what you thought of Representative Clyburn's speech as well. Again, a key ally of President Biden and so critical to getting him elected in 2020, wasn't he?

[00:27:28] Speaker 7: Oh, absolutely. And Biden never forgot that. And you know what he said to Clyburn and all of those who came with Clyburn, not only in South Carolina, but all over the country. Biden said, you have my back and I'll have yours. And he's lived up to his promises. He's an honorable man. And I think a lot of what this is all about is something that you've alluded to. I think people are just sick and tired of the divisiveness, of the name calling, of the scandals of someone who served as president of the United States with the kind of dishonorable person that he is. And people are feeling a sense of the fact that we can move forward with people who not only care, but who are people who are committed to the proposition that this democracy must be protected. And we know, and even some Republicans know, that our democracy is at stake and that Trump aligns himself with Putin in Russia. Because that's his friend. And he keeps alluding to he want to be a dictator for one day. But we all know that he means he'd like that forever if he could get it. And so it's a new feeling of possibility, a new feeling that we can take this country in the direction that it wants to go and it should go. And that we have Kamala Harris, who has the kind of background that shows us that we can get a competent, accomplished woman who has served as vice president, who not only is very knowledgeable about the domestic agenda, but has traveled to 20 countries and she couldn't have learned better in a national relationship than with Biden. Biden is an expert and everybody understands that. So she has had the possibility, working with him, to learn international. Combine that with her domestic knowledge. Combine that with her commitment. Combine that with the fact that she's worked hard to get where she is. We've got the next president of the United States of America.

[00:29:48] Speaker 8: You're certainly convinced.

[00:29:49] Speaker 3: What do you think of that, John?

[00:29:50] Speaker 8: Well, at first I should say from your lips to God's ears, as we say. I think that's all true. That's all true. And you've hit it on policy and you've hit it on the politics of it. There is a newfound excitement. I will also say there's going to be a really powerful emotional moment that comes up when President Biden takes the stage. And I know we'll probably discuss that a little later. But this is someone who really has been a dedicated public servant. And in thinking about this, I went back to the few times in his career where he's had to close chapters. You know, when he left the United States Senate in 2009, when he chose not to run in 2016. And there's some themes that flow through that. One of the themes going way back to when he left the Senate was how much America can change over the course of one person's service. And I think one of the things we're seeing in this new ticket that's now taking the stage is exactly that. It's that generational change.

[00:30:50] Speaker 3: Can I follow up on that? You've written speeches for President Biden.

[00:30:53] Speaker 9: I have, yeah.

[00:30:54] Speaker 3: What do you think we're going to hear from him tonight? I mean, from how you know President Biden and what he wanted to achieve with this speech.

[00:31:01] Speaker 8: Yeah, there are certain touchstones in his life and career that keep coming back. And one is the dignity of work. And this is a president who, when he was running for president, said he was going to work to restore the soul of the nation, rebuild America's middle class, rebuild America's infrastructure, and serve as a bridge to the next generation. And so tonight, he takes the stage and he becomes that rare president who can say, I have kept every promise I have made. He's going to get a lot of love tonight. I agree. And I think about this a lot, Congresswoman, that he will get the love that he really didn't get during his last convention or his inauguration. Because of COVID, there weren't those crowds there. So this will be a stand-in for all the love he should have gotten over the last four or five years.

[00:31:49] Speaker 3: Absolutely. And it will be an endorsement, as we said, of Kamala Harris. At the same time, it's passing the torch on to her. In what way do you think President Biden needs to look forward in his messaging to the party?

[00:32:03] Speaker 7: Well, I think in his messaging to the party, he's going to talk about his leadership some and what he has done and why he has done it. And I think he's going to talk about the possibility of continuing to carry on in that direction. To deal with the needs of the family. To make sure that everybody has a decent quality of life. To make sure that when we deal with inflation, that we cut out those who would basically steal and take advantage of the fact that there is inflation and gouge and steal. I think that he's going to talk about the democracy. A lot of people now are talking about the democracy. Is our democracy at stake? And I think many people believe it is as they watch what is going on. I think he's going to talk about that. But then he's going to talk about the possibilities. The possibilities going forward in the future. And that we should all be hopeful. We should all work toward that end. No matter what has happened. No matter what we have experienced. No matter what we've had to fight so hard against. That they're going to work for housing. And get people off the street. It's a hopeful vision that you're painting.

[00:33:28] Speaker 3: Hopeful. Hopeful vision.

[00:33:29] Speaker 8: And if I could just define a point on that. When you look back at his inaugural address, he had this beautiful line about that we have a country now where there's much to do, much to fix, much to heal, much to accomplish. Like it was a series of much to's. And I think that if you draw that through line through, he will speak to all of those things that he did. But when he says there's much to do and much to build, that work remains. And so much he accomplished that he has set out to accomplish and so much remains to be done. And that now becomes the work of.

[00:34:01] Speaker 3: To get the job done as we've heard him say many times.

[00:34:02] Speaker 8: Yes, exactly right.

[00:34:04] Speaker 3: So to follow up on that Jeff, this has got to be a pretty bittersweet moment we've been reflecting about tonight.

[00:34:10] Speaker 8: Absolutely. I'm feeling feelings certainly as someone who loves President Biden and considers it a single honor of my career to have worked closely with him. I think it really will be. He is someone who has, you know, when I first met him, he looked skyward and blessed himself and said, I've been in the Senate longer than you've been alive. Which is his way of saying, what are you going to teach me? But it was also his way of saying, this is my life. And I'm inviting you to contribute to it. And so I think he knows he has a lot to do in the next six months. I know they're working on those legacy projects. And one piece of that legacy is electing Vice President Harris.

[00:34:53] Speaker 3: Yeah, we're hearing that roar as we see Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Texas on stage. An up and coming Democrat who's certainly made a name for herself as well. What do you think, Congresswoman, is important for Kamala Harris to pick up from Joe Biden in the coming days? Because we're going to see him deliver this address, pass the torch on. What do you think she needs to pick up from that in the next few days as she looks ahead to her big speech on Thursday?

[00:35:20] Speaker 7: I think that her big speech, again, is about bringing this country together. Unity. The unity that is possible. The way that the destructive leadership of Trump has caused people to fear, have fear and hatred and divisiveness. And I think she's going to have to show that she is working toward making sure everybody has a decent quality of life. That people are respected. That families are taken care of. That the children are going to be educated. That we're going to have health care. And all of those things. So I really do think it's about unifying the country. Thinking about showing that America cares about the family and the children and the quality of life.

[00:36:12] Speaker 3: But again, you're talking about a more positive message. And at the same time, Kamala Harris and her campaign and Governor Tim Walz, her running mate, do also have to address the criticisms we're seeing from Republicans and from Donald Trump. Some of which, of course, have been about things like her intelligence, her style, her laugh. How should she take that on and continue with what you're saying as a positive message?

[00:36:36] Speaker 7: Well, I think there are points in the discussion where she can take him on. But I don't think she should waste her time responding to how she laughs. Be yourself. Laugh the way you want to laugh. The way you feel good about laughing. That's nothing to worry about him. The other thing is he's such a big liar. He's killing himself in the debates. First of all, to say that 15,000 people who showed up in Detroit was fake. That it was AI. That it wasn't real. Now, the average person knows that's a lie. And I think you can openly call him a liar. We don't do that often. We don't say that directly. But when you talk about him and the way that he's so blatant in his lies, I think he's undermining himself. And the way that he's just disparaged the veterans. And the way his vice president has talked about single women. Let them keep talking. Let them keep talking.

[00:37:38] Speaker 3: There's a great piece on the BBC website, BBC Verify, about that rally in Detroit. I happened to be there and I can vouch for the fact that there were a lot of people there. So that was not fake. Jeff, I want to pick up on what we're hearing from Congresswoman Waters here. Because at the same time, Kamala Harris wants to distinguish herself from President Biden in a way. So if you look at how she's going to pick up this message, how does she do that without obviously disparaging their record together?

[00:38:06] Speaker 8: Right. So I started my career working for Vice President Gore. And then I worked for Joe Biden when he was Vice President. And so I've joked that my career is an object lesson in how to get almost to the top. But one of the lessons from that experience is that the vice president has two jobs. One is to be loyal and the other is to be prepared. And Vice President Harris has been really unfailingly loyal, even at a very difficult time for Joe Biden over the last month. But she has also been very prepared. And so I think the way she takes the baton from here is to show that loyalty. Because as Americans start to see Joe Biden outside of an electoral political context, they will feel more warmly towards him. And as his popularity rises again, that will help. But she's also showing that she's prepared and she has ideas. And in her time as vice president, she has seen things that she would like to do. And so I think that's one key piece of differentiation. The other thing is there's old saying, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. But in politics, that's absolutely not true. On Thursday, you will see someone get a second or third chance to make a first impression. And as we've been talking, I've had half an ear to what's being said on the floor. And Congressman Crockett just put up a visual showing that Vice President Harris had worked at McDonald's. And a couple of Republican consultants have said to me today, man, if Americans know that, it really helps her. Because if you believe McDonald's statistics, one in ten Americans has worked at McDonald's at some point in their lives. So it's not just a metaphor for being connected to how people live. But for many people, it shows that she connects with their lived experience. And so those elements of biography that will reappear in this second chance to make a first impression, and the demonstration that she's been a loyal soldier in some of President Biden's most popular and important accomplishments, and is prepared to push forward in ways that she feels is important, that's the triangulation that she's already doing so very well.

[00:40:08] Speaker 3: But what about the question I asked Congresswoman Waters a little bit earlier, which is the fact that we don't have a policy agenda for Kamala Harris yet. We've heard a lot of criticism about the fact that we don't know exactly what she wants to do, except the economic policies that she unveiled last week. But beyond that, she still remains a little bit of a mystery in terms of what she wants to achieve. Is that a strategy? Do you think it should stay that way?

[00:40:27] Speaker 8: Well, I think, you know, first of all, one of the points you've said, one of the points you just made is that, like, she has rolled out some economic policies, and you'll see those continue to roll out. It's not, in this compressed campaign, you're not going to get a 120-page white paper that says, here's me. So she is rolling those out. But also, I think, to the extent people know who she is and what she stands for, they can impute what that will mean in a policy environment, and we're going to start seeing that as well.

[00:40:54] Speaker 3: All right. Jeff, Congresswoman, it's been wonderful to talk to you both. We're going to obviously get more from you through the course of the convention, but great to talk to you both tonight, and we'll hear more from the floor as well. But soon, we expect to hear from President Joe Biden. While we wait, let's recap what we have heard so far tonight as the party rallies around its presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, and honors its outgoing President Joe Biden. Earlier, Ms. Harris was on stage. She paid him tribute as she addressed the thousands of Democratic delegates. This is what she said.

[00:41:24] Speaker 10: Good evening. Good evening. It is so good to be with everyone this evening in this hall and everyone at home. This is going to be a great week. And I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible President Joe Biden, who will be speaking later tonight. Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you will continue to do. We are forever grateful to you.

[00:42:12] Speaker 3: And, of course, Kamala Harris will formally accept the party's nomination for president later this week at the Democratic National Convention. Many of the speakers tonight have been making a case for the Democratic ticket come November, including the influential Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaking earlier. Take a listen.

[00:42:30] Speaker 11: We must also elect strong Democratic majorities in the House and in the Senate so that we can deliver on an ambitious agenda for the people. Because if you are a working parent trying to afford rent and childcare, Kamala is for you. If you are a senior who had to go back to work because your retirement didn't stretch far enough, Kamala is for you. If you're an immigrant family just starting your American story, Kamala is for you.

[00:43:14] Speaker 3: But a big focus tonight will be on President Joe Biden as the party reflects on his career and accomplishments. Less than a month since his stunning decision to step down from the race and endorse Ms. Harris as his replacement, this is not the way he would have imagined this convention playing out, potentially a bit bittersweet as he will be passing the baton to Kamala Harris. Now, among those paying tribute to Joe Biden was former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Take a listen.

[00:43:44] Speaker 2: Let's salute President Biden. He has been democracy's champion at home and abroad. He brought dignity, decency, and confidence back to the White House. And he showed what it means to be a true patriot. Thank you, Joe Biden, for your lifetime of service and leadership.

[00:44:37] Speaker 1: Thank you, Joe.

[00:44:47] Speaker 3: All right, as we've been listening to some of these speeches, let's bring back our guests, Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, former Democratic Congresswoman, and we also have Congressman Rodney Davis. He's getting mic'd up at the moment, so I'll speak to you for a little bit, Stephanie, as we're getting Rodney his mic back on. But I just want to get your take on some of the speeches that we've heard so far tonight, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who really got this place really going. It is very much what she was talking about, the focus on the future. But she also referenced her specific story. One of the things that we keep hearing from so many delegates and so many people we've spoken to is that they really have to make the economic message to people. Is that something that you're hearing from the speeches tonight? Because that's going to be one of the big challenges for Kamala Harris.

[00:45:57] Speaker 12: Yeah, you know, this convention is four days long, and so I think there will be a lot of opportunity to talk about that. I think a lot of the speeches in this first day is about values, because values unite. And so that is a good starting place for any convention, is to establish the values that unite and connect with the American people before you roll into a litany of policies or specific issue areas.

[00:46:24] Speaker 3: Rodney, now that you're mic'd up and sitting next to us, give us your take on what we heard. Of course, you know, we heard some real digs at President Trump and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's speech. I mean, did you think those were fair?

[00:46:38] Speaker 13: Well, you've got to hold everybody to the same standard. If you're going to hold Donald Trump to a standard of personal attacks, then you have to hold his former opponent, my favorite election denier, Hillary Clinton, to the same standard. And when you, you know, I was a little disappointed by the video that was out talking about sexual abuser Donald Trump. Are they going to run the same thing for President Clinton? He's been accused of similar actions. And when you look at what the Democrats are trying to portray, that they're the party looking forward, going above the fray, we're not going to go high and stay low. These are the types of things that people in middle America say don't like the hypocrisy. And if this keeps up, then we're not going to see the momentum that I mentioned earlier that I thought Vice President Harris and Governor Walz could get after this convention.

[00:47:34] Speaker 3: So, Congresswoman Maxine Waters who was with us, you know, she was telling us that she thinks the Democrats are really painting a positive and unifying picture of what the country needs going forward. You're saying that's not what you're hearing?

[00:47:47] Speaker 13: I think middle America, I think the people outside of the city of Chicago and Illinois are looking and going, wait a minute. You want to say that Donald Trump is personally attacking Vice President Harris? And this convention is beginning with personal attacks on Donald Trump? And look, Maxine Waters served together with her. Consider her a friend. But she is the last person that should be talking right now about keeping personal attacks away from Republicans and Democrats. She is the one in 2018 that stood and said, go after Republicans in restaurants. Go after Republicans in public settings. And it's that type of rhetoric that allowed me and my friends to get shot at on a baseball field by some nut job screaming health care. Those are the types of things that many Americans are going to sit back and say, we can't stand hypocrisy.

[00:48:38] Speaker 3: OK, we've certainly seen rhetoric from Democrats and Republicans, Stephanie. But do you agree with what Rodney is saying here? That this really hasn't been perhaps the unifying message the Democrats wanted or billed this to be?

[00:48:53] Speaker 12: I actually do think it's a unifying message. Well, the party is unified behind the desire to prevent Trump from having a second term because they share the concerns about what a second Trump term means for the American people and means for our democracy. So there's unity there, but there's also a unity looking forward. They've talked a lot about opportunity and they've shared personal stories. I mean, Secretary Raimondo talked about her father and how Republican policies that gave tax cuts to the rich caused him to lose his job. All of those personal stories create the perspective and the values that the Democrats that you've seen on this stage bring forward as they shape the policies and look towards shaping a future for America that affords opportunities to everybody, not just to the wealthy.

[00:49:50] Speaker 3: We're seeing, of course, reproductive rights as one of the themes tonight on stage and it's going to be one of the themes of the week. And economic issues, as you mentioned, as well as we just discussed, Stephanie. But Rodney, I want to come back to you because something that we heard Hillary Clinton say and Maxine Waters touched on this, she was saying, you know, I really feel like women are going to turn to Kamala Harris now. And Hillary Clinton talked about this glass ceiling and the cracks in the glass ceiling, looking up through that and seeing Kamala Harris now. Do you think that's going to be a message that resonates with women in particular and something that will be a challenge for Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance?

[00:50:27] Speaker 13: Well, look, there is right now a historic difference between men and women when it comes to who their preference is for President of the United States. We are at historic times of split in the vote by gender. So I think Hillary Clinton is trying to do what she can to make sure that women don't leave Kamala Harris like, frankly, many did in 2016 and took a chance on some guy they didn't know because they certainly didn't want the other person, Hillary Clinton, that they did know.

[00:50:57] Speaker 3: Right. Well, what do you think of that, Stephanie?

[00:51:00] Speaker 12: You know, I think it's making it, what Trump and Vance are campaigning on is making it pretty easy to hold on to women who are already turning towards the Democratic Party for reasons of reproductive health and otherwise. Because Trump and Vance have gone a bit further than just denying women their medical and health care access. They've gone as far as to share their worldview of where women belong in society. Not only can you—not responsible for making your own health care choices, but according to J.D. Vance, you know, if you choose not to have children, then you're just some childless cat lady that has no value or ability to commit to building a future for America. Or if you are like his mother-in-law, are menopausal, then your highest value to society is to care for your grandchildren. I think that really alienates a lot of women who have made different choices in their lives. They can still have value, and who is he or that ticket to define women's roles in American society so narrowly?

[00:52:12] Speaker 3: Stephanie, you know, another theme that we've seen tonight with Jamie Raskin, Congressman Jamie Raskin speaking on the January 6th committee, as you were, is democracy. And this is one that has been very, very key and central to Joe Biden's message through his presidency, and it's also what he campaigned on in 2020. Do you think that's one that resonates with voters?

[00:52:34] Speaker 12: As somebody who sat on the January 6th committee and saw the very deliberate efforts to, at the local, state, and federal level, overturn a free and fair election, it really pains me to say that while protecting democracy and our democratic norms is the why, part of the why for why Democrats should win, it's not going to be the how. The how will be through the economic messages and meeting Americans where they are and on the concerns that they have at their kitchen table, and democracy is on top of that list.

[00:53:11] Speaker 3: While the Democrats gather in Chicago this week, former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies, they will, of course, be campaigning in battleground states. Today, Mr. Trump has been in Pennsylvania, where he's been making economic promises at a campaign event. Take a listen.

[00:53:25] Speaker 14: I'm here today to deliver a simple message. When I'm back in the White House, America's future will be built right here in Pennsylvania, and it will be built by American workers like you. It will be all over the country we'll be building, but Pennsylvania is always a big factor, and we've had great success, as you know, politically and otherwise in Pennsylvania, and we expect to have it again. We're doing very well here. Thank you very much. With your vote, we will unleash explosive economic growth and vast new prosperity for all of our citizens. We will put more money into your pockets and create millions and millions of new jobs. We're going to do it like nobody else has ever been able to do it. Our plan will massively cut taxes, unlock American energy, slash regulations, big factor, crack down on trade cheaters and stop outsourcing, rebuild our industrial base and bring back those beautiful words, made in the USA.

[00:54:32] Speaker 3: While Donald Trump's running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, has also been speaking in Pennsylvania, hoping to frame the conversation around Kamala Harris' campaign.

[00:54:42] Speaker 15: In Philadelphia and across the whole state, a very simple question. Has your life been better off under Democrat leadership? Have your communities gotten safer under Democrat leadership? Have your wages kept up with affordability under Democrat leadership? And because the answer is no, I think that Americans, Pennsylvanians, and the citizens of this city are ready for a change. They're ready for the presidency of Donald J. Trump.

[00:55:11] Speaker 3: Stephanie, you know, this really is the question that Republicans are pointing to voters. Is your life better off now than it was four years ago, again, when Donald Trump was president? And for plenty of Americans, they feel like they're, economically speaking, not better off.

[00:55:25] Speaker 12: Yeah, you know, it's a really interesting thing in that the macroeconomic data shows that the United States' crime is down, that the inflation is going down, that there were higher job growth in this administration than in the previous administration. And yet the American people don't feel it. And so part of what was amiss with Biden's campaign was that he constantly was trying to convince the American people that they should feel better about the economy. And what I think I've seen so far out of this Harris-Walz campaign is that they really are trying to start at a place of empathy and then lay out how they are going to make people feel better, to address affordability issues. That's why you saw in the initial economic plan that Harris ruled out, it addresses housing affordability. There's a commitment to child care affordability and health care affordability.

[00:56:19] Speaker 3: What do you think, Stephanie? Because if you look at the polls, if you compare Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, voters do still clearly favor Donald Trump on the economy, don't they?

[00:56:28] Speaker 13: Absolutely, they do. No matter how many times Democrats say inflation has stopped growing, prices are not going up. And when you look at taxes, the tax cuts that I helped craft in 2017 and 2018, for individuals, because of Democrats in the Senate at the time, their insistence on making those not permanent, they're going to expire in 2025. American families know that those prices are going to continue to rise. They have not gone back down. They are still feeling the pinch. It's frustrating when Democrats say that Joe Biden has a lower unemployment rate. Well, Donald Trump presided over the initial months of the pandemic when we had historic unemployment. But before that, unemployment was at historic lows. Our economy was growing, just like he and us Republicans said they were.

[00:57:18] Speaker 3: We just heard Jeff Nussbaum, who was on with us a little bit earlier, pointing out that Kamala Harris comes from a middle-class background. She went to McDonald's when she was at Howard University. And that makes her relatable to a lot of people, which is something that you perhaps can't say about Donald Trump. So what do you think of that argument, that she's able to sell her own middle-class background?

[00:57:39] Speaker 13: Well, when you look at the polls right now, Donald Trump's winning the McDonald's worker vote. The lower, less educated members in the workforce are voting overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. Look, I worked at McDonald's from age 14 to 23. And Democrats in my first campaign made a commercial that actually made fun of McDonald's and ended by saying, you want fries with that. So I don't buy the old Kamala worked at McDonald's. So we're good with that now. You're good with it because she's your candidate.

[00:58:09] Speaker 3: What do you think, Stephanie? Is she someone who, with her middle-class background, also her running mate, Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor, who she can relate to people? Or do you think, as Rodney says, those workers still tend to vote with Donald Trump?

[00:58:24] Speaker 12: I mean, you don't have to take my word for it. The recent polling shows that a majority of the American people believe that she cares about people like me. And that is one of the most powerful polling questions. And if you're a candidate, you really want a high score on that. And she scores very high on that. The American people believe she cares about people like me. And it's because of her personal narrative. It's because of her story. And Tim Walz is also a very relatable person. He was a coach. He was a school teacher. He served in the National Guard. And even to today, he doesn't hold any stocks. How he plans for the future is probably more like what your average American's retirement looks like. And so I think they have a great opportunity with their lived experiences to connect with the American people.

[00:59:22] Speaker 3: Just to explain to our viewers, that chant we're hearing was Warnock. That's Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, who's on stage speaking behind us. Of course, Georgia, an important state for both the Republicans and the Democrats. Rodney, coming back to you, because we're talking about Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. They were on the campaign trail there today. And we've been discussing the fact that Kamala Harris, you know, she has to appeal to voters on the economic record. What about the policies that she has unveiled? Do you think that they can help her appeal more to these voters that we're discussing?

[00:59:55] Speaker 13: Working class voters. She's going to try. I mean, Democrats are going to try to talk about their economic plans. But when you match them up to what reality is, they're plans to spend more government money. One of the things that she and Democrats aren't talking about here at this convention are to raise taxes on all of those families by letting the Trump tax cuts expire in 2025.

[01:00:19] Speaker 3: Well, she's talking about a child tax credit for families. So is J.D. Vance. Right, that is true. They're both talking about child tax credit. And she and Donald Trump have also talked both about ending taxes on tips. That's another point. You're laughing because it's something Donald Trump came up with first, right? Yeah.

[01:00:38] Speaker 13: Good. I'm glad she came along with it. And I certainly hope it happens. I'm always for lower taxes. But you cannot tell me that Democrats that are speaking tonight are going to raise the child tax credit. They're going to stop taxes on tips for people who work in the industry where they get tips. And at the same time, not raise taxes on middle class families because their current lower tax rates from the Trump tax cuts are going to expire in 2025. You can't tell me they're not going to raise those taxes on individuals who are going to benefit from some of those same provisions that they're talking right now. It's typical Democrat doublespeak on taxes.

[01:01:19] Speaker 3: All right. I'm sure we're going to hear more about that economic message through the course of this convention. But earlier, we heard from the South Carolina Congressman Jim Clyburn who compared Kamala Harris' track record to Donald Trump's.

[01:01:31] Speaker 6: Her experiences have prepared her for this moment. Kamala Harris is a true battle-tested leader, a district attorney, attorney general, senator, and vice president who gets things done. While Donald Trump has been bragging about how he overturned Roe, Kamala has been fiercely advocating for the restitution of reproduction freedoms. While Trump has been looking out for himself and his billionaire brothers, Kamala has been fighting to lower costs for all Americans. And while Trump falsely pleads ignorance of Project 2025, which in my opinion is Jim Crow 2.0, Kamala has been offering the American people enlightening proposals and visionary leadership.

[01:02:45] Speaker 3: Stephanie, we heard Jim Clyburn there talk about Project 2025. This is this conservative agenda that was drawn up by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Donald Trump has distanced himself from Project 2025, as have members of his campaign, although there is crossover between people who work for the Heritage Foundation and work for the Trump campaign regardless. We heard Jim Clyburn there say, you know, this is Jim Crow 2.0. What do you think of that?

[01:03:11] Speaker 12: I think that Project 2025 has a lot in it that would change the way that this country functions and would push it further towards a nativist and would actually be quite frightening to a lot of people if they understood what was in it. And unfortunately, Project 2025 is voluminous. And so it's been really hard to message around this. But the denial of it by the Trump campaign really is quite thin. It doesn't pass the standard because they're in there all throughout.

[01:03:47] Speaker 3: We're going to pick up that conversation about Project 2025, Stephanie. We're going to take a short break and come back to our live coverage here from the DNC.

[01:03:54] Speaker 16: Elections are about the best in the American covenant. Elections are about the character of a country. And we must decide, again, we are the latest generation of Americans who get to decide what kind of country we want to be. And we must choose between the promise of January 5th and the peril of January 6th. A nation that embraces all of us or just some of us. Donald Trump's America is the America of January 6th. People who have no vision traffic in division. He does not know how to lead us and so he wants to divide us. America, make no mistake, Donald Trump is a plague on the American conscience. He is a clear and present threat to the precious covenant we share with one another. And yes, I saw him. I saw him holding the Bible and endorsing a Bible as if it needed his endorsement. He should try reading it. It says, do justice, love, kindness, and walk humbly with your God. He should try reading it. It says, love your neighbor as yourself. It says, inasmuch as you've done it unto the least of these, you have done it also unto me.

[01:06:04] Speaker 1: I choose the American covenant.

[01:06:16] Speaker 16: E pluribus unum, out of many, one. I choose January 5th. I choose a nation that provides a path for ordinary people and gives every child a chance. And that's Joe Biden's America. And he's been fighting for it for more than a half century. President Biden, America is so much better because of you, a true patriot who has always put the people first. Thank you, Joe.

[01:06:50] Speaker 17: Thank you, Joe. But I'll tell you something else.

[01:07:02] Speaker 16: Not only is that Joe Biden's America, that's Kamala Harris' America. She was leading with Joe Biden when we expanded the child tax credit, cutting child poverty in America nearly in half. We ought to renew it. She cast a tie-breaking vote for my bill, capping the cost of insulin to no more than $35 per month for seniors.

[01:08:04] Speaker 3: I'm Sumi Somosgando. Welcome back to our coverage of the Democratic National Convention here in Chicago. As you can hear, it's been a raucous night as the Democrats greet their new nominee for President Kamala Harris and say farewell to their current President Joe Biden. As we wait to hear from Mr. Biden himself, here's a quick recap of day one of the DNC. Send Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to the White House. Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton bringing the crowd to its feet as she made the case for a woman in the White House. Kamala Harris took to the stage briefly where she thanked Joe Biden, less than a month since he stepped down from the race. Her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, is in the audience along with her husband, the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff. And we have seen a string of Democratic stars. Among them, the influential New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. These are live pictures from the convention floor at the moment. We are seeing Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock speaking. And we are expecting the President Joe Biden to make the very last speech of the night. This is not the way he would have imagined this convention playing out. Potentially somewhat bittersweet for him as he will be passing the baton officially to Kamala Harris. And we can talk about all of this again with my guests, Stephanie Murphy, Rodney Davis, with me here as we're watching these pictures of Raphael Warnock speaking. I want to pick up a conversation that we were having just before the break because we didn't get to finish the conversation. And I'll start with you, Rodney, because we were talking a bit about President Trump's agenda and Project 2025, for those who are not familiar with it, again, a conservative agenda drawn up by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. President Trump, former President Trump, says he has nothing to do with it. But it's something that we've heard a few speakers pick up on and Democrats really hammer home on to say Project 2025 will take us into the past. What do you think of it?

[01:10:06] Speaker 13: Well, look at the speakers we've had tonight. I mean, Hillary Clinton, nothing but the past. But the bottom line is this is a think tank that put a paper together that now Democrats seize on because they think it'll be a boogeyman for all the bad things that could happen under a Trump administration. I'm going to call him a dictator. Well, listen, the federal government itself needs to be more responsive to whomever wins the presidency, Republican or Democrat. It shouldn't be a threat to democracy if your side loses and that you are a bureaucrat working in a federal agency where you can then get to stand up and be a whistleblower just because you disagree with somebody politically. But the bottom line is you've got Democrats hiring people like Mark Elias, who was somebody who was behind the false steal dossier that led to Donald Trump being accused of colluding with Russia, which has been completely debunked.

[01:11:04] Speaker 3: Okay, but just to jump in there, I mean, the reason that Donald Trump and his campaign are distancing themselves from this document, 900 pages I believe, is that it has some pretty radical proposals, doesn't it? Things like completely disassembling what it calls the administrative state, things like getting rid of the Department of Education.

[01:11:22] Speaker 13: Do you know why he's disassociating himself with it? Because the media started asking him about it. Do you really believe Donald Trump has read Project 25? I mean, at some point you're going to say, no, I'm going to be president. I'm the guy running for president. I'm not going to listen to any think tank. I'm not going to look at any of their papers or any of their projects. And I'm going to make my own decision. I'm not going to make my own decision. But Democrats want you to believe that Donald Trump is going to— that Donald Trump, who doesn't listen to anybody, according to Democrats, is somehow going to listen to this think tank who put a paper together. Now, again, Democrats have to—Democrats need to be concerned. If they're setting this standard, then they're going to have to answer to how much they're paying and how much influence a guy like Mark Elias has, who is somebody who has been already associated with false—the false steel dossier and the false Russia collusion narrative.

[01:12:22] Speaker 12: I hate to see so much misinformation bleed into our international audience. This is stuff that isn't—it's misinformation, disinformation that is a part of the discourse here in the United States. This whole false dossier, we don't have to litigate it in front of this poor audience. But what I will say is that whether or not Donald Trump has read Project 2025, it holds in there quite a bit of the policies that an administration— a Trump administration would want to implement. J.D. Vance wrote the forward on that. That's not fake news. You can go and see that he wrote the forward on it. And then, you know, you can watch the training videos, where people in Trump's campaign and inner circle are giving the training videos for 2025. So, clearly, there is some sort of association there.

[01:13:13] Speaker 3: We're going to have to—we're going to have to pick up this conversation in a moment because we're going to go to the stage and listen to Senator Chris Coons, co-chair of the Harris Walls campaign.

[01:13:22] Speaker 18: Folks, we are on the verge of making history. We are on the verge of an historic election. And I want to talk with you for just a few minutes about my dear friend, our president, Joe Biden. Joe Biden's mom had a saying. You are defined by your courage, and you are redeemed by your loyalty. Four years ago, I had the honor of helping introduce Joe Biden to our national convention. I spoke about Joe's faith, his love of family, his determination to restore the soul of our nation. Back in 2020, America was nearly flat on our back from a deadly pandemic, an economic collapse, and then in January, an assault on our democracy. All of this, all of this, because the drama and chaos of our former president had knocked us down. But, folks, Joe Biden's courage, Joe Biden's faith in us, Joe Biden's determination to heal the soul of our nation gave us hope and gave us confidence. Someone who has himself been knocked down by life time and again. Joe Biden knows the grit and determination of the American people. He believed in us, and Joe Biden helped us get back up again. Using the incredible skills he'd developed in many years in the U.S. Senate, Joe got passed and signed into law the most consequential legislation of any president in 60 years. Helping our veterans, advancing gun safety, cutting prescription drug prices, fighting climate change, rebuilding bridges and broadband, bringing manufacturing back to America. Together, Joe and Kamala helped rebuild our economy from the middle up, from the bottom up, and the middle out, not from the top down. And they made our families safer and our country stronger at home and abroad. Today, we are so much better off because they believed in us, in our democracy. And our incredible First Lady, Jill Biden. Our incredible First Lady, Jill Biden. Our incredible First Lady, Jill Biden. Our incredible First Lady, Jill Biden. Was at Joe's side every step of the way, fighting for education, advancing the cancer moonshot, determined to improve women's health care, honoring military families. Joe and Jill, together, you have done so much for us. And there's so much more you will do and we can do together. Mr. President, thank you. Thank you for elevating a great leader in Kamala Harris. Vice President Harris, thank you for choosing a great running mate with a heart for the middle class like yours. In sergeant, congressman, coach, governor, Tim Walz.

[01:17:34] Speaker 19: I have hope. Do you? I have hope. Do you?

[01:17:40] Speaker 18: I have hope. Do you? And it is in no small part because of Joe Biden. I have never known a more compassionate man than Joe Biden. I have never known a man who has taken from his own loss and his own faith and delivered so much for the future of so many others. Mr. President, Mr. President, you were my senator as a Delawarean. You are my president as an American. And you will always be my friend. On behalf of our nation, Joe, for your courage in fighting for our democracy, we thank you. On behalf of our Democratic Party, for your loyalty in fighting for our democratic values, we thank you. And on behalf of Delaware, thank you, Joe, and God bless you. We love you.

[01:19:00] Speaker 19: We love Joe. We love Joe. Thank you all.

[01:19:18] Speaker 3: We love Joe. God bless you and thank you very much. Thank you.

[01:21:25] Speaker 20: Thank you, thank you so much, love you too. Joe and I have been together for almost 50 years. And still, there are moments when I fall in love with him all over again. Like when I handed him our baby Ashley for the first time and saw the smile that lit up his face. Or on nights after an exhausting day working in the Senate when he would read one more bedtime story just because the kids asked. When he stops on a rope line because he sees someone grieving who needs to know that everything is going to be all right one day. Or to encourage that child with a stutter to find the confidence she needs. Those moments when I'm reminded of all he's accomplished in the name of something bigger than himself, receiving the Medal of Freedom with humility, placing his hand on our family Bible to take his oath of office. And weeks ago, when I saw him dig deep into his soul and decide to no longer seek re-election and endorse Kamala Harris, with faith and conviction, Joe knows that our nation's strength doesn't come from intimidation or cruelty. It comes from the small acts of kindness that heal deep wounds, from service to the communities that make us who we are, from love of a country that shines with promise and renewal. Kamala Harris knows that, too. Our son Beau first worked with Kamala when he was Attorney General of Delaware. He told me at the dinner table one night, Mom, she's special, someone to keep your eye on. And he was right. Joe and I know Kamala. We have seen her courage, her determination, and her leadership up close. Kamala and Tim, you will win. And you are inspiring a new generation. We are all a part of something bigger than ourselves, and we are stronger than we know. The future of our country is in the hands of those in this room and all of you watching at home. It's going to take all of us, and we can't afford to lose. With faith in each other, hope for a brighter future, and love for our country, we will fight, and we will win, together. Thank you.

[01:25:47] Speaker 3: Thank you. The First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, addressing the crowd there. You see many people holding up these signs that, of course, have been distributed with her name, Jill, there. And now we're going to hear from Ashley Biden, the youngest daughter of President Biden, someone who's not been in the spotlight as much as some of his other children, but certainly in the spotlight tonight.

[01:26:16] Speaker 21: Good evening. I have this memory. It's the eve of my eighth birthday. Dad is still in D.C. tending to urgent matters in the Senate. That night, as a surprise, Mom told me, Beau, and Hunter to get in the car. I remember pulling up to the Wilmington Amtrak station, riding up the escalator to the platform. The train stops, doors open, and Dad steps out. As soon as I saw him, I run down that platform and jump into his arms. Like magic, Mom brought out a cake, they sang happy birthday, and I blew out the candles. Dad hugged me, and he said that he had to get back to work. He crossed to the southbound train, and off he went to D.C. That was a snapshot of one moment, of one day, on this extraordinary journey of being Joe Biden's daughter. Joe Biden is the OG girl dad. He told me I could be anything, and I could do anything. As a child, I would sit on the leather chair in his office doing my homework, and he would sit next to me doing his work, drafting the Violence Against Women Act. And he wasn't just a girl dad. I could see, and he wasn't just a girl dad, I could see that he valued and trusted women. How he listened to his mother, how he believed in his sister, and most of all, how he respected my mother's career. Dad was always there, doing everything he could to be a true partner to her. Dad, you always tell us, but we don't tell you enough, that you are the love of our lives and the life of our love. I had my wedding reception in my parents' backyard. At the time, my dad was vice president. But he was also that dad, who literally set up the entire reception. He was riding around in his John Deere four-wheeler, fixing the place settings, arranging the plants, and by the way, he was very emotional. I thought that I would be a mess, but he was the one crying, and I was the one who had to comfort him. Before he walked me down the aisle, he turned to me and said that he would always be my best friend. All these years later, dad, you are still my best friend. His example in service inspired my career. I'm a social worker in Philadelphia. I support formerly incarcerated women as they heal from past trauma and reclaim their lives. Dad always told me that I was no better than anybody else, and nobody was better than me. He taught me that everyone deserves a fair shot and that we shouldn't leave anyone behind. That's what you learn from a fighter who has been underestimated his entire life. When I look at dad, I see grace, strength, and humility. I see one of the most consequential leaders ever in history. And I also know that he never stops thinking about you, about your dreams, about your dignity, about your opportunities, about your family. Dad knows that family is everything. When Hunter and I lost our brother Beau to cancer in 2015, the grief and the pain felt like it might never end. Dad had the capacity to step out of his own pain and absorb ours. And I know that Beau is here with us tonight, as he is always with us. After Beau passed, I got this tattoo on my wrist. It says, Courage, Dear Heart. A reminder to myself to keep going, to get back up, like my dad has always done. He has taught me that a courageous heart is a miraculous thing. A courageous heart can heal a family. A courageous heart can heal a nation, and maybe even the world. And now, this election requires the courageous hearts of all of us. In 2020, my dad selected Kamala Harris to beat Donald Trump. And he knows in 2024, she will beat Donald Trump again. So tonight, I am asking you, if you stood with us in 2020, call upon your courageous heart. Stand with us today. Work harder than you have ever worked before in your life. This is the fight of our lifetime. Our freedom, our democracy, our reproductive rights, all of this, all of it is on the ballot. And I know, together, we can do this, because my dad helped show us the way. And now, I would like to introduce my father, your 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden.

[01:33:56] Speaker 3: This is Joe Biden's daughter, Ashley Biden, as she mentioned her brother, Beau, and credited her father as an inspiration to her. And there we see her greeting Joe Biden on stage.

[01:34:29] Speaker 9: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you.

[01:37:46] Speaker 1: I love you.

[01:37:46] Speaker 9: Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[01:37:48] Speaker 1: That was my daughter.

[01:37:48] Speaker 9: Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I'll tell you what.

[01:38:09] Speaker 22: To my dearest daughter, Ashley. God love you, you're incredible. Thank you for that introduction. And for being my courageous heart, along with Hunter and our entire family. And especially our rock, Jill. For those of you who know us, she still leaves me both breathless and speechless. Everybody knows her. I love her more than she loves me. She walks down the stairs and I still get that going, boom, boom, boom. You all know me, no, I'm not kidding. Let's give a special round of applause to our First Lady, Jill Biden. My dad used to have an expression, for real. He'd say, Joey, family is the beginning, the middle, and the end. And I love you all. Folks. And America, I love you.

[01:39:49] Speaker 23: Folks, let me ask you.

[01:40:07] Speaker 22: Let me ask you, are you ready to vote for freedom? Are you ready to vote for democracy and for America? Let me ask you, are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walsh, President and Vice President of the United States? My fellow Democrats, my fellow Americans, nearly four years ago, in winter, on the steps of the Capitol on a cold January day, I raised my right hand and I swore an oath to you and to God to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and to faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States. In front of me was a city surrounded by the National Guard. Behind me, a Capitol that two weeks before had been overrun by a violent mob. But I knew then, from the bottom of my heart that I knew now, there is no place in America for political violence. None. You cannot say you love your country only when you win. In that moment, I wasn't looking to the past. I was looking to the future. I spoke with the work at hand. The moment we had to meet, it was, as I told you then, a winter of peril and possibility, of peril and possibility. We're in the grip of a once-in-a-century pandemic, historic joblessness, a call for racial justice long overdue, clear and present threats to our very democracy. Thank you. And yet, and yet I believed then, and I believe now, that progress was and is possible. Justice is achievable. And our best days are not behind us, they're before us. Now it's summer. The winter has passed. And with a grateful heart, I stand before you now on this August night to report that democracy has prevailed. Democracy. Democracy has delivered. And now democracy must be preserved. You've heard me say it before, we're facing an inflection point. One of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now will determine the fate of our nation and the world for decades to come. That's not hyperbole, I mean it literally. We're in a battle for the very soul of America. I ran for president in 2020 because of what I saw in Charlottesville in August of 2017. Extremists coming out of the woods carrying torches, their veins bulging from their necks, carrying Nazi swastikas and chanting the same exact anti-Semitic bile that was heard in Germany in the early 30s. Neo-Nazis, white supremacists, the Ku Klux Klan, so emboldened by a president then in the White House that they saw as an ally. They didn't even bother to wear their hoods. Hate was on the march in America. Old ghosts in new garments, stirring up the oldest divisions, stoking the oldest fears, giving oxygen to the oldest forces that they long sought to tear apart America. In the process, a young woman was killed. When I contacted her mother and asked about what happened, she told me when the president was asked what he thought had happened, Donald Trump said, and I quote, very fine people on both sides, my God. That's what he said. That is what he said and what he meant. That's when I realized, had to listen to the admonition of my dead son, I could not stay in the sidelines. So I ran. Because I had no intention of running again. I just lost part of my soul. But I ran with a deep conviction. In America, I know and believe, in an America where honesty, dignity, decency still matter. An America where everyone has a fair shot and hate has no safe harbor. An America where the fundamental creed of this nation, that all of us are created equal, is still very much alive. And a broad coalition of Americans joined with me. Eighty-one million voters voted for us. More than any time in all of history. More than any time in all of history. Because of all of you in this room and others, we came together in 2020 to save democracy. As your president, I've been determined to keep America moving forward, not going back. To stand against hate and violence in all its forms. To be a nation where we not only live with, but thrive on diversity. Demonizing no one. Leaving no one behind. And becoming the nation that we profess to be. I also ran to rebuild the backbone of America. The middle class. I made a commitment to you that I'd be a president for all Americans, whether you voted for me or not. We have done that. Studies show the major bills we have passed actually delivered more to red states than blue. The job of the president is delivered to all of America. 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. When I say we, I mean Kamala and me. Just think about it. COVID no longer controls our lives. We've gone from economic crisis to the strongest economy in the entire world. Record 16 million new jobs. Record small business growth. Record high stock market. Record high 401Ks. Wages up, inflation down, way down, and continuing to go down. The smallest racial wealth gap in 20 years. And yes, we both know we have more to do, but we're moving in the right direction. More Americans have peace of mind that comes from having health insurance. More Americans have health insurance today than ever before in American history. And after, as a young senator beginning to fight, beginning to fight for 50 years to give Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, we finally beat big pharma. And guess who cast the tie-breaking vote? Vice President, soon-to-be President Kamala Harris. And now it's the law of the land. Instead of paying $400 a month for insulin, seniors with diabetes will pay $35 a month. The law we passed already includes, and started in January, every senior's total prescription cost can be capped at $2,000, no matter how expensive the drugs they have. And what we don't focus on, and our Republican friends don't seem to understand, our reforms don't just save seniors money, they save the American taxpayers money. You know what we just passed saved? It saved $160 billion over the next decade. That's not hyperbole. It's because Medicare no longer has to pay those exorbitant prices to the big pharma. But look, thank you, Kamala, too. Look, folks, how can we have the strongest economy in the world without the best infrastructure in the world? Donald Trump promised Infrastructure Week every week for four years, and he never built a damn thing. But now, because of Kamala, I've done. Remember, we were told we couldn't get it done. Remember, when we came into office, we couldn't get anything passed? But right now, we're giving America an infrastructure decade not week. We're modernizing our roads, our bridges, our ports, our airports, our trains, our buses, removing every lead pipe from schools and homes so every child can drink clean water, providing affordable high-speed Internet for every American no matter where they live, not unlike what Roosevelt did with electricity, and so much more. We are uniting the country. We're growing our economy. We're improving our quality of life, and we're building a better America. Because that's who we are. How can we be the strongest nation in the world without leading the world in science and technology? After years of importing 90 percent of our semiconductor chips from abroad, which America invented those chips, our Chips in Science Act meant that private companies from around the world are now investing literally tens of billions of dollars to build new chip factories right here in America. And over that period, they'll create tens of thousands of jobs, and many of those jobs in the so-called fabs, the buildings that make the chips, are being constructed now. And guess what? The average salary in those fabs, the size of a football field, will be over $100,000 a year, and you don't need a college degree. Because of you and so many electeds out there, American manufacturing is back. Where are those that say we wouldn't lead the world in manufacturing? 800,000 new manufacturing jobs. Our Republican friends and others made sure they'd go abroad to get the cheapest labor. We used to import products and export jobs. Now we export American products and create American jobs right here in America, where jobs belong. With every new job, with every new factory, pride and hope is being brought back to communities throughout the country that were left behind. You know you're from it, many of you. You know what it's like when that factory closed, where your mother, your father, your grandmother, your grandfather worked. And now you're back, providing once again, proving that Wall Street didn't build America, the middle class built America, and unions built the middle class. It's been my view since I came to the Senate. And that's why I'm proud to have been the first president to walk a picket line and be labeled the most pro-union president in history, and I accept it. That's a fact.

[01:55:55] Speaker 9: Because when unions do well, we all do well. We all do well.

[01:56:06] Speaker 22: You got it, man. You got it. I agree. I'm proud. Look, remember we told we couldn't get anything done because we couldn't get anything done in the Congress? Well, with your support, we passed the most significant climate law in the history of mankind. Over $370 billion. Cutting carbon emissions in half by 2030. Launching a climate corps, similar to AmeriCorps and Peace Corps, creating tens of thousands of jobs for young people of the future, and we're going to make sure this continues. Creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in clean energy for American workers, including the IBW installing 500,000, 500,000 charging stations all across America. And in the process, reducing carbon emissions and we're seeing it. We're seeing to it that the first beneficiaries of environmental initiatives are those fence line communities that have been smothered by the legacy of pollution. Louisiana and Delaware, Route 9. All the factors, all those chemical factors are right next to the poorest neighborhoods. They're the ones we're going to bring back. And how? How can we be the greatest nation in the world without the best education system in the world? Donald Trump and the Republican friends, they not only can't think, they can't read very well. Seriously, think about it. Look at their Project 2025. They want to do away with the Department of Education. Well, during the pandemic, Kamala helped states and cities get back their schools back open, and we gave public school teachers a raise. We created apprenticeships with businesses and communities, putting students on a path to a good-paying job whether or not they go to college. And by the way, we're making college a hell of a lot more affordable. Increasing Pell Grants by $900. Over $15 billion for HBCUs. Minority Service Agencies, including Hispanic institutions and tribal colleges. We kept our commitment to provide more student relief than ever by lifting the burden of helping millions of families so they could get married, start a family, buy a home, and begin to build family wealth and contribute to the community and grow our economy. It's not costing us, it's creating more wealth. We fundamentally transformed how our economy grows, from the middle out and the bottom up instead of the top down. You know, my dad used to say there wasn't a whole hell of a lot to drop down on my kitchen table at the end of the month. I come from a basic, middle-class family. Three-bedroom house, four kids, a grandpop living with us, decent neighborhood, but never a penny to spare. And look, that top-down notion never worked. A lot of Democrats didn't think it worked, thought it worked, but it doesn't. And when we did all that, what we've done, everybody can do well. Everybody. Donald Trump calls America a failing nation. No, I'm serious. But think about this. Think about this. He publicly says to the whole world, I'm going to say something outrageous, I know more foreign leaders by their first names and know them more than anybody live, just because I'm so damn old. But I'm not joking. Think of the message he sends around the world when he talks about America being a failing nation. He says we're losing. He's the loser. He's dead wrong. Many of you are very successful people who travel the world. Name me a country in the world that doesn't think we're the leading nation in the world. Without America, not a joke, think about it, I'm being literal, who could lead the world other than the United States of America? But guess what? America is winning, and the world is better off for it. America is more prosperous, and America is safer today than it was under Donald Trump. Trump continues to lie about crime in America, like everything else. Guess what? On his watch, the murder rate went up 30%, the biggest increase in history. Meanwhile, we made the largest investment, Kamala and I, in public safety ever. Now, the murder rate is falling faster than any time in history. Violent crime has dropped to the lowest level in more than 50 years. And crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office instead of a convicted felon. And, folks, the distinguished senator from California and I passed the first ban on assault weapons. And guess what? It worked. If we care about public safety, we need to prevent gun violence. And it makes me ashamed when I travel the world, which I do. More children in America are killed by a gunshot than any other cause in the United States. More die from a bullet than cancer, accidents, or anything else in the United States of America. My God. That's why Kamala and I are proud. We beat the NRA when we passed the first major bipartisan gun safety law in 30 years. I'm serious. That comes from here. And now it's time to ban assault weapons again. And demand universal background checks. It's hard. I never thought I'd stand before a crowd of Democrats and refer to a president as a liar so many times. No, I'm not trying to be funny.

[02:03:57] Speaker 1: It's hard.

[02:03:58] Speaker 22: It's sad. Trump continues to lie about the border. Here's what he won't tell you. Trump killed the strongest bipartisan border deal in the history of the United States. Now, we negotiated with the Senate Republicans. It took four weeks. Once it passed, and then we acknowledged it would change in American history. He called senators to say, don't support the bipartisan bill because he said it would help me politically and hurt him politically. My God. No, I'm serious. Think about it. Not a joke. Ask even the press who doesn't like me. They'll tell you that's true. Typically, Trump, once again, put himself first and America last. Then I had to take executive action. The result of the executive action I took, border encounters have dropped over 50%. In fact, there are fewer border crossings today than when Donald Trump left office. And unlike Trump, we will not demonize immigrants, saying they're the poison of blood of America. They're the poison of blood of our country. Kamala and I are committed to strengthening legal immigration, including protecting Dreamers and more. And here's what else I believe in. Protecting your freedom. Your freedom to vote. Your freedom to love who you love. And your freedom to choose. In his decision over turning Roe v. Wade, as you heard earlier tonight, the United States Supreme Court majority wrote the following. Quote, women are not without electoral or political power. No kidding. Maggie Republicans found out the power of women in 2022. And Donald Trump is going to find out the power of women in 2024. Watch. And where Trump and his mega-Republican right-wingers seek to erase history, we Democrats continue to write history and make more history. I'm proud. I'm proud to have kept my commitment to appoint the first black woman to the United States Supreme Court. To Ta-Nehisi. To Ta-Nehisi Brown Jackson. A symbol for every young woman in America that you can do anything. I'm proud that I've kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America and that taps in to the full talent of our nation. The most diverse cabinet in history, including the first black woman of South Asian descent to serve as vice president. And will soon serve as the 47th president of the United States.

[02:08:06] Speaker 19: She is good. Look.

[02:08:12] Speaker 22: Thank you, Kamala. Folks, I've long said we have many obligations as a nation, but I got in trouble years ago for saying I'd make no apologies. We have only one truly sacred obligation to prepare and equip those we send to war and care for them and their families when they come home and when they don't. That's why I'm so proud to have written and signed the PAC Act. One of the most significant laws ever helping veterans and their families exposed to toxic materials like burn pits and Agent Orange. I was around during the Vietnam War. It's hard. Nobody was able to prove that their illness was caused by Agent Orange. And no one was able to prove initially that because they lived in burn pits like my son lived next to in Iraq for a year, that it was the cause of their illness. But because of the PAC Act, a surviving spouse to two children is now eligible for a stipend of about $3,000 a month. And those children are eligible for tuition benefits to go to college and to get job training. It's already helping over 1 million veterans and their families just so far. Well, I love them and I'm so proud of my son's service. We get it. But guess who doesn't get it and doesn't respect our veterans? We know from his own chief of staff, the four-star General John Kelly, that Trump, when in Europe, would not go to the grave sites in one of the—in France. The brave service members who gave their lives to this country, he called them suckers and losers. Who in the hell does he think he is? There's no words for a person— there are not the words of a person not worthy of being Commander-in-Chief, period. Not then, not now, and not ever. I mean that. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Just as no Commander-in-Chief should ever bow down to a dictator the way Trump bows down to Putin, I never have, and I promise you, Kamala Harris will never do it. Will never bow down. When Trump left office, Europe and NATO was in tatters. Not a joke. America First Doctrine changed our whole image in the world. Well, I spent—they gave the hours, about 190 hours sum total, me and my counterparts were heads of state in Europe to strengthen NATO. We did. We united Europe like it hadn't been united for years, adding Finland and Sweden to NATO. Ten days before he died, Henry Kissinger called and said, not since Napoleon, as Europe not looked over its shoulder at Russia with dread, until now, until now. Well, guess what? Putin thought he'd take Kiev in three days. Three years later, Ukraine is still free. When I came to office, the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably surpass the United States. They haven't noticed. No one's saying that now. And we'll keep working to bring hostages home and end the war in Gaza and security in the Middle East. As you know, I wrote a peace treaty for Gaza. A few days ago, I put forward a proposal that brought us closer to doing that than we've done since October 7th. We're working around the clock, my Secretary of State, to prevent a wider war and reunite hostages with their families and surge humanitarian, health, and food assistance into Gaza now. To end the civilian suffering of the Palestinian people and finally, finally, finally deliver a cease-firing end this war. Those protesters out in the street, they have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides. Yesterday, we worked around the clock to bring home wrongfully detained Americans and others from Russia in one of the most complicated swaps in history. But they're home. Kamala and I are going to keep working to bring all Americans wrongfully detained around the world home. I mean it. Folks, I've got five months left in my presidency. I've got a lot to do. I intend to get it done. It's been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more. I love my country more. And all this talk about how I'm angry at all those people who said I should step down, that's not true. I love my country more, and we need to preserve our democracy. In 2024, we need you to vote. We need you to keep the Senate. We need you to win back the House of Representatives. And above all, we need you to beat Donald Trump. And elect Kamala and Tim president and vice president of the United States of America. Look, they'll continue to lead America forward, creating more jobs, standing up for workers, growing the economy, we've made incredible progress, we have more work to do, and Kamala and Tim will continue to take on corporate greed and bring down cost of food. They'll keep taking out Big Pharma, making insulin $35 a month, not just for seniors, but for everyone in America. And capping prescription drug costs a total of $2,000, not just for seniors, but for everyone. And folks, that's going to save America again tens of billions of dollars. Folks, they'll make housing more affordable, building 3 million new homes, providing $25,000 down payment assistance for the first-time homebuyer. More than the 10 we approved. Donald Trump wants a new tax on imported goods, food, gas, clothing, and more. You know what that would cost the average family, according to the experts? $3,900 a year in a tax. No, that's a fact. Kamala and Tim will make the child care tax credit permanent, lifting millions of children out of poverty and helping millions of families get ahead. But you know what Trump has? He put the car—he created the largest debt any president had in four years with his $2 trillion tax cut for the wealthy. Well, Trump has a new plan. He wants to provide a $5 billion tax cut for corporations that are very wealthy. Put a—read it. Put us further in debt. And folks, you know we have 1,000 trillion— we have 1,000 billionaires in America. You know what their average tax rate they pay? 8.2 percent. If we just increase their taxes we proposed to 25 percent, which isn't the highest tax rate even, it would raise $500 billion new dollars over 10 years. They'd still be very wealthy. Look, Kamala and Tim are going to make them pay their fair share. They'll protect Social Security and Medicare. Trump wants to cut Social Security and Medicare. Kamala and Tim will protect your freedom. They'll protect your right to vote. They'll protect your civil rights. And you know Trump will do everything to ban abortion nationwide. Oh, he will. You know, Kamala and Tim will do everything they possibly can—that's why you have to elect a senator in the House—to restore Roe v. Wade. The ancient Greeks taught us that character is destiny. Character is destiny. For me and Jill, we know Kamala and Doug are people of character. It's been our honor to serve alongside them. And we know that Tim and Gwen Waltz are also people of great character. Selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made when I became our nominee. The best decision I made my whole career. We've not only gotten to know each other, we've become close friends. She's tough, she's experienced, and she has enormous integrity. Enormous integrity. Her story represents the best American story. One of our best presidents, she was also vice president. That's a joke. But she'll be a president our children can look up to. She'll be a president respected by world leaders because she already is. She'll be a president we can all be proud of. She'll be a president who puts her stamp on America's future. This will be the first presidential election since January 6th. On that day, we almost lost everything about who we are as a country. And that threat, this is not hyperbole, that threat is still very much alive. Donald Trump says he will refuse to accept the election result if he loses again. Think about that. He means it. Think about that. He's promising a bloodbath if he loses in his words. And that he'll be a dictator on day one in his own words. By the way, this sucker means it. No, I'm not joking. Think about it. Anybody else said that in the past? You think he is crazy, but you'd think it was an exaggeration. But he means it. We can't let that happen. Folks, all of us carry a special obligation. Independents, Republicans, Democrats. We saved democracy in 2020, and we'll save it again in 2024.

[02:22:47] Speaker 23: The vote of each of us cast this year will determine whether democracy and freedom will prevail.

[02:23:07] Speaker 22: It's that simple. It's that serious. And the power is literally in your hands. Not hyperbole. It's in your hands. America's future is in your hands. Let me close with this. Nowhere else in the world could a kid with a stutter and modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, grow up to sit behind the Resolute Desk America is and always has been a nation of possibilities. Possibilities. We must never lose that. Never. Kamala and Tim understand that this nation must continue to be a place of possibilities, not just for the few of us, but for all of us. Join me in promising your whole heart to this effort. And where my heart will be, I promise I'll be the best volunteer Harrison Walsh has ever seen. Each of us has a part in the American story. For me and my family, there's a song that means a lot to us, that captures the best of who we are as a nation. The song is called American Anthem. There's one verse that stands out, and I can't sing worth a damn, so I'm not going to try. I'll just quote it. The work and prayers of centuries have brought us to this day. What shall our legacy be? What shall our children say? Let me know in my heart when my days are through, America, America, I gave my best to you. I've made, I've made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you. For 50 years, like many of you, I've given my heart and soul to our nation. And I've been blessed a million times in return for the support of the American people. I've really been too young to be in the Senate because I wasn't 30 yet, and too old to stay as president. But I hope you know how grateful I am to all of you. I can honestly say, and I mean this from the bottom, give me my word as a Biden, I can honestly say I'm more optimistic about the future than any other United States senator. I mean it. Folks, we just have to remember who we are. We're the United States of America. And there's nothing we cannot do when we do it together.

[02:26:58] Speaker 3: God bless you all, and may God protect our troops. Thank you. It's not the speech that I expected to hear. It began as exactly the speech you would expect.

[02:28:36] Speaker 8: Joe Biden returns to what's always been the news for him.