DNC 2020 Day 2 summary as Jill Biden, Clinton & Ocasio-Cortez speak
DNC 2020 - Day 2, Tuesday 18 August 2020
The first-ever virtual Democratic National Convention resumed on Tuesday, with the party showcasing its elder statesmen and up-and-coming political stars to press the case for electing Joe Biden as president in November.
Here are the highlights from the second night of the convention:
The keynote speech that opened Tuesday's program featured 17 voices, a departure from a tradition that most famously anointed Barack Obama as a rising Democratic star at the 2004 convention.
That speech, in which Obama argued there was no true Red-Blue divide in the country, paved the way for the largely post-partisan presidential campaign he tried to run in 2008.
The previous two keynote speakers, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Julian Castro, then the mayor of San Antonio, also later ran for president.
This time around, the party said it wanted to accommodate as many young Democratic officeholders as possible given the time constraints of the virtual convention.
But the slot of “rising star” may have already been filled at this convention – either by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who also spoke on Tuesday, or Biden's vice presidential pick, Kamala Harris, who speaks on Wednesday.
Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump could not be more different people, but there was a certain irony to the former Democratic president speaking at the virtual convention.
Carter’s tenure as president from 1977 to 1981 is the model that Democrats hope now fits the Republican Trump, a single term marked by economic turmoil and a loss of U.S. standing in the world.
The two men faced sharply different crises in their fourth year in office - Carter with the Iran hostage drama and Trump with the coronavirus. Democrats hope that the end result in 2020 will be the same - voters picking someone new.
Carter was followed on Tuesday night by former President Bill Clinton, who won a second term despite a shaky first – in part by running against a much older nominee, Senator Bob Dole, then 73.
Clinton is now 74. Biden, whose nomination Clinton touted, is 77 and would be the oldest person to become U.S. president if he is elected on Nov. 3.
DNC 2020 Day 4: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Tammy Duckworth and Tammy Baldwin among speakers
Who is speaking at Day 4 of the DNC?
DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
Democratic National Convention 2020: dates, schedule, speakers, time and how to watch
Renamed the "Convention Across America”, 2020’s virtual DNC takes place from Monday 17 August to Thursday 20 August, and across these days will feature speakers including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, while there will also be performances from musicians such as Billie Eilish and John Legend.
Here's a rundown of what's in store during the four-day convention:
'Rising up to take on the crises'
According the DNC website, tonight we will "hear from the many Americans who are rising up to take on the crises facing our country and join Joe Biden in rebuilding the country and moving it forward."
And you can watch and listen as the evening unfolds.
Traditionally attended by around 50,000 people, a scaled back convention is to be held virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, with neither the nominees, nor delegates, nor the event’s speakers turning out in person.
"Roll Call Across America"
The 'roll call' will take place on Tuesday, as the US' states and territories officially cast their votes to nominate Joe Biden as the Democrats' candidate in November's presidential election.
Speakers lined up include:
Former Acting US Attorney General Sally Yates, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, former Secretary of State John Kerry, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester, former President Bill Clinton and former Second Lady Dr Jill Biden.
DMC 2020 second night: welcome
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the second night of the Democratic National Convention.
Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are formally confirmed as their party's presidential ticket at the 2020 Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which began on Monday.