2020 Democratic National Convention

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Overview

The 2020 Democratic National Convention is the ongoing 49th Democratic National Convention, taking place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, between August 17th and August 20th. At the convention, the Democratic presidential nominee is formally announced. In this case, the presumptive candidate is Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris shares the ticket as vice president. Due to the coronavirus, many of the speeches from Democratic leaders, such as former First Lady Michelle Obama, Senator Bernie Sanders, Governor Andrew Cuomo, as well as Republican leaders like former Governor John Kasich.

Background

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the Democratic National Committee announced on April 4th, 2020 that they rescheduled the convention for the week of August 17th.^[1] Organizers slashed the number of attendees at the convention in Milwaukee from 50,000 to 5,000, and finally from 1,000 to 300. Eventually, organizers decided to keep the convention remote, with the production headquartered in Milwaukee, instructing "senators, members of Congress and party delegates not to physically attend their national convention this summer." ^[2]

The DNC began the event on August 17th with speeches delivered either live via remote broadcast or pre-recorded tape.

Developments

Night One

The first night of the convention took place on August 17th, 2020 (video below). Emcee'd by actor Eva Longoria, the night's theme was "We the People."

On August 17th, 2020, the first night of the convention featured speeches from numerous leaders within the Democratic Party. They included Michelle Obama, Senator Bernie Sanders, Governor Andrew Cuomo, former Governor John Kasich, George Floyd's brothers Rodney and Philonise Floyd, Senator Amy Klobuchar and more.^[3]

Before the event, many online expressed disappointment with some of the speakers scheduled for night one, particularly former Republican Governor John Kasich. His inclusion inspired discussion on various subreddits, such as /r/politics, where a thread received more than 9,000 points (97% upvoted) and 800 comments.^[4]

The controversy grew even more significant after reports that progressive leaders within the party, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would receive significantly less time.^[5] On August 13th, 2020, The Nation Reporter Ken Klippenstein tweeted,^[6] "A literal Republican, John Kasich, is going to get more speaking time at the DNC than every member of the squad combined." The tweet received more than 30,000 likes and 4,800 retweets in less than one week (shown below, left).

On August 17th, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted,^[6] "It's great that Kasich has woken up &realized the importance of supporting a Biden-Harris ticket. I hope he gets through to GOP voters. Yet also, something tells me a Republican who fights against women's rights doesn't get to say who is or isn't representative of the Dem party." The tweet received more than 46,000 likes and 7,800 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

Two of the most discussed speeches of the night were that of Senator Bernie Sanders and former First Lady Michelle Obama (shown below, left and right, respectively).

Journalist David Shuster wrote,^[7] "Spot on. @BernieSanders speech will be viewed as superb by progressives, moderates, and anti-Trump republicans. He delivered the #unity, and underscored the importance as no one else could. Remarkable speech." Thet tweet received more than 700 likes and 190 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, left).

MSNBC security analyst Matthew Miller tweeted,^[8] "My favorite thing about Michelle Obama's speech was how she reiterated the need to go high right before she unleashed the "it is what it is" line. Stone cold killer." The tweet received more than 22,000 likes and 3,300 retweets in less than 24 hours (shown below, right).

Following the speech, the hashtag #ItIsWhatIs trended on Twitter.

Night Two

On August 18th, 2020, night two of the convention was held. The theme of the night was "leadership matters." During the evening, Democrats officially nominated Joe Biden for president. He accepted the nomination.^[9]

The DNC received praise online for the virtual roll call, in which delegates from 57 states and territories nominated Biden for president. Online, many said that it was a highlight of the evening (examples below).