The DNC kicked off last night, and all of the nation’s most dogged political reporters made their way to Chicago.
And by best political reporters, I mean:
And, because this is TOTI:
Monday night’s speaker slate was chock-full of Democrats’ up-and-coming political stars… and (including?!), fresh off Team USA’s gold medal in men’s basketball against France, Warriors coach- and Arizona native 👀 – Steve Kerr:
Early speakers included Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett (of “bleach-blonde, bad-built, butch body” fame):
Georgia Senator Rafael Warnock:
Kentucky Governor and almost-VP-selection Andy Beshear was introduced by probably the most powerful segment of the night, featuring women impacted by the overturning of Roe v. Wade:
Arguably, the star of the entire night was New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, unsurprising to anybody who’s seen a single speech, congressional hearing, or Instagram Live of hers:
Another elected official from New York was given a speaking slot last night and it did… not go quite as well.
To revive the crowd, they brought out a surprise guest, after promoting the latest campaign ad featuring Kamala’s signature song, Freedom:
Hillary Clinton gave a speech hitting on her usual themes: it takes a village, let’s break the glass ceiling, and can you believe this fucking guy?
And then… it happened.
The night did run very, very long, with Delaware Senator Chris Coons, First Lady Jill Biden, and First Daughter Ashley Biden all introducing Joe Biden separately.
Finally, at 11:30pm ET, Joe Biden came on stage to a hero’s welcome:
Throughout his speech, he was regularly interrupted by chants of “we love Joe” and “thank you Joe.” 🥹
The speech was not without its stumbles (“women have electrical power” instead of “electoral power”). But, thankfully, State of the Union Joe showed up, so his slip ups were more heartwarming than heartstopping.
More than any one speech, the opening night of the DNC – a night that covered the full progressive left to center-left spectrum, from AOC to HRC – proved that 2024 is different in more than one way from 2016 or 2020.
Onto night two! 🫡
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