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CNN Live Event/Special
First Night Of Historic DNC Under Way; Harris Appears At First Night Of DNC; Hillary Clinton Speaks At Night One Of DNC. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired August 19, 2024 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:00]
GINA RAIMONDO, U.S. SECRETARY OF COMMERCE: As our president, Kamala Harris will build an economy where everyone, and she means everyone, can find and live their American dream. So let's put her in the Oval Office. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am a lifelong Republican, a former Trump voter, and I will not be voting for Trump in 2024.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My name is Norma. I'm from Carson, Washington, and I am a two-time Trump voter. I will not be voting for Trump this time around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm actually embarrassed to say that I did vote for Trump in 2016. Donald Trump has nothing but contempt for the American people, and ironically, for those who claim to be his base. He's only interested in bidding fitting himself personally.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything he said he would do, he did not do. I do not trust that he can do the right thing anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've seen what Donald Trump really is, and it disgusts me to my core.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think the man can be trusted. He talks out of both sides of his mouth. He's a very dishonest person. I hate the way he disrespects women. Voting against Trump and for Kamala Harris is the right thing to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: We are just minutes away, from the start of the Democrats' primetime convention program, featuring some of the biggest names in the Democratic Party.
Coming up. We expect to see Vice President Kamala Harris exciting delegates, as she makes her first in-person appearance at this convention. Let's go right now to Kaitlan Collins, who's on the floor of the convention.
Kaitlan.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi. Yes, we are on the floor here, of course. We are waiting, as everyone is, for the key speakers, coming out tonight. Secretary Hillary Clinton. First lady Jill Biden. And then President Biden himself. We saw him out here earlier.
I will say that as we were standing in here, Jake, and as the room is filled up with the delegates, right behind me, you can see up there, that is the VIP box. That is where all of the VIPs that -- and I believe our colleague, John Berman, is right there, with the vice presidential nominee, Governor Walz.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Governor Walz is talking to someone else, right now. I'm going to try to talk.
I'm going to try to talk to the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff.
Mr. Emhoff, how are you doing tonight?
DOUGLAS EMHOFF, SECOND GENTLEMAN OF THE UNITED STATES: Hey, John. Good to see you.
BERMAN: Nice to see you. Excited for the night?
EMHOFF: It's going to be a great night. I'm looking forward to hearing from the President.
BERMAN: All right. Thank you very much.
Governor Walz.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys. We're not doing press conference.
BERMAN: Governor Walz. Governor Walz. Governor Walz.
Governor Walz is doing his best job, ignoring me, right now.
But you can see this is the family box. Tony West, brother-in-law to the Vice President. Maya Harris, the sister. Then we see the children of Governor Walz, right behind him as well. This is the VIP section. This is where they'll be watching.
Guys.
TAPPER: All right. Let's listen in to New York governor Kathy Hochul.
ANNOUNCER: Please welcome New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
(APPLAUSE)
GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): Hello, Democrats.
(APPLAUSE)
HOCHUL: Are you ready to elect Kamala Harris the first president of the United States? Yes, you are. Yes, you are.
Friends, like so many of us, my grandparents came from Ireland as teenagers, with nothing but hope in their hearts and fire in their bellies. They built their lives in the promised land of Buffalo, New York.
A union card meant good work at the steel plant. The steel plant that lifted my parents from living in a trailer to the middle class. Like other families in my blue-collar community, they believed that with hard work, they could build a better future, not just for themselves, but for those with less hope and less opportunity.
I'm proud of my roots and the values I learned. Grit, determination, compassion. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz grew up with those same values, and those values have always defined the people of my state. Well, most of us, anyway.
Donald Trump was born a New Yorker, but ended up a fraud, a philanderer, and a felon. He wasn't raised with the New York values that I know. He never had to worry about child care costs or groceries or rent. He never had to worry about anything or anyone but himself.
Trust me, America, if you think you're tired of Donald Trump, talk to a New Yorker.
(APPLAUSE)
[21:05:00]
HOCHUL: We've had to deal with him for 78 long years. The fraud, the tax dodging, the sham university, the shady charities. We've seen him stiff contractors, rip off workers. He abuses women, brags about it, and then takes away their rights.
And New Yorkers are sick of it. It's no wonder he had a fleet of Mar- a-Lago. Sorry about that, Florida. Sorry about that. Trump hasn't spent much time in New York lately, except that is to get convicted of 34 felonies.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
HOCHUL: And that's just fine with us, because New York's motto is "Excelsior, Ever Upward." And Trump takes us ever downward, because here's what Trump never understood.
America isn't a luxury good to be bought and sold by the privileged and powerful few. America, we just can't afford another four years of that. We have kids to feed, roads to build, jobs to create, real problems to solve.
(CHEERING) (APPLAUSE)
HOCHUL: And we need leaders who can get it done. Trump talked big about bringing back manufacturing jobs.
But you know who actually did it? President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
HOCHUL: Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Kamala.
(APPLAUSE)
HOCHUL: And look no further than the city of Syracuse, where a company called Micron is building a $100 billion microchip factory with union labor.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
HOCHUL: It's the largest private investment in American history. And it's going to create 50,000 good-paying jobs.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
HOCHUL: The Biden-Harris administration has made the most significant investments in our economy in generations.
And, as president, Kamala Harris will continue to build an opportunity economy for all. My friends, history is watching us. Together, we must protect abortion rights. Together, we must protect the middle class.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
HOCHUL: Together, we must protect the American dream. And, together, we must elect Kamala Harris president of the United States. Thank you.
[21:10:00]
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(CHANTING)
KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, CURRENT U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Good evening, everyone. 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.
(CHEERING)
HARRIS: And I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible president, Joe Biden.
(CHEERING)
HARRIS: 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.
(APPLAUSE)
HARRIS: Thank you, Joe.
And looking out, looking out at everyone tonight, I see the beauty of our great nation. People from every corner of our country and every walk of life are here, united by our shared vision for the future of our country. And this November we will come together and declare with one voice, as one people, we are moving forward.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
HARRIS: With optimism, hope, and faith, so guided by our love of country, knowing we all have so much more in common than what separates us. Let us fight for the ideals we hold dear, and let us always remember, when we fight, we win.
God bless you. God bless the United States of America. Good night, everyone.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
TAPPER: A jubilant Vice President Kamala Harris making something of a surprise entry, in this arena, the United Center. And the crowd is just ecstatic here. Tens of thousands of Democrats, delegates, activists, union members, on their feet, holding up signs from the top of the rafters, to down on the floor.
Dana and Abby. This is a different Democratic Party, definitely a different mood, than just four weeks and two days ago.
And here is actor, Tony Goldwyn, coming out. He is -- we're not going to take him. But he just spoke.
ANNOUNCER: Please welcome, actor and director, Tony Goldwyn.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
TONY GOLDWYN, ACTOR AND DIRECTOR: Hello, Chicago. And hello to everyone tuning in from all across America. Welcome to the first night of the Democratic National Convention.
Now, how is that for an opening act?
(CHEERING)
GOLDWYN: I'm just saying. Now, as our vice president just said, over the next four days, we will be bringing folks together from all around the country, people from every walk of life to talk about this nation we love and about a candidate who has devoted her life to public service, who never shies away from a righteous fight, and who always stands up for the people.
We are going to talk about the choice America faces in this election. It's a choice not just between two very different candidates, but between two very different futures. We will hear from everyday Americans about what is truly at stake in this campaign. The future of our middle class, the future of reproductive rights, the future of our climate, our security, our schools, the future of our freedom. The future of our very democracy.
We will see the vision of our nominee. It is a vision of stability, security and opportunity for everyday Americans, where we continue to grow this economy by growing the middle class and where the safety of our children, our families, and our communities are a fundamental civil right.
It is a future where instead of scoffing at allies and fawning over dictators, our president stands up for our friends, faces down our adversaries, and American democracy remains a beacon of hope and inspires the world to take on our biggest challenges together.
We'll learn the story of a leader who has dedicated her life to making, doing the work of making good on the promise of America. A leader who understands the middle class because she grew up in the middle class. A leader who has taken on powerful interests at every step of her career and fought for the rights and freedoms of all of us.
And then, of course, we will hear again from the Democratic nominee herself, the next president of the United States of America, Kamala Harris.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
GOLDWYN: Because she has a message for us. It is a message that's joyful, not mean spirited. A message of public service, not self service. A message of optimism and opportunity, not chaos and division. A message that has woken us up to who we are, to who we've always been. Because Americans are not a cynical people. We are not small minded.
And whether we realize it right now or not, we are currently already writing a new chapter of the American story. And we can dream as big as we want. So, I just want to ask you, are you excited?
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
GOLDWYN: Yes? Well, good. Are you ready?
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
GOLDWYN: Okay. Well, then I challenge you to make this the moment you get off the sidelines and into the game. So, I want you to text JOIN to 30330 and get involved. Because when we fight, what happens?
CROWD: We win.
GOLDWYN: We win. And we are going to win this thing together. And while we're doing it, we are going to have a whole lot of fun. So, let's get started.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TAPPER: Dana, the crowd is really excited here.
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's electric. And not to mix metaphors, but it does feel like something just got uncorked. Like, there's just a lot of pressure, and all the sudden everybody feels free to express their joy.
And there's no question that this is a feeling that Democrats wanted to feel. They were searching for this kind of energy, and this kind of enthusiasm, particularly -- well, just in general, but particularly given the Republican that they're running against.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And I think heightened by the fact that they went through a period of weeks of just absolute despair.
[21:15:00]
What you're seeing, in this room, are people, who have a sense of hope again, about the trajectory of this race, and people who want to see Vice President Harris win. I mean, you felt the energy in the room building, as the video was playing. I mean, it was a pre-produced video with Beyonce playing. And people were on their feet. They were chanting along with the video. They were cheering along with the video.
And then when she stepped out on that stage, I mean, we all heard it and saw it. But people. Maybe some people didn't know if she was going to speak tonight. They knew she would be in the room, but maybe not speaking. But to see her on that stage, I think you felt everyone expressing what she means to the party, right now, which is giving them a shot, in this race, that was slipping away from them, just a few weeks ago.
BASH: And--
TAPPER: And we should -- we should note that one of what -- one of the dynamics that is going on -- and this is going to be a night, obviously, where there is an homage to President Biden. We just heard Vice President Harris talk about--
BASH: Yes.
TAPPER: --thanking him, and how important he has been to this country and to this party.
But one of the issues is that for the last year, as people geared up for the 2024 race, the candidates were in the minds of Democrats. One candidate, the Republican, who would come out and offend them. And the other candidate, their candidate, the Democrat, Joe Biden, who would come out, and they would sit on the edge of their seat and hope that he didn't say something meandering or off-message or addled.
And that fear about their nominee speaking is gone. Now, they have somebody who, I mean, it is -- does project joy, and they're not particularly subtle about how they want the message of this convention to be joy. But she does project joy with a -- with her smile and her tone and her mien. And she's not somebody that in a situation like this is going to cause Democrats, that tension that we used to feel, in the media, and all Americans, when the President would come out and speak.
BASH: Yes, exactly. That's sort of why, again, I keep going back to the notion of the feeling like, like you deserve -- kind of opened a bottle, and everything is kind of spilling out. And the everything here is relief and excitement. And you could feel the fact that people in this hall are desperate to be excited. And they are genuinely excited about her.
But I don't want to lose sight of the fact that she is keenly aware of what Republicans are trying to say, that she staged a coup, which there's no evidence of. In fact, the evidence is that she put her head down, and she told everybody around her, do not get involved, until Joe Biden himself came out.
PHILLIP: Yes.
BASH: Other Democrats pushed him very hard, publicly and privately. She did not.
But the fact that she understands, even though this is her convention, it is Joe Biden's night, and she was very, very careful to, one of the first things that she said, praise the man who brought her onto the ticket, four years ago.
PHILLIP: Look, it's opening night of what will be a, really, a big week for the Democratic Party.
One of the dynamics here, in Chicago, is something that you haven't really felt from the Democratic Party, since 2008 with Barack Obama.
TAPPER: We're going to listen -- I'm sorry to interrupt. We're -- this is -- we're about to hear from Steve Kerr, former NBA champion with the Bulls and the Spurs, and also four-time NBA champion coach with the Golden State Warriors.
There he is. Steve Kerr. His father. He's a gun violence activist. His father, Malcolm, having been assassinated, in 1984, when he was president at the American University of Beirut.
Let's listen in to Steve Kerr, who I believe used -- did he used to play in this very arena? Well, he was a Bull. Anyway.
ANNOUNCER: Please welcome nine time NBA Champion and coach of the 2024 Olympic Gold winning men's basketball team, Steve Kerr.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
STEVE KERR, NBA GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS HEAD COACH: Thank you. Thank you so much.
(CROWD chanting USA!)
KERR: Thank you. It is so fun to be back here in the United Center. And as you guys know, a lot of good stuff has happened in this building, especially in the '90s.
(CHEERING)
KERR: You young people Google Michael Jordan, and you can read all about it. Okay? So, there was an amazing vibe in this building back in those days, and I feel that same winning spirit here tonight.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: So, the last time I was in a packed basketball arena was in Paris, France.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: Nine days ago, some of the best players on Earth, twelve incredible American men came together to win Olympic Gold.
(CHEERING)
KERR: And the next night, I was back in that same building, watching twelve more of the best players on Earth, our incredible American women do the same thing.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
[21:20:00]
KERR: And I cannot think of a better metaphor for what this country is all about than the way Team USA came together at the Olympics. We had players from across our wonderful country, players who have trained and fought relentlessly, shed tears trying to beat one another throughout their careers, joining forces to wear the Red, White and Blue.
And, when we won, the American flag raised to the rafters, the national anthem playing, gold medals draped around the necks of our players whose hands were held over their hearts, it was the proudest moment of my life.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: Thank you. Thank you.
(CROWD chanting USA!)
KERR: Now, I could never have imagined that, a few days later, I would receive an invitation to step into a different kind of arena.
And so here I am.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: I know, I know very well that speaking out about politics these days comes with risks. I can see the "Shut up and whistle" tweets being fired off as we speak.
But I also knew as soon as I was asked that it was too important as an American citizen not to speak up in an election of this magnitude.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: The reason I said yes to speaking here tonight is that, as a coach and former player, as a husband, a son, a father, even a grandfather, and as an American, I believe in a certain kind of leadership. I believe that leaders must display dignity.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: I believe that leaders must tell the truth.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: I believe that leaders should be able to laugh at themselves. I believe leaders must care for and love the people they are leading. I believe leaders must possess knowledge and expertise, but with the full awareness that none of us has all the answers.
And, in fact, some of the best answers often come from members of the team. And if you look for those qualities in your friends, or your boss, or an employee, or your child's teacher, or your mayor, then shouldn't you want those same qualities in your president?
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: And when you think about it that way, this is no contest.
With Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, I see all those qualities. They have devoted their lives to serving other people, whether Vice President Harris was defending her community in the courtroom or Governor Walz was inspiring the next generation in the classroom, or on the field, for that matter.
And, by the way, coach to coach, that guy's awesome.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: Although I have to say, Coach Walz, way too much reliance on the blitz in '99 against Mankato East. You had a strong defensive line. I would have played more press coverage with your corners and then dropped the safeties into a Tampa 2.
(LAUGHTER)
KERR: That's just me. Sorry. I wanted you to know how I feel every day of the NBA season. All right?
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: But, listen, the joy, the compassion, the commitment to our country that we saw at the Olympics, that is what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have.
And it is what our country needs, leadership, real leadership, not the kind that seeks to divide us, but the kind that recognizes and celebrates our common purpose.
Think about what our team achieved with 12 Americans in Paris, putting aside rivalries to represent our country. Now imagine what we could do with all 330 million of us playing on the same team --
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: -- not as Democrats, not as Republicans, not as Libertarians, but as Americans --
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: -- who know the greatness of this nation doesn't come from any one of us, but from each of us doing our part to build a more perfect union.
That vision is what this campaign is all about. It's why I'm here tonight. And it's why I will be getting out every day to help people get out and vote on November 5 and elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as the next president and vice president of the United States.
[21:25:00]
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: And after the results are tallied that night, we can, in the words of the great Steph Curry, we can tell Donald Trump, night-night.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
KERR: Thank you.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me tell you folks in Ohio and in this area, don't sell your house. Do not sell it. We're going to get those jobs coming back and we're going to fill up those factories. It's going to happen.
(APPLAUSE)
NARRATOR: But Trump lied and abandoned Lordstown.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE : This is about a community.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's going to be a big change to go somewhere else. NARRATOR: The GM factory in Lordstown did close, putting thousands of
people out of work, because Donald Trump doesn't care about our communities.
DAVID B. GREEN, UAW REGION 2B DIRECTOR: All those jobs went away, and he did nothing. He did not do one thing for those workers there. He didn't come and make promises, he came and made false promises.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've kind of lost hope in everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't really want to leave.
NARRATOR: But then something changed. Instead of lies and broken promises, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris got to work and brought U.S. manufacturing jobs back, including to Lordstown. Kamala will continue to have workers' backs and get the job done. American workers deserve a fighter, and that's exactly what Kamala Harris is.
KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Do we believe in opportunity?
CROWD: Yes!
HARRIS: Are we ready to fight for it?
CROWD: Yes!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Please welcome United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
SHAWN FAIN, PRESIDENT, UNITED AUTO WORKERS: All right.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
FAIN: All right, yeah.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
FAIN: Thank you. Good evening, America. And good evening to the people that makes this world move, the working class.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING) FAIN: On behalf of 1 million active and retired members of the UAW, I am honored to support Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to be our next president and vice president!
(APPLAUSE)
FAIN: And I want to say thank you to Joe Biden for making history by walking the picket line with the UAW!
(APPLAUSE)
FAIN: For the UAW and for working class people everywhere, this election comes down to one question, which side are you on?
(APPLAUSE)
FAIN: On one side we have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who have stood shoulder to shoulder with the working class. On the other side, we have Trump and Vance.
(BOOING)
FAIN: Two lapdogs for the billionaire class who only serve themselves.
So for us in the labor movement, it's real simple. Kamala Harris is one of us.
(APPLAUSE)
FAIN: She's a fighter for the working class. And Donald Trump is a scab!
(APPLAUSE)
(CROWD chanting Trump's a scab!)
FAIN: And that's not -- heh.
(CROWD chanting Trump's a scab!)
[21:30:00]
FAIN: That's not just my opinion, that's a fact. All we have to do is look at the track record. When Donald Trump was president, corporate America ran wild. Donald Trump did not bring back the auto industry. When Donald Trump was president, auto plants closed. Trump did nothing. Trump told workers in Lordstown, Ohio, that he would be bringing all the auto jobs back. And Trump did nothing.
In 2019, General Motor workers went on strike for 40 days for good jobs and a better life, and Trump did nothing.
CROWD: Nothing.
FAIN: Talk is cheap but in 2019, you know who was on the picket line standing shoulder-to-shoulder with auto workers? I'll give you a clue. Her initials are Kamala Harris.
(CHEERING)
FAIN: In 2023, who helped bring jobs back to Lordstown, Ohio? Kamala Harris.
(CHEERING)
FAIN: And in 2024, who will stand with the working class in our fight for justice? Kamala Harris.
(CHEERING)
FAIN: And that's the difference. Donald Trump is all talk. And Kamala Harris walks the walk.
(CHEERING)
FAIN: In the words of the great American poet, Nelly, it's getting hot in here.
(CHEERING)
(CHANTING)
FAIN: It's hot in here. It's hot in here because you're fired up and you're fed up, and the American working class is fired up and fed up.
(CHEERING)
FAIN: The American working class is in a fight for our lives. And if you don't believe me, just last night, blue collar workers, UAW members at Cornell University had to walk out on strike for a better life because we're fighting corporate greed. And our only hope is to attack corporate greed head on.
Corporate greed turns blue collar blood, sweat and tears into Wall Street stock buybacks and CEO jackpots. It causes inflation. It hurts workers. It hurts consumers and it hurts America. And corporate greed is alive and well in the auto industry.
You know, last fall, we achieved life-changing gains in our strike at the Big Three. We even won a commitment to reopen a closed plant not too far from here.
We were able to do that thanks to the support of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, and the thousands of auto workers that went on strike.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
FAIN: But a year later, one company wants to go back on their commitments in our contract.
And let me be clear, Stellantis must keep the promises they made to America in our union contract.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
FAIN: And the UAW will take whatever action necessary at Stellantis or any other corporation to stand up and hold corporate America accountable.
(CHEERING)
FAIN: And when the UAW stands up, we know who stands with us, and who stands against us.
(CHEERING)
FAIN: Donald Trump laughs about firing workers who go on strike.
(BOOING)
FAIN: And Kamala Harris stands shoulder to shoulder with workers when they're on strike.
[21:35:00]
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
FAIN: And that's the difference between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, the scab.
Trump is pushing divide and conquer tactics of the rich. It's the oldest trick in the book.
They want to blame the frustrations of working class people. They want to take those frustrations. They want to blame it on race. They want to blame it on LGBTQ+ people. They want to blame it on some destitute and desperate person at the border.
(APPLAUSE)
FAIN: They do that because they want working-class people to be divided and to focus, and keep the focus off the one true enemy, corporate greed.
(APPLAUSE)
FAIN: The rich think we're stupid. But working-class Americans see this for what it is. This is our generation's defining moment.
So I have a question for you. Are you ready to stand up, speak up and show up, and put Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the White House?
(APPLAUSE) FAIN: We need a defender of the working class in the White House, someone who is one of us and someone who knows how to fight. And that fighter is the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris.
(APPLAUSE)
FAIN: Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
ANNOUNCER: Please welcome New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, NEW YORK: Thank you, Chicago!
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Thank you, Chicago, for your energy.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Thank you, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, for your vision.
(CROWD chanting AOC!)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Thank you, Chicago, for your energy. Thank you, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, for your vision.
(APPLAUSE)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: And thank you, Joe Biden, for your leadership.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: You know, six years ago, I was taking omelet orders as a waitress in New York City. I didn't have health insurance. My family was fighting off foreclosure, and we were struggling with bills after my dad passed away unexpectedly from cancer.
Like millions of Americans, we were just looking for an honest shake. And we were tired of a cynical politics that seemed blind to the realities of working people. It was then, only through the miracles of democracy and community, that the good people of the Bronx and Queens chose someone like me to elect them in Congress.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: And, America, in my heart, I know, from that same cloth of hope and aspiration, we will also elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as president and vice president of the United States of America.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: I am here tonight because America has before us a rare and precious opportunity. In Kamala Harris, we have a chance to elect a president who is for the middle class because she is from the middle class.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: She understands the urgency of rent checks and groceries and prescriptions. She is as committed to our reproductive and civil rights as she is to taking on corporate greed.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
[21:40:00]
OCASIO-CORTEZ: And she is working tirelessly to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and bringing hostages home.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: In Kamala Harris I see a leader who understands. I see a leader with a real commitment to a better future for working families.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: And Chicago, we have to help her win. Because we know that Donald Trump would sell this country for a dollar if it meant lining his own pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends.
(APPLAUSE) (CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: And I, for one, am tired of hearing about how a two-bit union buster thinks of himself as more of a patriot than the woman who fights every single day to lift working people out from under the boots of greed, traveling on our way of life.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: The truth is, Don, you cannot love this country if you only fight for the wealthy and big business.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: To love this country is to fight for its people. All people, working people, every day Americans like bartenders and factory workers and fast-food cashiers who punch a clock and are on their feet all day in some of the toughest jobs out there.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: You know, ever since I got elected, Republicans have attacked me by saying that I should go back to bartending.
(BOOING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: But let me tell you, I'm happy to, any day of the week, because there is nothing wrong with working for a living.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Imagine, imagine having leaders in the White House who understand that. Leaders like Kamala and Tim.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: But Chicago, just because the choice is clear to us does not mean that the path will be easy. Over the next 78 days, we will have to pour every ounce, every minute, every moment into making history on November 5th.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: But we cannot send Kamala and Tim to the White House alone. Together, 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.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: Because if you are a working parents 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.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: If you're an immigrant family just starting your American story, Kamala is for you.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
OCASIO-CORTEZ: America, when we knock on our neighbor's door, organize our communities, and elect Kamala Harris to the presidency on November 5th, we will send a loud message that the people of this nation will not go back. We choose a new path and open the door to a new day, one that is for the people and by the people. Thank you. Thank you very much. God bless. God bless you all.
(CHEERING)
(CROWD chanting AOC!)
TONY GOLDWYN, ACTOR & DIRECTOR: Wow. How about that AOC?
(CHEERING)
GOLDWYN: Good Lord. So Kamala Harris's story begins in a middle-class neighborhood in the East Bay. Yeah. In a modest apartment above a nursery school, in a close-knit community where people looked out for one another, with a mother who instilled in Kamala Harris the core principles that have defined her life in public service. These are the experiences that made her the leader she is today.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Congresswoman from New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, electrifying the room, really, holding this room in rapt attention, as she spoke.
We're going to hear momentarily from some childhood friends of Vice President Kamala Harris.
[21:45:00]
And then directly after that, we're going to hear from former Secretary of State, former first lady also, Hillary Clinton, who, some excerpts of her speech have already come out. She's going to sort of set this sort of the historical nature of Kamala Harris' campaign. We're going to hear some of what Hillary Clinton spoke about in 2016 about breaking that glass ceiling, and other things from Secretary Clinton.
Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYA HARRIS, SISTER OF KAMALA HARRIS: The neighborhood we grew up in was a very hardworking, middle-class, tight-knit community, families going to church on Sunday, kids playing in the front yard.
Mommy got us these bright blue matching bikes with banana seats, and we were surrounded by caring adults.
STACEY JOHNSON-BATISTE, CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF KAMALA HARRIS: This neighborhood on Bancroft Way, we spent so much time here. Behind me is where it all began.
Her mom, Shyamala, rented the apartment that was above the Sheltons' nursery. So, in the beginning, Mrs. Shelton used to babysit the girls.
LENORE POMERANCE, FRIEND OF SHYAMALA GOPALAN HARRIS: Shyamala was a single mom. Life was not easy for them, but she loved her daughters fiercely.
JOHNSON-BATISTE: Kamala herself says that her mom told her that she may be the first to do many things, but to make sure that she's not the last. She's always been that kind of person, a true leader, and very protective of her friends and her family.
M. HARRIS: When Kamala was all of 4 years old, her best friend in kindergarten, Stacey Johnson, got into something with another kid on the playground.
JOHNSON-BATISTE: This one particular day, we had made some clay art, and this one boy in our class had taken mine for whatever reason and threw it on the ground, and it shattered.
So, Kamala, being very protective, just jumped in front of me and stood up to him. To me, that shows the kind of person that she has always been, to stand up to the bully and to stand up for the underdog and to stand up for what is right.
M. HARRIS: Kamala carries the lessons of our mother, the fighting spirit of our mother, the compassion. And I have seen it over and over again in our growing up.
When we were in high school, my sister's friend Wanda was being molested by a family member, and Kamala just jumped in. She wanted her to come and stay with us. And mommy said, "Of course."
That is Kamala. She can't help herself from standing up for people and standing up for what she thinks is right. She has been that way our whole lives. Being a protector is what led her to become a prosecutor. Looking back now, I could say it was her calling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
ANNOUNCER: Please welcome Stacey Johnson-Batiste and Doris Johnson.
(MUSIC)
JOHNSON-BATISTE: Good evening. I'm Stacey Johnson-Batiste, and this is my mom, Doris Johnson. We --
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNSON-BATISTE: -- we are so excited and honored to be here with you.
Kamala and I have known each other for a long time. We met at Berkwood Hedge School. We hit it off immediately and became each other's very first best friends. Our moms also became fast friends.
DORIS JOHNSON, MOTHER OF STACEY JOHNSON-BATISTE: And, on weekends, we would pile into my 1966 Mustang.
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNSON: And Kamala's mom, Shyamala, would sit in the front with me, and Kamala, and Maya, and Stacey would sit in the back, and off we would go to a movie or some adventure.
JOHNSON-BATISTE: My mom still has that Mustang.
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
JOHNSON: I do.
(LAUGHTER)
JOHNSON-BATISTE: Kamala and I both get our grit from our mothers. Kamala has always been a protector.
One day at school, we made clay art projects during story time when they were outside on tables to dry. For whatever reason, a boy in our class took mine, threw it on the ground, and it shattered.
[21:50:00] Kamala jumped in between him and me and said something that made him so mad, he picked up a rock or something and hit her on the head. Blood came streaming down. The school called Shyamala to come take her to the hospital.
The stitches she got left a scar over one of her eyes. She still has it. That's the kind of person Kamala has always been, from the very beginning. Someone who doesn't hesitate to stand up for what's right. To take up for the underdog. And to stand up to bullies.
(APPLAUSE)
JOHNSON-BATISTE: I have seen it time and again, whether the bully is an individual, a gang or a corporation, she fights for all of us.
Before we go I know my mom has one more thing to say.
DORIS JOHNSON, CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF KAMALA HARRIS: Kamala, your mom would be so proud of you.
(APPLAUSE)
ANNOUNCER: Please welcome, former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you all so much.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
H. CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you, my fellow Democrats. Thank you, my fellow Americans.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
H. CLINTON: Thank you so much. You know --
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
H. CLINTON: Thank you all. Thank you, thank you. Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much. Wow. There is a lot of energy in this room just like there is across the country.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
H. CLINTON: 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.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
H. CLINTON: He has been democracy's champion at home and abroad. He brought dignity, decency, and confidence back to the White House.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
H. CLINTON: And he showed what it means to be a true patriot.
Thank you, Joe Biden, for your lifetime of service and leadership.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
[21:55:00]
(CROWD chanting Thank you, Joe!)
H. CLINTON: 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.
(CHEERING)
H. CLINTON: 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.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
H. CLINTON: 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.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
H. CLINTON: If we can can do this, Gerry (sp?) 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.
(CHEERING)
H. CLINTON: And nearly 66 million Americans voted for a future where there are no ceilings on our dreams.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
H. CLINTON: 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.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
H. CLINTON: I wish my mother and Kamala's mother could see us. They would say, keep going. Shirley and Gerry (sp?) would say, keep going.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(CHANTING)
H. CLINTON: Women fighting for reproductive healthcare are saying, keep going.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
H. CLINTON: Families building better lives, parents stretching to afford childcare, young people struggling to pay the rent. They're all asking us to keep going.
(CROWD chanting Keep Going!)
H. CLINTON: So, with faith in each other and joy in our hearts, let's send Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to the White House.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
H. CLINTON: 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, are 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.
(CHEERING)
H. CLINTON: 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.
