CHICAGO – The Democratic National Convention's third night showcased a familiar former president, Bill Clinton, and introduced more Americans to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, little known outside his state until Vice President Kamala Harris selected him as her running mate.
Walz, with his background as a former teacher and football coach, used his speech to put a small-town spin on the Democrats' agenda of protecting individual freedoms and rejecting what they paint as the intrusive policies of Republican Donald Trump.
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Wednesday's program also highlighted plenty of up-and-coming Democratic politicians and media mogul Oprah Winfrey, who gave an energetic speech in support of the party's ticket.
Here are some takeaways from the third night of the DNC.
Walz offers himself as Midwestern everyman
For years, Republicans have caricatured Democrats as coastal elites who have little in common with ordinary Americans.
Walz tried to use his biography as a hunter, teacher, football coach and national guardsman from the Midwest to disarm those attacks, which Republicans in the past have wielded with merciless efficiency.
His presence on the ticket offers a counterweight in a year when Republicans are trying to paint Harris as a California liberal with dangerous ideas.
During his speech, Walz sought to turn Republican arguments on their head while making an appeal for common sense rooted in his Midwestern values.
“When they were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours,” he jabbed.
It’s a pitch aimed at constituencies that Democrats have struggled to connect with in recent years, namely rural, white voters who have increasingly abandoned the party.
Walz was introduced by Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who asked, “Who better to find common ground than a guy with Midwestern common sense?”
The Big Dog in twilight turns the age question toward Trump
Clinton has spoken at 13 straight Democratic National Conventions, going back to 1976. On Wednesday night he confessed, “I have no idea how many more of these I’ll be able to come to.”
It was a striking admission from a politician whose dominance earned him the nickname The Big Dog. Clinton, who just turned 78, didn't shrink from his age, instead turning it into a poke at the GOP nominee, declaring, “I’m still younger than Donald Trump."
In his 27-minute speech, Clinton leaned into what he’s seen over the decades and the burdens of history. He warned the convention crowd that, however good they feel, the campaign will be tough.
“You should never underestimate your adversary,” Clinton said. It could be taken as an allusion to watching his wife, Hillary Clinton, fall just short of the presidency in 2016.
‘Bring them home’
In a deeply polarized country, there was one group that was welcomed with loud applause at both the Republican and Democratic conventions — the parents of young men taken hostage after Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
Last month in Milwaukee, Ronen and Orna Neutra, told the gathering about the kidnapping of their adult son, Omer, and led the crowd in a chant of “bring them home!” On Wednesday, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose 23-year-old son Hersh Goldberg-Polin was kidnapped on Oct. 7, walked onstage to the same chant.
“This is a political convention,” Jon Polin said. “But needing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue.”
At the RNC, several speakers — though not the Neutras — slammed President Joe Biden and Harris for not deterring Hamas from its attack and for neglecting the hostages. Polin and Goldberg, for their part, said they’ve spoken repeatedly with the president and vice president and praised their efforts.
While the Republican convention framed Hamas as a threat to the United States, the Democratic convention has been comparably quiet about the war, even as pro-Palestinian protests demonstrate outside the hall demanding the administration stop supporting Israel.
Jan. 6 insurrection back in the spotlight
The Jan. 6 insurrection of 2021 has been a key part of Democratic campaigns ever since the attack on the U.S. Capitol shocked the country. Democrats gave it a place of prominence Wednesday night.
The centerpiece was a video showing Trump urging his supporters to march to the Capitol, the attacks on police officers and the Republican nominee’s pledges to pardon those who were prosecuted. That last bit drew chants of “lock him up” from the Democratic delegates.
Democrats want to step carefully, though, lest an attack on American democracy become just another partisan issue.
To that end, the segment kicked off with Republicans speaking about their worries about Trump. Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan recalled threats from Trump supporters when he refused to accede to the then-president’s demands in 2020 to declare him the winner in Georgia rather than Biden.
Duncan told fellow Republicans that if they vote for Harris, “You’re not a Democrat. You’re a patriot.”
Dems give freedom an expansive definition
Wednesday night’s convention theme was “Freedom.” Backed by Beyoncé’s song of the same name, which the musician has authorized the Harris campaign to use, the word flashed on the video screen and in speech after speech at the United Center.
Democrats firmly tied it to the fight over reproductive rights that went into overdrive after the fall of Roe v. Wade. But they also used the freedom argument to slam Republicans on other social issues, from gay rights to the spread of book bans in schools.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a gay man raising two children with his husband, tied it to the conservative Project 2025. The agenda was developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation and is seen as a potential blueprint for a second Trump term, although Trump says it is not related to his campaign.
“Project 2025 would turn the entire federal government into a massive machine, it would weaponize it to control our reproductive choices,” Polis said.
And in one of the evening's most electrifying speeches, Winfrey said of freedom, “Every now and then, it requires standing up to life’s bullies.”
Democrats, long associated with Hollywood, look to online influencers
The Democratic Party boasts a cache of celebrity supporters who have repeatedly lent their glamor and opened their wallets to the party. Now they're teaming up with those who have attained renown in a decidedly 21st-century way: online.
More than 200 content creators and influencers have been granted access to the DNC’s backstage events this week. And with tens of millions of followers, their coverage of the events can do more to get politicians’ messages out than traditional media and celebrity endorsements.
On TikTok, influencers like Deja Foxx post “OOTD,” or outfit of the day, videos on the DNC’s blue carpet. Her Wednesday fit included a matching khaki set, a pair of Nike Air Force Ones, and an oversized Prada jacket with giant pockets to hold all her equipment, “because slay,” she tells her 141K followers.
The creator has already interviewed Harris on her social media pages and spoke on behalf of Arizona’s delegation at the DNC.
Carlos Eduardo Espina, a Spanish-speaking influencer with 10.2 million followers on TikTok, addressed the convention Wednesday night, part of an appeal to young Latino voters who are crucial to getting Harris elected.
Espina seamlessly joined a senator, a border congresswoman and a Texas sheriff as defenders of the Biden-Harris stance on immigration. “To be pro-immigrant is to be pro-America,” he said.
The Democratic and Republican playlists play to their bases
The playlist at the Republican convention in Milwaukee last month was dominated by classic rock. Now, as the Democrats gather in Chicago, the musical offerings have been far more diverse.
The dueling soundtracks are a reflection of the two parties’ dramatically different voting bases. The GOP convention leaned heavily on the radio rock that was popular when much of their older, whiter base was young in the 1960s and 1970s. The Democrats’ musical offerings, meanwhile, include rap, R&B, indie rock, country, Americana — and, yes, some classic rock — in keeping with the party’s multi-racial coalition.
Across the first two nights at the DNC, there were appearances by Atlanta rapper Lil Jon and Americana singer-songwriter Jason Isbell. The Wednesday lineup included R&B stars Stevie Wonder and John Legend, the latter covering the songs of Minnesota icon Prince. Pop star Pink is slated to perform on the final night.
The GOP convention featured a house band that belted out covers of Aerosmith, Cheap Trick and Lynyrd Skynyrd tunes. The house band also backed up country singer Lee Greenwood, who performed “God Bless the USA.” Rap-rocker Kid Rock, an avowed conservative, also performed.
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Riccardi reported from Denver. AP writer Fatima Hussein in Washington contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that Geoff Duncan is the former, not current, lieutenant governor of Georgia.