CHICAGO — After four days of back-to-back programming, the Democratic National Convention concluded with Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the nomination to a packed crowd at the United Center.
The acceptance speech sought to contrast Harris’s vision of the future with former President Donald Trump’s tenure in the White House. “Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again,” Harris said. “Consider the power he will have, especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.”
But that wasn’t the only memorable moment at the convention. The war in Gaza loomed over the gathering as party members exuded joyful energy over Harris replacing President Joe Biden as the nominee.
Breakout speeches from progressive lawmakers, emotional moments from grieving parents, and one proud lawmaker’s son made the convention unforgettable one month after Biden ended his campaign, allowing Harris to replace him.
Here are the Washington Examiner’s top seven moments that stood out at the convention.
Kamala Harris takes an unusual approach to the convention
Harris appeared on the first night of the convention, giving the surprised crowd brief remarks ahead of Biden’s speech Monday night. But it was a Tuesday night Harris appearance, not from the United Center but from the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, that showcased the vice president’s growing levels of enthusiasm.
After the ceremonial roll call ended with Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) casting California’s votes for Harris, the Democratic ticket appeared via video in the United Center thanking Democrats for their support.
“We are so honored to be your nominees. This is a people-powered campaign, and together, we will chart a new way forward,” Harris said.
This was an unusual moment for a presidential candidate filling not one but two different arenas in separate states. On Thursday, Harris returned to the usual convention standards, giving an acceptance speech that called for a forward-looking vision for the nation behind the drama of Trump.
Michelle and Barack Obama tag-team Trump
Chicago hometown heroes Michelle and Barack Obama set the convention on fire with their back-to-back speeches Tuesday evening.
Former first lady Michelle Obama took several jabs at Trump over his comments regarding race at the June debate against Biden. “His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happened to be black,” Michelle Obama said to loud applause. “Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘black jobs’?”
In another indirect zinger against Trump’s inherited wealth, Michelle Obama defended Harris from attacks that she is a diversity, equity, and inclusion candidate. “She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward,” she said. “We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth.”
After the former first lady spoke, former President Barack Obama took to the stage, on which he mocked Trump’s obsession with crowd sizes. “Here is a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago,” Barack Obama said. “There’s the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes.”
He then used physical comedy to make a juvenile joke with his hands, making the crowd laugh.
Lil Jon steals the show during the roll-call dance party vote
Perhaps the most fun delegates had during the convention came when 57 state delegations cast their votes for Harris during the ceremonial roll-call vote Tuesday evening.
Several celebrities, including Eva Longoria, who appeared with the Texas delegation, Anthony Hamilton, who appeared with North Carolina’s delegation, and Lil Jon, who appeared with the Georgia delegation, were there.
But it was Lil Jon’s appearance, which convention attendees weren’t expecting, that went viral on social media. The Georgia rapper hyped the crowd up with a brief performance of his hit song “Turn Down For What”
The energy from the crowd spread across Facebook, Instagram, and X as people commented about the song choices each state used as their theme music to cast their votes for Harris.
Gus Walz cries at his father’s acceptance speech
In one of the most touching moments of the week, 17-year-old Gus Walz sobbed as his father accepted the vice presidential nomination Wednesday evening.
“Hope, Gus, and Gwen,” the Minnesota governor told his wife and children after reflecting on the infertility problems they faced. “You are my entire world, and I love you.”
The camera panned to the entire family, with the younger Walz crying and mouthing, “That’s my dad,” with pride.
The moment of Gus Walz crying, clapping, and standing up to support his father quickly went viral on social media. The teenage Walz has a nonverbal learning disorder and ADHD.
AOC’s breakout moment and defense of Palestinians
Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was one of the breakout performances among the Democratic lawmakers who spoke at the convention. Excited attendees broke out in chants of “AOC! AOC!” when she appeared onstage.
In keeping with one of the themes of the convention, “for the people,” the New York lawmaker highlighted her middle-class background as a former bartender before winning a congressional seat.
“Ever since I got elected, Republicans have attacked me by saying that I should go back to bartending,” she said during her Monday speech. “But let me tell you, I am happy to, any day of the week because there is nothing wrong with working for a living.”
Ocasio-Cortez portrayed Trump as a defender of the billionaire class taking advantage of the average family. “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,” she claimed.
Her speech was the first to mention Gaza, and she later criticized the convention planners for not giving a speaking slot to a Palestinian speaker, a move that angered uncommitted delegates.
“Just as we must honor the humanity of hostages, so too must we center the humanity of the 40,000 Palestinians killed under Israeli bombardment,” she wrote on X. “To deny that story is to participate in the dehumanization of Palestinians. The @DNC must change course and affirm our shared humanity.”
Hostage parents’ emotional appeal for son’s return
Many convention attendees were brought to tears when Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg took to the stage. The parents of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin pleaded for the return of their son, who was kidnapped during the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. In total, eight American hostages are still in captivity.
“Anyone who is a parent or has had a parent can try to imagine the anguish and misery that Jon and I and all the hostage families are enduring,” said Goldberg, who first doubled over in tears onstage.
Polin argued that their appeals are not political but the humble wishes of concerned parents. “This is a political convention, but bringing our only son and all of the cherished hostages home is not a political issue,” he said.
Negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas are continuing, but any deal that is reached would likely include a release of the remaining hostages. Until then, Goldberg had a few words for her son. “Hersh, if you can hear us, we love you. Stay strong. Survive,” she said.
Pro-Palestinian activists break down the fence
Activists sympathetic to the Palestinian people living in Gaza wasted no time in protesting the DNC starting on Sunday but ratcheting up on Monday.
Activists breached the outside northern security perimeter of the convention, leading roughly 300 officers to mobilize against the ensuing havoc. Several protesters pushing for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas were arrested but had chanted, “Genocide Joe!”
“Demonstrators breached a portion of anti-scale fencing along the Democratic National Convention’s outer perimeter near the United Center on Aug. 19,” the DNC Public Safety Joint Information Center said in a statement. “Law enforcement personnel were immediately on-scene and contained the situation. At no point was the inner perimeter breached, and there was no threat to any protectees.”
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In the aftermath, law enforcement added a second layer of fencing and concrete barriers on Tuesday to prevent a repeat.
The mayhem had similar overtones to the 1968 anti-Vietnam War protests during the DNC but did not reach the levels of violence back then.
