The Democratic National Convention, the event during which Democratic delegates choose their nominees for President and Vice President of the United States, took place from July 25 to July 29. Hillary Clinton and her running mate, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, were officially nominated to represent the party in the presidential election. The DNC featured many political figures and celebrities who endorsed the two Democrats. Here are some highlights from their speeches:
Hillary Clinton
Of course, the Presidential nominee herself spoke during the convention. Regardless of how voters may feel about her, Clinton’s nomination is a historical event, as she is the first woman to ever represent a major political party in a presidential election. “It is with humility, determination, and boundless confidence in America’s promise that I accept your nomination for president!” she declared as she arrived on stage. Clinton then proceeded to speak about her plans for the future if she were to be elected, especially regarding her stance on various social issues, including empowerment to minorities and women, two groups that Trump, the Republican nominee, has spoken of negatively in the past.
Tim Kaine
In his acceptance speech, Kaine made attacks against Trump, saying, “He never tells you how he’s going to do any of the things he says he’s going to do. He just says, ‘believe me.’ So here’s the question. Do you really believe him? Donald Trump’s whole career says you better not.” Kaine also went into detail about his personal life, allowing the voters to get to know more about him. He described about his childhood, his background as a lawyer, and how he decided to get into politics. As a figure that was not as well known as other politicians, his speech allowed voters to feel more connected with him.
Barack Obama
The current President also attended the event in order to endorse Clinton. “There has never been a man or woman, not me, not Bill (Clinton) . . .more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States,” he said. He also spoke about the positive direction that the United States is taking, claiming that America is still great, despite what Donald Trump’s famous slogan advocates.
Sarah McBride
McBride is a former White House intern who currently serves as the Human Rights Campaign’s national press secretary, and she is now the first transgender individual to address a national political convention. Her speech lasted less than four minutes, but in that time, she made history for the LGBT community. She spoke of the positive changes that have occurred in the United States regarding the treatment and rights of the LGBT community and wholeheartedly endorsed Clinton as the nominee that would further this movement.
Bernie Sanders
Although he did express his disappointment regarding his loss, the liberal politician who ran against Clinton during the primaries did not fail to endorse her, saying that “Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States.” The two have worked on several policies together recently, including free tuition for college.
Jennifer Pierotti Lim
Lim is a representative of Republican Women for Hillary. She focused her speech on discussing Trump’s misogyny, urging women to vote for Clinton instead. In regards to Trump’s comments about women, she said that there are “too many to list and [they are] too crass to repeat” but “too important to ignore.”
Khizr Khan
Khan’s son was a Muslim Army officer who was killed in Iraq. He questioned whether Trump even knew the Constitution, then proceeded to pull out a copy of his own and offered to lend it to him. Khan’s appearance was important because he represented Muslims, a group that Trump has spoken about negatively numerous times, saying that all Muslim immigrants should receive background checks before being allowed into the country.
These are just the highlights of the DNC, the biggest and possibly most important event for the Democrats during election time. There were many other big names that made appearances at the DNC, including A-list stars such as Katy Perry, Elizabeth Banks, Meryl Streep, and Sarah Silverman, as well as notable politicians such as Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright, and Elizabeth Warren, all of whom were there to endorse Hillary Clinton.
