Live updates: Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and VP pick Tim Walz ...

Republicans are 'appealing to what is smallest within you', Buttigieg says

7 minutes agoThu 22 Aug 2024 at 3:04am

Oprah Winfrey makes surprise appearance at the DNC

40 minutes agoThu 22 Aug 2024 at 2:31am

Stevie Wonder addressed the DNC audience ahead of his performance earlier today.

He told the crowd to rise above "hateful division".

"As we stand between history's pain and tomorrow's courage, we must choose courage over complacency," he said.

"It is time to get up and go vote!"

Key Event

7m agoThu 22 Aug 2024 at 3:04am

Moving on from swipes at Vance, Buttigieg says he believes in "a better politics" than Republicans.

"Right now, the other side is appealing to what is smallest within you. They're telling you that greatness comes from going back to the past.

"They're telling you that anyone different from you is a threat.

"They're telling you your neighbour or nephew or daughter who disagrees with you politically isn't just wrong, but is now the enemy." 

He says the kind of politics Harris and Walz offer "feels better to be a part of".

"There is joy in it, as well as power."

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has used a portion of his speech to rubbish statements by Republican vice-president candidate JD Vance.

"At least Mike Pence was polite," he says. 

"JD Vance is one of those guys who thinks if you don't live the life that he has in mind for you, then you don't count.

"If you don't have kids, you have no physical commitment to the future of this country."

Buttigieg waited for the audience to finish its boos before continuing.

"You know, senator, when I was deployed to Afghanistan, I didn't have kids then. Many of the men and women who went outside the wire with me didn't have kids either. 

"But let me tell you: our commitment to the future of this country was pretty damn physical."

By North America correspondent Carrington Clarke

I'd thought nothing would top the enthusiasm unleashed by the double Obama experience last night, but talk show queen Oprah may have just achieved it.

She's akin to Chicago royalty and Democrats in attendance ate up all she had to serve despite her admission that she was actually a registered independent.

She brought every ounce of her considerable charisma to bear to make the case that Kamala's character make her the obvious choice , especially given who her opposition is. She treated Trump like Voldemort, never naming him directly.

Her leading the crowd in a chant of "we're not going back" was a crowning glory even if potentially ear damaging given the decibels involved.

Winfrey has wrapped up her speech with a strong endorsement of Kamala Harris.

"We won't go back. We won't be set back, pushed back, bullied back, kicked back. We're not going back.

"So let us choose let us choose truth, let us choose honor and let us choose joy!

"We're all Americans, and together, let's all choose Kamala Harris!"

Winfrey calls upon the independents and undecideds to vote for "common sense over nonsense".

"You know I'm telling you the truth that values and character matter most of all in leadership and in life.

"Common sense tells you that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz can give us decency and respect.

"Let us choose loyalty to the Constitution over loyalty to any individual, because that's the best of America. And let us choose optimism over cynicism, because that's the best of America. And let us choose inclusion over retribution."

Speaking on Harris' heritage, Winfrey is drawing roaring cheers from the audience.

"Very soon, we're going to be teaching our daughters and sons about how this child of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father two idealistic, energetic immigrants. 

"How this child grew up to become the 47th president of the United States.

"That is the best of America!"

Winfrey is reflecting on the experiences shared by everyday Americans shared on the DNC stage.

"Amanda and Josh, Caitlin, Hadley, they told us their stories of rape and incest and near death experiences from having the state deny them the abortion that their doctor explained was medically necessary.

"And they've told us these things for one reason, and that is to keep what happened to them from happening to anybody else.

"Because if you do not have autonomy over this, over this, if you cannot control when and how you choose to bring your children into this world and how they are raised and supported, there is no American dream."

Speaking on the American spirit, Winfrey says people's kindness is what maker her "proud to say that I am an American".

"They are the best of America, and despite what some would have you think, we are not so different from our neighbors.

"When a house is on fire, we don't ask about the homeowner's race or religion. We don't wonder who their partner is or how they voted. No, we just try to do the best we can to save them.

"And if the pace place happens to belong to a childless cat lady? Well, we try to get that cat out too."

That's a reference to a 2021 Fox News interview, in which Vance described Democrats as "childless cat ladies".

This is a big, unannounced moment in the convention program (although it had been reported by a couple of American media outlets ahead of time), but Oprah’s no stranger to the Democratic party.

She endorsed Barack Obama in his presidential campaign in 2008, and then Hillary Clinton in 2016.

She also backed Democratic senate candidate John Fetterman in his race in 2022, which was notable because he ran against Dr Oz, the doctor who rose to fame on Winfrey’s daytime talk show.

And she's previously endorsed a series of other candidates for congress.

‘Joy’ has been the catchcry of the week for the Democrats, so why wouldn’t they enlist someone who has been championing joy her whole career?

Oprah may not be giving away a car to everyone in the convention room, but she’s certainly had a warm welcome.

The former talk show host tells the crowd she is honoured to have been invited to talk about tonight's theme, freedom.

"There are people who want you to see our country as a nation of us against them, people who want to scare you, who want to rule you, people who'd have you believe that books are dangerous and assault rifles are safe, that there's a wrong way to worship and a wrong way to love, people who seek, first to divide and then to conquer.

"But here's the thing: when we stand together, it is impossible to conquer us."

She draws on the words of late congressman John Lewis.

"He said, 'No matter what ship our ancestors arrived on, we are all in the same boat'."

Key Event

40m agoThu 22 Aug 2024 at 2:31am

Oprah Winfrey has made a surprise appearance on the DNC stage.

"Who says you can't go home again?" she asks the crowd.

"We're now so fired up, we can't wait to leave here and do something!

"And what we're going to do is elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States."

 I've just taken a look at Google Trends web search data for some insights into how the public are responding to the speakers.

I've charted out minute-by-minute search traffic data for four of the main speakers last night: Barack and Michelle Obama, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.

Barack Obama has the single highest peak, but people were searching for his wife's name in higher numbers for longer.

And you can see that if you look at the most searched-for speaker in each state.

Michelle Obama leads in all but one state, while Doug Emhoff seems to have a devoted fanbase in his former home state of New Jersey.

By North America correspondent Carrington Clarke

The Dems are wheeling out some of their famous supporters to rev up the crowd and chase away any potential third day blues.

We’ve had a star-studded sequence with music legend Stevie Wonder, comedian Kenan Thompson and actress Mindy Kaling all taking to the stage to support the Harris-Walz ticket. It certainly injected another round of buzz as move into the last couple of hours.

America’s celebrities seem far more willing to wear their political affiliation openly than their Australian counterparts.

Some of them hold outsized sway.

George Clooney’s editorial in the New York Time calling for Joe Biden to stand aside helped set in motion the president making that move.

The Republican celebrity ranks are considerably weaker - with the biggest names at the RNC being Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock.

Many Dems are hoping that the world’s biggest star* - Taylor Swift - will risk the wrath of the MAGA base with a full throated endorsement of Harris before November.

*easily arguable

Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, who was one of the potential candidates to become Kamala Harris's running mate, has taken to the stage.

"Kamala Harris has spent her entire career making progress," he says, before focusing on Donald Trump.

"While he cloaks himself in the blanket of freedom, what he's offering isn't freedom at all.

"It's not freedom to tell our children what books they're allowed to read.

"It's not freedom to tell women what they're allowed to do with their bodies."

Key Event

1h agoThu 22 Aug 2024 at 2:11am

By North America correspondent Carrington Clarke

His voice was weaker and raspier than it used to be, but former president Bill Clinton still appeared to be relishing the opportunity to campaign, this time on behalf Kamala Harris.

His style was far more folksy and simple than the soaring rhetoric we saw from Barack Obama last night but he’s still a masterful communicator and demonstrating why Obama himself dubbed him the "explainer in chief."

The crowd is lapping it up.

He received a standing ovation when he referenced his time in office and passionate applause when he complimented his wife Hillary’s speech from the first night.

By North America correspondent Barbara Miller

Bill Clinton began by praising Joe Biden for "his courage, compassion, his class, his service, his sacrifice."

Later, he strongly suggested he'd been relieved when the president decided to stand aside.

"We're going to walk out of here feeling pretty good.

"We are happy. We feel like a load is off our shoulders."

The former president took a similar line to one Michelle Obama expressed last night, warning that the good vibes may be dampened by the harsh realities of the campaign ahead, and that Harris and Walz could stumble along the way.

He urges the party faithful not to be put off by the inevitable attacks from the opposition.

"These people are really good at distracting us, at triggering doubt, at triggering buyers remorse."

Clinton says he doesn't know how much longer he'll be around, but he urges the party to fight for their children, their grandchildren.

Key Event

1h agoThu 22 Aug 2024 at 2:03am

Pelosi is continuing her reflection on the insurrection.

"Thank God we had a Democratic House of Representatives," she says.

"We returned to the Capitol that very same night, we insisted on certifying the election results on the floors of the House and the Senate, and we demonstrated to America and to the world that American democracy prevailed.

"The parable of January 6 reminds us that our democracy is only as strong as the courage and commitment of those entrusted with its care, and we must choose leaders who believe in free and fair elections, who respect the peaceful transfer of power."

She tells the audience the choice "couldn't be clearer" and urges them to elect Harris and Walz.

"In this election, we are called upon to do the same, to stand together, to reject autocracy, to choose democracy, and we will do so by electing a democratic house, with Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker of the House, electing a Democratic Senate, electing Tim Walz as Vice President of the United States and electing Kamala Harris as the President of the United States."

"Onward to victory," she shouts as she exits the stage. 

Pelosi tells the crowd to remember Trump's role in the January 6 insurrection.

"Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on January 6 — he did.

"But let us not forget who saved democracy that day — we did."

Pelosi has kicked off her address with a run-through of the successes of the Biden-Harris administration.

"On January 20, 2021, with the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we established one of the most successful presidencies of modern times.

"We quickly proved that Democrats deliver millions of jobs, stronger infrastructure and rural broadband."