2024 Democratic National Convention | DNC Night 4 | PBS News special coverage

this program was made possible by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you thank you a new face on the national stage in Minnesota we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make joined familiar voices if you vote for this team you will be proud of it for the rest of your life in a chorus pitching voters on this Democratic ticket let us choose the sweet promise of Tomorrow over the bitter Return To Yesterday tonight kamla Harris addresses a party United behind her home is here Joy and his freedom and makes her case to the Nation about her plans for the future it is the final night of the Democratic National Convention [Music] and welcome to PBS news special coverage of the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago I'm omna Nas and I'm Jeff Bennett tonight vice president kamla Harris will make history when she formally accepts her party's nomination for president and the room is packed in anticipation but before she speaks we'll hear from prominent supporters of the Harris walls ticket including Governors Gretchen Whitmer and Roy Cooper and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly they will make the case for the Democratic candidate with the theme for our future and they will warn about what they say are the dangers of returning Donald Trump to the White House watching it all with us of course this weekend again tonight is Amy Walter of the cook political Report with Amy Walter David Brooks of the New York times and Jonathan Kart of the Washington Post but first let's head down to the floor where we find our White House correspondent Laura [ __ ] Lopez Laura what's the mood in the room right now well the mood feels very different Jeff compared to the prior few nights you can just sense the energy the electricity the excitement and talking to delegates uh ahead of tonight they they really just want to hear kamla Harris tell her story they know that a number of Voters still may not know who she is poll shows that she's still a little bit undefined among some voters and I was talking to a young delegate who said that he hopes that young voters get to hear from her about what she wants to do on climate change and he hopes that he she continues to inspire and carry this enthusiasm through to November Laura we know we're going to hear about the history being made here tonight quite a bit throughout the evening have you been able to talk to anyone on the floor about this moment this moment in which a black woman for the first time a woman of South Asian descent will accept a major party's nomination for president yes so many of the delegates here when you ask them how it feels a lot of them say historic like it's unlike anything that they've ever seen before and so even though they don't a number of Democrats don't think necessarily Harris herself needs to talk about the history that she may make uh so many Democrats are doing that for her and delegates here are eager to talk about it and say that they also feel seen there's so many aspects of pela Harris that make them feel seen whether it's she comes from an immigrant family she's black she has south of South Asian descent a lot of her story makes many of the Democrats here tonight feel as though they're being seen sometimes for the first time Laura Baron Lopez thanks so much let's bring on our panel Amy Walters uh one Harris Ally today said that this speech tonight that kamla Harris has set to deliver it won't be a policy speech it'll be a rallying cry what do you want to hear from her tonight yeah well I think that makes a whole lot of sense the policy piece we've had a conversation about how much policy needs to be in this it is about setting the stage for what a presidency would look like would sound like this isn't the time to do a white paper but she does need to lay out what her intentions are how much she is how is she going to govern what are the priorities that she wants to put forward you know the fight going into the fall is really about change both candidates both Trump and Harris now are trying to make the case that they are the change candidate and that the one is for change but in a dangerous level of change so what kind of change is she going to about from that stage Jonathan Kart what would you like to hear her say tonight what are you going to be watching for in particular to see if she mentions or not um I find it interesting Amy said this is not the time for a policy white paper which made me think of David's head exploding all for all this week he's been saying I need to know her economic policy and I'm somewhere in the middle um I'm looking forward to the rally and cry I mean what these speeches are for that's what they're that's why you do them but I would like to see her tell us what her priorities are what where she wants to take the country and if she gets into some specifics great but not uh like fullon sorry David that I you know I don't want to know what her Federal Reserve policy is or quantitative easing or or any of those things so I'm looking for a happy medium between Amy and David David you want PowerPoint presentation laser I want handouts I want all quantitative easing all the time I'll say this you know my New York Times colleague Patrick Healey did a focus group that was in the paper today with undecided voters and it was super interesting to read because being in this atmosphere people are pumped up about Kam Harris uh this focus group not so much they found her insincere phony vapid uh they were given a scale 0 to 10 how you raid her as a leader and she was in the twos and threes um uh and they said what can she do and frankly they wanted policy they're so cynical about leaders they are very negative about Donald Trump too by the way but they are so cynical about leaders they don't want Cult of Personality it's like what's this going to do for me today and so I do think that an economic policy somehow she has to establish credibility on economic policy part because that's the number one issue partly because the federal jobs numbers were revised today massively downward the economic slowdown has already happened and so that's going to be the story for the next few we months and she has to have something to say about yeah the campaign has described this week as a crescendo leading to her speech tonight in many ways she has the unenviable task of being the closing act at a convention that has seen some pretty powerful speakers and speeches there's there's what she says and there's you know how she says it you know how how how should we grade her on on on that John wow Jeff I mean I mean that's that is an excellent question look I'm biased here I own for 12 years um what I would like to see is whether I'm seeing the KLA Harris I know and I have seen that person since she burst onto the scene in Philadelphia well actually when she went to the Wilmington campaign office um at the top of the ticket I want to see that person I want to see her be personable I want to see her be brassy and Sassy I want to see her be serious I want her I want to see her be the big sister the favorite cousin the favorite neighbor around the way who is also whip smart and rallies you says follow me that's for me I'm going to be judging it um in that regard I I don't have any big policies that I want to hear her hear her talk about I want these these conventions and these campaigns in the end are about emotion how does that person make you feel and when you go into the into the uh voting booth and I think in the end if she can come out of this convention with the same power that she's come out of Philadelphia and the rallies that she car Atlanta uh in in Nevada then I think this momentum that carried her into Chicago is going to carry her out of Chicago for the next what is it 74 days 75 74 75 I think we got some but it is it is plus or minus one right right whatever we'll count that as we'll count today as still going um you know it is kind of remarkable we talk about this not as much as I think we should that we have someone getting the nomination tonight speaking to the American public really as a brand new candidate yes she's been in the white house but as David pointed out we're hearing the same thing from undecided voters or even Democratic voters that they don't know much about her there's been a caricature of her there is a rallying by the base around her but they don't really know that much about her so this is quite remarkable usually by this point in a campaign you've seen this person on the campaign Trail you've seen them in debates you've seen them put their policy positions forward so that's the piece number one the second is um that you know if you think about what her job is tonight Beyond just saying what she needs to put put forward it is that she needs to do those things you said that she needs to look strong because Donald Trump has for months now set the frame of this race around strength and St and uh stability and that there this party is chaos and weakness so if she wants to be successful she needs to reset that framing of herself and um and then she needs to uh be able to tell people that she is acceptable to those folks who are cynical to those folks who think maybe she's not strong enough that she doesn't really know what she's doing that maybe she's not smart enough because they've seen the memes or the stories about her so acceptable in the way that those undecided voters go okay you know what I I could I could see the or I want to even learn a little bit more but not that they turn it off and say no that's not that that doesn't speak at all to me or what the uh the kind of change that I want to see let's head down now to the floor Laura Bron Lopez has been there this evening where she will spend the rest of the evening with a special guest it's a delegate from a critical Battleground state of Georgia Laura take it away thanks Amna I'm here with Nikita Hemingway she is a firsttime delegate for the state of Georgia she's also a fifth generation Cut Flower farmer and she ran for the Agriculture Commission Nikita what does this moment feel like to you it feels amazing um you know several years ago I had the opportunity of taking my older boys to Obama's inauguration um I am a mother to four biracial children my daughter is 9 years old I believe all children should have the opportunity of seeing people achieve impossible things especially when their identity is so closely align with theirs in their lifetime and what do you want to hear from vice president Harris tonight I want to hear how she's going to unite our country how she's going to SM fight for small businesses and Farmers all the things that matter to most families in America making you know the cost of living more affordable and what did you think of her vice presidential pick Tim Walls from Minnesota uh we were totally Overjoyed um Georgia is an AGG first state and often times when when we're talking about the future of Georgia farmers are left out of the conversation Tim walls' background speaks um volumes to that it shows the direction the country is leaning and how are they're putting the middle class the working class forward so I'm I'm Beyond thrill Nikita heo thank you so much back to you omna and Jeff Laura thanks so much let's bring into our conversation here California Senator lefa Butler thanks so much for being with us thanks for having me and we should say that you know kamla Harris very well have you spoken to her since she's become the nominee since she's been preparing for this speech how is she thinking about this this moment and and the potential history uh making candidacy of hers I I've spoken to her since she's become the nominee uh tonight she should uh probably be talking to fewer people uh and and actually focusing on what she wants to tell the American people uh about herself this is a moment where she gets to truly introduce uh herself to the biggest audience uh that has ever heard from her uh and you know this is a moment where I think she gets to do that introduction she gets to talk about her vision for the country and she gets to invite um voters who may have not yet made up their minds uh into her campaign and into her vision for the future you two have known each other for a long time back to her first AG run back in 2010 was my understanding when you were leading a very powerful labor union there as well you backed her campaign back then what did you see behind the scenes in her candidacy then in her leadership then that you hope she conveys tonight to the crowd her heart is her superpower uh it truly is when you uh I I've seen the vice president as you know attorney general walk a day in the shoes of a home care worker um doing the work with uh Wendy Co in Oakland uh California to taking care of uh disabled and elderly person in the community uh and from that moment to this the same heart has been on display um the way in which she sort of grasps my daughter's face and tells her that she is uh as special and as uh talented and has something to contribute to this country it's the exact same way that she talked with and worked with Wendy co uh almost 15 years ago she is the exact same person today as she was then uh and I'm excited about the American people getting an opportunity to see and get to know who I have seen and known let's talk campaign strategy for a second because before you were a senator you were president of Emily's List which is an advocacy group that supports uh Democratic women for office who support Reproductive Rights Montana this past week became the eighth state to put on the ballot come November a ballot measure that will enshrine Reproductive Rights that could be a boon for Senator John tester for his his tight Senate race there and for key States like Arizona and Nevada how are Democrats thinking about that in terms of moving the needle come November look ever since the Supreme Court made the decision to rip the way uh rip array the rights of women in their Do's decision uh it every time voters had the opportunity to make a decision they have always chosen Freedom uh and so we think we have to think about the ways in which coalitions come together to fight for what it is that they have in common whether that's Kansas or uh Ohio uh it is um independent voters together with Democratic voters women and young women uh on all across the Spectrum including males who want to be a part of this Coalition who have come together to fight for uh protecting these rights now we've got to make sure that we're communicating a difference between candidates who stand with voters who support protecting these rights and those who don't and there's going to be a clear contrast and I think that's got to be a a real important part of the strategy linking both of those two things together you know it strikes me you have the experience of fighting for change from the outside as an advocate activist and from the inside as a US senator which approach is more effective uh it's not an either or you know the the moments in our country where we have made the greatest change and the most impactful difference are captured in photos that have both uh iconic activists and organizers like Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr and elected leaders like president Nixon uh and there are and those kinds of photos have produced the Voting Rights Act uh the Civil Rights Act the housing Rights Act uh and so I think when we try to oversimplify the complicated nature of creating change in our community uh is when we uh think that there's only one way to do it um and it really does require everyone in the boat rowing in the same direction and we have the opportunity to do that when we elect uh commet Harris and Tim Walls to the White House vice president Harris has been very clear on where she stands when it comes to Freedom around Reproductive Rights and access now she has an economic plan we've seen some policy proposals put out people have questions about some other big issues though things like immigration things like how she would talk about or actually change policy when it comes to us arms support for Israel under their war in Gaza that's an issue we have seen Royal a party right now do you think that she needs to break with any of the policies of the Biden Administration to go on her own path and as you say stay true to who she's always been I think the American people deserve to have a serious examination and interrogation of both candidates policies um what is it that are going to be the plans of foreign policy relative to protecting Palestinian families maintaining a relationship with Israel getting um hostages returned the vice president has been clear that those are key objectives for her I I'm not quite sure what president Trump has former president Trump has said about those things I think the uh vice president has made clear that she's want to focus on bringing down cost focusing on key cost drivers um that everyday families are experiencing whether it's housing and rent uh health care and groceries president Trump talks a lot about inflation I'm not sure that uh anyone has interrogated what that plan is besides attacks uh on Imports and tariffs into this country which drives up cost for for Working Families we need to have a conversation in our country about the plans for for climate change I think that there should be real interrogation for how we're going to ensure that we are protecting families all across this country as well as our farmers and agricultural Community there's farmers in California that have great things in common with farmers in Iowa and Kansas and Oklahoma and we need to be figuring out solutions to those as Oklahoma has seen the highest number of tornadoes uh this year than they have on in in on their history of of record and so there are real challenges that we need to have a conversation about in this debate and in this election we need to have both candidates put those policies uh on the table and have a serious conversation about that so the American people can make a decision California Senator lonso Butler thanks so much for stopping by we appr thank you so much for having me let's bring it back here now to the panel Jonathan and David um we have a number of other speakers of course we're going to be hearing from tonight this personal narrative side of Harris we do expect to be uh you know hearing much more about um who are you looking forward to hearing from tonight David in terms of answering questions that you have right now about the canas yeah I noticed they put Adam kininger right at the end like pretty much close to when com Harris is speaking that's pretty prominent treatment for a republican who uh is is endorsing so they were clearly looking for the the never Trump Republicans and so I'm looking forward to that sort of thing it's interesting we've seen Republicans essentially every single night on the stage here haven't we we have and and somebody pointed out you know it's it's Brave what they're doing they've clearly been never Trump TR they've they've paid the price for that but to go to your opposing party's convention and speak that really puts a dent in your social life and so uh I admire their courage well look I'm sorry well as the party as the Democratic party tries to reach out to disaffected Republicans are they hitting the right notes in your view I I think there I have two big questions as a disaffected republican uh one is are they still culturally where they were in 2020 where you couldn't run as a prosecutor uh where there was a lot of like cancelling and all that stuff I think they've answered that question this has has been so lavishly patriotic that it reminds you that this is a party that's that's back to what its normal self is cu remember patriotism levels plunged in 2020 it became fashionable to not love America and so that that question has been answered for me the second question I have is again I'm going to talk about fiscal policy uh the the Clinton and Obama were very conscious of fiscal responsibility they did their spending but they were very conscious the party moved left and the Biden administrations was less conscious and as a result overspent and as a result overstimulated the economy and as a result fed into inflation and in my view that drift to the left on economics sunk the Biden presidency even before the age issue came up and so has the Democratic party learned from that error and have they gone back to a more obam Clinton style of governance I would like a Counterpoint to something you said David this idea that it was fashionable to not love America in 2020 there's data on this there was literally but but I'm I'm pushing back on this characterization that just because people were in the streets and marching and asking questions and demanding answers from America does not automatically mean they did not love America they because they are Americans they wanted answers how is it possible that a could be killed murdered in the streets by a police officer again um so when people demand answers from their government it's not say we hate America even if there are some people in the crowd saying it the vast majority of the people in the crowd were as demanding why is this still happening yeah I'm I'm didn't say anything about the Marchers in the street the Georgia flly what I said had nothing to do with any of that but I would just it was partly Co it was just partly a shift in Vibes to extreme pessimism and if you look at at people do you are you proud to be an American that number plummeted uh and now it's come back up and I think the party is that's that I'm glad you clarified that because there's difference between loving America and being proud of America right that's great thank you takes us back to the words of James Baldwin I guess right precisely because I love this country so much I reserve the right to CRI absolutely let's head to the convention stage interior secretary Deb Holland is speaking right now for a portion of the convention focused on climate change to talk to shui hanu in my Caris language greetings friends and family my name is Crush turquoise and I'm from the turquoise Clan 35 Generations ago my ancestors built lives in the my desert of New Mexico I am on this stage tonight because of them while fishing with my dad and running through the desert with my cousins I learned that we have a responsibility to take care of our planet Donald Trump never learned that lesson he called the climate Cris is is a hoax he made it easier for big companies to poison our air and water an American president must lead the world in tackling climate change we need a president who understands that assignment that's kamla Harris I know her record she held polluters accountable for spilling oil into the San Francisco Bay she defended President Obama's clean power plan in court and as vice president she cast the tiebreaking vote for the most ambitious climate action plan in our nation's history kamla Harris and Tim Walls will fight for a future where we all have clean air clean water and healthy communities let me go back to the lesson I learned in the desert Southwest we all have a role in protecting our Earth for future Generations so let's all be fierce and let's make K Harris the next president of the United States thank you all so much thank you thank you interior secretary and former New Mexico member of Congress Deb Holland let's go back down to laa Baron Lopez who I'm told is with the Wisconsin delegation Laura hi yes I'm here with Terry winkman she's a first-time Delegate for Wisconsin and a registered nurse Terry just tell me what you're thinking about right now as you're here in this moment and it's your first time being a delegate I'm thinking about the impact that this election is going to have on a lot of the issues that have meant a lot to me in my lifetime I've lived with a good portion of my life having choice about healthc care decisions and now I have two daughters and I'm concerned about their future and I'm also very concerned about the the expansion of health care for all I've been a nurse like you said for almost 20 years um and I've seen a lot of people with a lot of health issues and having to make decisions just solely based on what coverage they have and what treatment they can get or of access to and those are huge issues I think on the ballot that we've got to work we've got to work on and get KLA Harris and Tim Walls in office and have you always been politically active or is this something new for you I have always been peripherally pretty active so in college I worked with sexual assault Survivor on my college campus I also took some classes at the Paul wellstone Institute at in the at the University of Minnesota as well so Paul wellstone's always been kind of a huge you know inspiration to me um and I would say that I have done a lot of volunteer work and the biggest piece for me it's not necessarily politically but I have been on our school board in my small rural town in Jefferson for about 10 years now so public education I I've always been a strong advocate for keeping our public education system strong and equal for all and you're from a pretty red County in Wisconsin correct correct and are you sensing any change in a red County like that I am we look at the data a group of me and some other women in the city of Jefferson we look at data every single election whether it's small large a primary a major election and we do feel like we're moving a little bit more in the purple Direction we've got a little bit of blue adding in uh I do think that this is also more consequential I am meeting a lot more people who in 2020 uh voted for you know voted and they were Republicans and have been pretty strong Republicans and over the course of you know the last four years are realizing the impact that Donald Trump had in 16 to 20 and they're kind of like I I'm ready to to jump ship and I'm ready to not do that again so I do think although they are lifetime Christians and conservatives and they will call themselves Republicans I'm finding more and more people that think this is too consequential to allow this particular Republican to get into office that's fascinating thank you so much Cherry winkman uh omna and Jeff she's sensing somewhat of a change in her red County in Wisconsin Laura Baron Lopez thank you so much thank you to Terry as well for taking the time to speak with you Amy Walter back up here there's another person I've been meaning to ask you about we spoke a lot about uh earlier Trump campaign being out counterprogramming we haven't heard a lot from the campaign of Robert F Kennedy Jr the independent candidate who we know was pulling votes largely from Trump more recently now reported he could be considering ending his campaign this week possibly endorsing Donald Trump what kind of impact could all of that have on the shape of the Ring I'm so glad you asked on because I have been communicating with the folks to do polling for us of that very question what would happen based on the polling that uh they conducted for us that is a about two weeks old so if we when we looked at who RFK voters were most recently and we asked those voters okay if you had to choose for one of the two major candidates not who wasn't RFK who would you pick about 40 something per of them said I'd go to Trump about 25% said they'd go to but a big chunk were undecided and so what the pollers came back and said was if that breaks down similarly that basically the Trump people go to Trump the Harris people go to Harris and then the undecided just kind of sit out they don't really do they don't they don't show up to vote it's not going to have much of an impact but if those undecided voters move overwhelmingly to Trump or to another Third Party candidate that has an impact now again we live in this world where in uh a point half a point is Big movement in these swing States but it could move numbers enough if so that's why I think the big if is RFK not just dropping out but endorsing Donald Trump speaking to I don't know much about who are you if you're still undecided is it because of a somebody who says they're an RFK voter are you undecided because you really don't want to choose between the two candidates you really want a third party candidate and you're going to stick with that person and you're if if there's no third party option you're just not going to vote or is it that they're they think there's something about RFK that they like more than Trump but if RFK says that's okay this is my guy that so it it would have to work in that way for it to have much of an impact let's head back to the convention stage because Congressman Maxwell Frost he's the first member of gen Z to serve in Cong represents Florida in the house here he is I'm Max Alejandro Frost and I'm proud to be the first member of my generation in Congress I'm also proud to represent Central Florida you might expect me to talk about how climate change will impact our future but as a Floridian as a Florida man I'm here to tell you that the climate crisis isn't some far off threat it is here here Donald Trump and JD Vance think they can divide Us by saying this crisis is some type of hoax but I've walked the streets of communities that have been forced to rebuild after Hurricane flooding destroyed their homes I've heard the stories of immigrant Farm Workers made the work in hor conditions exacerbated by this crisis and I felt the scorching record heat and know that climate change can sometimes feed feel like an Unstoppable Force but with our movement and with organizing and an Administration that cares we are making progress kamla Harris and Joe Biden have proven that t tackling this crisis creates jobs that investing in clean energy protects our health and that investing in Mass public transit build strong communities and we must always remember that peace is essential to our climate and War destroys our environment this election is about every drop of water that we consume and every breath we breathe fighting the climate crisis is patriotic and unlike Donald Trump our patriotism is more than some damn slogan on a hat it's about actually giving a damn about the people who live in in this country cuz when you love somebody you want them to have clean air when you love somebody you want them to have safe drinking water and when you love somebody you want them to have a dignified job and so America it's simple let's get to work and elect KLA Harris and Tim Walls for our planet for our future for our present and for our people God bless and that is Maxwell Frost the youngest member of Congress representing the district in Florida with a rousing speech there on the convention floor up here in our anchor Booth with us now we want to welcome in California's other Senator Alex filla Who was appointed to the Senate after kamla Harris was elected vice president Senator welcome thanks for being here thank you thank you can imagine how special it feels not just to speak tonight on her big night but as I mentioned from the stage I was appointed with big truck tayor to Phil uh the work continues but she's been a dear friend for many years well that goes to how long you have known her and how closely you have worked with her in the past so tell us a little bit about what you are going to be watching for specifically in terms of what she says and what she doesn't say from the stage tonight so I think throughout the convention especially tonight directly from her and for the next 75 days the country will get to know the KLA Harris that we in California know and love she is thoughtful she is smart she is tough but she's got a big heart for helping people that's what it should be about for all of us in this business of public service and uh I've just seen it time and time again from her days at district attorney from her days as attorney general certainly as my predecessor in the United States Senate as vice president these last you know three almost four years and certainly for the next four when she becomes the president of the United States my I'm getting chills on my uh here well look we're told that she spent the last couple of weeks going back and forth to her Alma moer Howard University where she's been practicing this speech writing rewriting this speech when you talk to her how is she feeling about this moment and how is she feeling about the message that she hopes to convey you know I think uh I mean starting on the day that President Biden made his announcement and we love Joe we thank Joe uh but to know that she came out of the box immediately after his announcement and was able to show up the support necessary to become the presumptive nominee within a matter of hours not weeks just says a lot about her preparation uh her relationships and the Goodwill and respect that has she has built with people from over the years and so she's not just ready to be the nominee she's not just ready to win in November she's truly ready to lead our nation because look folks as you know we're going to make history one way or the other this November it's either electing for the first time time ever a convicted felon to the Oval Office or we can elect the first woman woman of color someone who just represents the the optimism the hope for the future the diversity of America and uh again we're just so excited you mentioned this in your remarks earlier on the stage as well that uh KLA Harris is like millions of Americans first generation child of immigrants you talked about your own parents up there on stage as well how do you think that experience would in inform her view as a president and in particular how would it inform her policy would you see that being markedly different from the Biden haris policy well I think it's it's been good this last trim and it's going to be even better going forward you know we we talk uh about how representation matters and it absolutely does but it's beyond just gender representation ethnic representation geographic representation we're talking about professional experience and life experience when you had to work your way through col colge it's just a little bit different when you have been maybe discriminated against or at least doubted when you were in the room try to hold your own at a decision-making table is just a little bit different and so to have that perspective reflected in every negotiation every deliberation every important decision that's being made on policy whether it's domestic policy uh International policy anywhere in between is only going to make decision making and Leadership better and stronger and that's what K Harris represents specific to immigration though when you say her policy would be better what would that look like to you what would better immigration policy look like so a couple things been a lot of chatter in recent months about how Democrats have shifted towards this tough on the- Border approach and look we all agree regardless of political stripes we need a southern border that is safe that is secure that is orderly but you know border security does not equal immigration policy and our immigration system overall needs desperate modernization as vice president she has talked about the Border but she's also engaged leaders in Mexico in Central America and Beyond and we see the results numbers of people coming to the sen border are way down at the moment lower than they've been at any point under the Biden Administration lower than at any point during the end of the Trump Administration but K har because of her experience in California as attorney general also knows we have an issue it's not about people who are coming either seeking Asylum or in search of the American dream if it's people involved with human trafficking or drug trafficking we must go after them and be strategic and thoughtful in how we do that and by the way as we have this Global conversation we cannot forget dreamers Farm Workers other long-term residents of the United States that have been here for years if not decades helping strengthen our country we have to do it all immigration is certainly a point of debate one area on which Democrats and Republic Republicans agree is that this race will be decided at the margins how does the Harris walls campaign Corral all of this momentum and turn it into votes and more specifically how does the campaign boost its standing among Latino voters right and and and Beyond just well if the other guy wins right because we know what the the immigration policy will be under another Trump Administration heaven forbid chaos fear in communities detention Mass deportations Etc you know when it comes to a Harris walls Administration uh they they've laid out the vision they laid out the thoughtfulness and it is reflected uh not just in polling information you guys know the numbers even better than I do but if measured by the number of maybe firsttime small dollar donors to the campaign through the roof if it's measured by volunteer signups and not just people signing up online people literally walking into campaign offices in Pennsylvania Wisconsin Nevada Arizona uh Michigan and Beyond Georgia North Carolina it is palpable we have 75 days to get it done all right that is California Senator Alex Padia thanks so much for coming by Sir appreciate it let's go live now to the convention floor where Texas Congressman Colin alret is speaking a congressman from Dallas dad to two perfect little boys and this November I'm going to beat Ted Cruz and I'm so proud to be here to support our next president kamla Harris you know like kamla I was raised by a single mom mom was a public school teacher who often worked two jobs to make ends meet so when we talk about lowering costs I think about the times when we went to the grocery store when I was growing up and swiped the debit card and said a little prayer but my mom and my community in Texas gave me a chance to Chase my version of the American dream I played football at ER and in the NFL before becoming a civil rights lawyer and representing my hometown in Congress now I'm the guy who's going to turn Texas's senate seat blue you know in the NFL we had a term for guys like Donald Trump and my opponent Ted Cruz me guys you know the type talk a big game only care about the elves but you don't want to be stuck with them at of barbecue the truth is America has never been about me as President Obama said the single most powerful word in our democracy is the word we we the people we shall overcome yes we can and we've got a message for the me guys we is more powerful than me we will protect and rest restore reproductive Freedom we will secure the Border we'll protect Medicare and Social Security and we'll Turn the page and write a new chapter for this country and elect KLA Harris to be the next president and beat Ted Cruz thank you all so much God bless you and may God bless Texas that was Texas Congressman Colin all R there who is challenging Republican senator Ted Cruz in Texas for that senate seat back here in our booth this is a conversation I know we all love to have Amy is this the year that Texas goes well you know I'm would like to have a word I know well listen I I do think what is really interesting I wanted to have this conversation anyway about we talking a lot about the agenda and what what uh presidents can do going forward especially obviously in this case what can kamla Harris do and the reality right now is it's going to be very tough for Democrats to hold the Senate and the house is an absolute tossup so I mean sorry for Democrats to hold the Senate difficult did I say that or did I say Republicans either way what I'm saying is the likelihood of a divided Congress is very high for Harris so a lot of the conversations are having about what she can do on immigration on tax policy you know it has to go through Congress and so the interesting thing about putting Colin alred up there is it's the one state where Democrats are actually playing offense and not defense now there's a poll out today M actually where all right is within a couple points so look Texas is less red than Ohio it was in 2020 so it will be close it is not going to be a it's not a state that is now at a purple level but it is the gap is narrowing for Alid to win though it's still going to be it's major uphill fight but if Democrats were somehow able to keep the Senate um that would give if Harris were to win and they win the house she comes in right with with a democratic controlled Congress a long shot but that's where we are okay let's head down now to LaRon Lopez who is with a member of the so-called uncommitted movement Laura are you there yeah I'm right here Jeff I'm here with uh Jeremiah Ellison he is an uncommitted delegate from Minnesota Jeremiah thanks for joining us I just wanted to ask you there has been some frustration you've expressed because of the fact that uh a palestinian-american was not granted time on the main stage uh are you still pushing for that and what are your concerns about the fact that that has not been granted well you know we came here with the intention to promote policy change first and foremost and on top of that we thought that some shins of good faith would would be would be warranted one of those signs of good faith we thought was having a Palestinian voice up on that stage I think that we have we have heard several times now um uh from the Harris campaign and from the DNC that they are not going to uh uh uh uh grant that request and my colleague Onna Nas interviewed your father Keith Ellison earlier this week uh and he said he's fully committed to Harris and that he hopes that you and other uncommitted delegates could eventually get there what is it going to take to get there we walked in uh to this as committed Del as uncommitted delegates we walked into this convention um hoping to walk out committed to this ticket to haris and uh we let them know that it would require policy change and a few things our inclusion in this process one of those things was having a voice a palestinian-american voice up on that stage we saw the beautiful testimony of the family of one of the uh American hostages uh and and and and those voices should be there um they they they even called for a ceasefire themselves as they talked about the grueling experience uh that it is to have a family member that is a hostage and not being able to know not being able to care for them or understand their safety we we we appreciate that we we actually cut us press conference short that day to make sure that we could all be in the stands to hear their testimony um but there's a lot of pain in the region and we feel like if the the the party platform says that it does not value any life above another it doesn't value an Israeli life above a Palestinian life we're asking them to demonstrate we were asking them to demonstrate that by having both um Israeli voices up on that stage and Palestinian voices up on that stage but we saw that in practice there is a hierarchy in in people's uh value uh the value of their life uh we didn't see that speaker lastly with the minute that I have left um what do you want to hear from KLA Harrison I think the biggest sign of good faith that we could have seen uh was having a Palestinian American speaker up on that stage aside from that real policy change in arms embargo or at least conditioned uh uh uh you know uh conditions on weapons Aid to Israel to make sure that uh innocent people are not being killed with our Us weapons with our tax dollars um you know but short of that I you know I I I hope that she maintains her report of a ceasefire uh but aside which we've heard before I don't want us to backslide from there uh you know but ultimately I think we were looking for policy change or at least a sign of good faith a palestini American Voice up on that stage and and we didn't see either this week Jeremiah Ellison thank you for your time omna and Jeff back to you La Baron Lopez thanks so much and it's not just we should say the activists themselves who are calling for a Palestinian American to have a speaking slot it's also the United Auto Workers Union so it's it's a it's a huge uh Democratic back backer that's that's also calling for this and it begs the question other speakers we should mention Frost among them fromia among them have all said that they they had hoped a Palestinian American would be on stage so it raises the question what does the party have to lose if the speech is submitted early it's vetted the person is a known quantity and to give that person well I guess by now it's prime time but to have given that person an earlier slot I mean go ahead D I mean you you raise a very good question and I I think sort of my hesitation in answering is it's such a fraud it's such a fraught issue that you say you know the speeches are vetted can you IM I mean it could get to the point where you might not get the Palestinian American on the stage because folks won't be able to agree on what can be said from the stage also you know there are negotiations going on to bring it up to to the higher level for a ceasefire deal to get the hostages back I think things are so so tender and and on tentor hooks that perhaps the party just doesn't want to wait want to weade into it for fear of a calamitous result for what's happening over I don't know I mean I really don't know but David what you the campaign hasn't said the DNC has explain why I'm out flanking you on the left again conventions really turn things but you know you know the Israeli speakers the parents of the of HS the the hostage were not political right they just said this is an emotional this is a terrible thing that has happened to us right and so they could have had a surgeon from Gaza say I'm not political I'm just telling you what I'm seeing every day as I'm in the operating room or something and I I think that would have been totally valid I have to make one slightly political point is the amount of time spent on foreign policy I'm not sure I've ever been in a convention with so little Ukraine Iran uh Gaza has been mentioned but not as a policy thing it's something we're disagreeing about and so it's striking to me how little foreign policy has been especially in a time in the world where it's I don't know if it's likely or not likely but very possible we're going to have some big foreign policy crisis in the next couple months yeah you know I think the very um easy answer as to why there's not a palestinian-american speaker is that this isn't somebody coming up and just criticizing a candidate for president right who's not the incumbent party if you're criticizing the policy then you're criticizing the Democratic incumbent nobody wants to put someone on stage that is going to actually criticize the current party that happens to be of your party that to me seems like the most obvious answer there as opposed to you know like having somebody up there is said I think col Harris's uh position on and the the administration position on immigration is terrible right I disagree with that completely so that would be my reasoning for that and again we should say the campaign has not said the convention has not said why they were denied the speaking slot I'm sure we will be able to talk about this much more in the weeks ahead this issue is not going anywhere in the meantime folks let's just dip back down on this extraordinary drum line [Applause] [Applause] [Music] us party's not over Chicago so we are coming up on 900 p.m. on the East Coast it is 7:52 p.m. here in Chicago Illinois in the United Center Arena for the last night of the Democratic National Convention you know friends as we sit around here at the table and talk about about what we could expect to hear from uh kamla Harris Bob shum who the legendary Democratic thinker to me he's legendary he worked for Al Gore and John krey and others he he made the point that kamla Harris has to make this campaign about the future rather than a fight about the past and he suggested that that's one of the reasons why she has been able to Captivate the Democratic mind in the way that Joe Biden had yeah yeah when you look at I won't just focus only on polling but even just in the polling you know even 50% of Democrats told us in our polling that they didn't think that Joe Biden was going to be able to complete a second term if he were reelected so the idea of future and Joe Biden together just didn't match voters were like this is not this doesn't make any sense to me that you can talk about what the future going to look like when I really don't feel as if you're going to be able to do this job for very much longer so she represents that turning of the page simply because of who she is a woman a woman of color and most importantly somebody who's not 82 years old or 81 years old Jonathan and David way weigh in on this is some of the points Amy was making here well to pick up to pick up on what um Amy was saying in in the excerpts of of of this of the speech um there's a line there's a paragraph here with this election our nation has a precious fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness cynicism and divisive battles of the past a chance to chart a new way forward which is you know the part of the tagline of her slogan Not as members of any one party or faction but as Americans right that's got to be one of the hardest things to do in politics establish your independence from the president without criticizing the record that you both share yeah you know I'm been struck by how both California Senators talked about her big heart and trust me this is going somewhere I wrote I I wrote an essay reporting on some Neuroscience was called You're only as smart as your feelings and it was based on Neuroscience showing emotions aren't the opposite of reason they assign value to things they make you more rational and we have rarely had a contrast between someone who's quite emotionally intelligent and active in Comm haris and Donald Trump not so much and so she's already had an emotional revolution in this party that she has LED and I think the difference with Joe Biden may not be on policy but it just may be on how she relates to people the emotional teners that she wants to spread over the country and if you're me that's not just about some soft and Squishy things called emotions that's about wisdom and so I think that is a crucial advantage that she'll probably show us tonight an emot revolution in the party David I'm feeling Wow Wow in terms of how Jonathan you know we've talked a lot about how the Trump campaign in particular has had trouble really coalescing around a message about how they can talk about this candidate how they can attack in the political sense this campaign uh does all of that further complicate it for them I mean Donald Trump would see that kind of big heart as a weakness I as this well sure but I guess to to David's point maybe it takes big heart to be able to fight big heart I mean if if you are a moral void an emotional void um then you can't possibly understand how to even talk to that person um I could figure out ways to you know criticize KLA Harris without devolving into racism and Mis misogyny and misogynoir but Donald Trump he can't do it that's why he's just flailing with with name calling and insults and I think that's also why i' I think I've mentioned this before I've asked lots of Democrats since since being here have they seen anything like this it was as if a light switch went off from the moment she was from the moment uh Joe Biden said she's my pick she I endorse her there's a reason why it took took her about 36 hours to wrap up the nomination I think from her traveling around the country and the relationships that that she's built as Senator paa was talking about the preparation relationships and the Goodwill over the years the activists within the party and then other people have been able to get out there and say I know this I know this woman I know this person I know this vice president and the way she talks about issues particularly reproductive freedom is something that where she gets me are we all looking cuz who are we looking forone of you any attention to me at all we love you but it was the family coming in yeah the Walls family it's John melan Camp's small town I think that that's Tim walls' walk- on song is it his walk yeah so he was there Tim Walls was there with his son Gus and his his daughter Jonathan was watching our eyes Glen no I was listening to they were not Amy I was writing in my notes when you were talking about this race being close and here's what here's the question I have Arizona Georgia Michigan Nevada North Carolina Pennsylvania Wisconsin yes Democrats control the governor's mansion in five of those States Democrats won 11 of the 14 Senate seats across them why is this race close yeah so that's that's the oh it is close because Donald Trump has the ability to bring out a new crew of Voters that don't necessarily show up when he's not on the ballot thank you very much all right we are going to take a short break for our PBS stations we'll be right back with continued live coverage of the Democratic National Convention stay with us [Music] I'm Dr panil Joseph author and professor at the University of Texas at Austin the 2020 Democratic National Convention stands out for being held not only virtually but because of former president Barack Obama's keynote speech Obama who 16 years earlier had really been catapulted to fame with one of the most optimistic Keynotes in convention history tonight there is not liberal America and a conservative America there is the United States of America he really struck the opposite tone and he really talked about an existential crisis this President and those in power those who benefit from keeping things the way they are they are counting on your cynicism this Administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that's what it takes for them to win and welcome back to PBS news live coverage of this final night of the Democratic National Convention I'm omna NAD and I'm Jeff Bennett coming up we'll have speeches from Senator Mark Kelly and governors Gretchen Whitmer and Roy Cooper and of course from vice president kamla Harris her let's bring it back to the panel we were talking earlier Amy about why this race is so close Democrats the governor manions in so many of those battle states and when they're defending Senate seats in those in those Senate in those States as well right they were able to in some cases easily win in say the midterm election of 2018 or even in 2022 another midterm year they were very successful um but uh this has been a long running question I we've talked about it on politics Monday which is why is it that even now Democratic candidates in the who were incumbents in those Battleground states are performing better than certainly a lot better than Biden was but even are still outperforming Harris and um some of it is that the brand the Republican candidates brand is seen as too far outside of the mainstream and the other piece is Donald Trump's voter is not a traditional voter they may not show up in midterm elections they they may not show up in this election but they are more likely to because of him they're not showing up for the party yeah well let's bring into our conversation former Housing and Urban Development secretary in the bind Administration Marsha fledge thanks so much for being here thank you thank you for having me and we should say we're expecting the Dixie Chicks to come and perform the national anthem so when they do that we'll take a a short break uh you know kamla Harris very well uh and you've been constant conversation with her how is she feeling about tonight what is she prepared to say she so very excited as we all are I think it's you know when you get to this point and everybody's so hyped up the moment is a moment you want to meet and she's going to meet the moment tonight she is going to talk about the future of this country talk about how we start to heal you know I was listening to you about why voters are where they are we came out of an Administration with Trump where we were torn apart at our very scene so when you divide people it takes a lot to bring them back together because they feel that they are more committed to a person and an idea than they are to our country but it's changing every day and I'm excited about it she's going to talk about housing she's going to talk about an opportunity economy she is going to talk about how we reclaim some of the things that we've lost as a nation I think our speech is going to be outstanding I'm not going to preempt it but it's going to be good I noticed you paused just for a moment there as you reflected on this moment Ju Just for you personally to be here to witness this what is that like if I could interrupt just for a moment ma'am we're going to go to the stage and listen to the Dixie Chicks perform in national anthem oh say can you see by the dawn's early light sooud we have the Twilight last whose brought stripes and bright stars through the parous fight for the r parts we was were so G stream and the [Applause] rocket the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there does that star spangled better way of the free and the Heart of [Music] the there they are the tricks on this final night of the Democratic National Convention welcoming us here with the national anthem still with us here is the former Housing and Urban Development secretary Mara fud ma'am I'm sorry we cut you off I thought we needed that musical Grace note for just a moment here but this moment for you to be watching this unfold on this stage at at this time just what is that like if you can put it into words for us first off it gives me goosebumps but I would say that for me I've always felt that I was a patriot I've always loved my country and I believe that this says that America really can live up to its promise that people who work hard and do all the right things can't succeed that there are no more ceilings I mean it brings me the tears it really does to think about how far we have come and and I am just so blessed and honored to be able to see it my 93y old mother is with me today because she wanted to see it so think about this little black girl that grew up in inner city Cleveland never thought in my life I would see this day so I am just I don't even know how to describe how I feel I'm so excited about it and to see somebody who has come so far I mean I watched her on day one of this Administration and I watch her now you talk about the growth she's got her Swagger back and I'm loving watching it you know I I for a friend but just for a woman I I I say even to her I watched Shirley Chisum run I watched and participated heavily in Hillary's campaign and now because surely ran and Hillary ran she can win and I feel good about that you described her as your friend H how does that friendship manifest in the support that you and her other confidants give her and and and who forms that group you know President Biden had that tightly held Brain Trust of of Mike donlin Steve rete Bruce Reed Obama had David Axel Rod Valerie Jarrett who has kamla Harris's back and who has her ear we all have her back I have her back then more uh so many of us have her back we talk um about just as an example when she was doing the interviews for the VP I never said a word and she says well I know you haven't said anything what do you think I said I don't I I don't want to tell you what I think cuz I'm going to support whoever you pick she says but I want to know what you think so we have that kind of a relationship uh there are people that she calls for many things so when she got in the race she calls and she says I need you to be on the campaign I didn't believe I'd be the co-chair and I wasn't expecting that one but um there are there are different people who do different things if if that makes any sense to you they're her political friends she's very very close to her family so they give her advice on other things there are other women in particular and and men to like a Cedric Richmond who you know works with her often who is working on her debate who worked on the VP selection so there are groups of us that do different things but it's not a big group it's a small group you stepped down as HUD secretary earlier this year if she were to be elected would you potentially serve in a Harris Administration no ma'am tell me why no hesitation by the way none appreciate your cander when I left HUD I decided deed that I was done with public life and I'm going to keep that promise to myself when you I've been in public life for 50 years it takes so much it drains you over time and I just want to spend some time with my family and with my friends I'm I'm done and I'm good I'm good with it I mean I'll always be here if they want to call me and talk to me but I'm done you know the vice president has leaned on her almost 40-year membership in Alpha Capa Alpha sorar Incorporated you were the past president of Delta Sigma Theta sorar I know I was going to mention I was going to mention full disclosure I'm a member of Kappa alpas Fraternity Incorporated I knew I liked you for some reason we should say the the the the divine nine they do not forly endorse candidates but they have been key in political mobilization over Generations help us absolutely well we represent 10 million people between the nine of us so we've all started um C4 organizations so that we can do things outside of our membership types of organizations one thing about leadership with leadership comes responsibility we are people who have been fortunate and blessed to get good educations to most of us have very good jobs we are responsible for helping the Next Generation see what we have gone through and helped them come across the bridges that we've built so that's what I think we're all about so when one of us does well all of us do well and I'm I'm really happy about the fact that every single one of the D9 has a voter education program has a get out the vote program we are all working in concert to be sure that we pull our people out because just like within the other organization we have a lot of young people that we have to convince or at least explain why it is important and we have those who have always been with us and we need to mobilize them as well it's a big deal with us because it is our responsib ility secretary Marsha fud thank you so much for coming by we appreciate your time always great to see you good to see you too thank you all right we're going to head back down to the floor in just a moment we've heard a lot from folks about how close vice president Harris is to members of her family how many remained close advisers I think you're going to hear from some of them right now hi I'm Mina I'm Ella and I'm Helena I grew up in Oakland [Music] California in a house full of extraordinary women my mom my grandma and my auntie who showed me the meaning of service helping her sister a 17-year-old single mom fighting for justice for the American people and still cooking Sunday family dinner she guided me now she's guiding my own children and I know she'll guide our country forward kamla came into my life when I was 14 famously a very easy time for a teenager like a lot of young people I didn't always understand what I was feeling but no matter what commo was there for me she was patient caring and always took me seriously she's never stopped listening to me and she's not going to stop listening to all of us kamla Harris is my godmother to me her advice means everything whether it's pursuing my passions making an impact or finding hope when the world doesn't feel so hopeful she taught me that making a difference means giving your whole heart and taking action she's fighting for economic opportun lgbtq plus equality and reproductive freedom because we are not going back she's fighting for social justice Health Justice environmental justice and she isn't alone we're all in this fight together so let's keep up the fight let's keep up the joy and let's elect this extraordinary woman as our next president [Applause] president please welcome actor and comedian DL hugley [Applause] hey now hey Chicago how y'all doing what's happening in California now now wait wait where those aka's at where they at you know what in three months ain't going to be no living with y'all I I I can tell I can tell you this I don't blame Donald Trump for not wanting to B CA I've been married to a black woman for 40 years and I ain't won one debate I'm owing 93,000 now of course Trump is saying that kamla isn't black I guarantee you this Kam's been black a lot longer than Trump's been a Republican and if he keep sliding in the PO the way he is the only thing the only way keep KLA out of the White House is if he buys it and refuses to rent it to [Applause] her of course kamla is getting broad support they got black men for kamla white men for kamla Latinos and Asians for kamla they even have Republicans for kamla Republicans with I guess Donald Trump will finally know what is like when you get left for a younger woman but uh seriously KLA knows the truth about the American dream that hard work is not alone uh enough uh hard work alone is not enough to succeed that you need access and information and opportunity and she knows that some folks are often deny those very things as president she will give each and every one of us a fair shot in life but I but I have to admit I didn't always believe that I mean if you told me the 15-year-old me would be on stage supporting a prosecutor and a teacher there is no way that I would have believed you but because of that I made assumptions about kamla's record and I often repeated them to a lot of people then one day KLA invited me to her house she put her hand on my shoulder and she asked me to do some research something I had never done something a lot of people I know had never done before imagine attacking someone's character without a single Google search um so I did what I should have done in the first place I I learned that she had done for exactly what she promised to I believe that your apology should be as loud as your accusation and I'm here apologizing in front of the whole damn world I I was wrong I was wrong and I'm so very glad I was wrong because kamla you give me hope for the future a future when my grandchildren Nola and Stevie had the freedom to control their own bodies where they have the opportunity to go as far as their wits and their talents would take them that future ladies and gentlemen is possible but only if we elect KLA Harris as the 47th president of the United States of America I will say this to you the best piece of advice I've ever gotten in my entire life is you don't have to know what you will do just know what you want and we won't go back comedian DL hugley when kamla Harris takes the stage tonight she will see an audience of women wearing mostly white and that was by Design they're wearing the color of women's suffrage and a memo went out to what delegates and Democratic supporters who are in attendance here uh to wear white and that's what you can see there on your on your screen let's head back down to Laura Baron Lopez Laura are you there yes I'm here Jeff we saw after the chicks saying the national anthem everyone it seemed waving American flags yesterday earlier this week uh there were uh convention goers with signs that said USA we've certainly seen this concerted effort among Democrats here to reclaim the mantle of patriotism and you were speaking with the veteran about that very thing that's right and we know that vice president Harris is going to be talking about patriotism in Her speech and her faith in the American people and I was talking to a delegate named John trainer of Washington state he's a veteran and he said that Republicans don't own patriotism and that Democrats have always had it and he was very excited and happy that they were putting it on full display right now tonight with these American flags that were handed out just moments ago ahead of the national anthem and another uh Georgian told me that it it felt like sometimes in the past the party was a little bit afraid to show its patriotism and that now they fully claimed it Laura you've been down there with the delegates watching all these speeches unfold as have we up here in the booth tell us a little bit about any moments that have stood out to you so far in terms of how they've resonated with folks down there well everyone was on their feet for the national anthem waving those American flags and and the the excitement tonight has been it can't compare it to the prior few nights everyone is hyped up another delegate told me it feels like a fever pitch uh the delegate from Washington says that they want to take all that excitement back to their district and so they are really fully focused on tonight's events they're all really uh waiting to hear from vice president Harris Laura Baron Lopez down on the convention floor for us Laura thank you thank you back up here we should preview we're going to be hearing about a few more topics tonight in previous nights we've heard about immigration we've heard about the economy we heard from Maxwell Frost about climate change earlier Jonathan and David we're going to hear in just a moment from survivors of gun violence this is not an issue we've heard about yet so far in in the convention correct me if I'm wrong uh but the way that this is talked about Jonathan in many ways indicates this is something that a potential president Harris could decide to take action on yeah yes she could and looking at the people who are who are coming up she's making it clear that this will be an issue this is an issue and and it has been an issue for the B for the Biden Harris Administration um you know the president talks a uh all the time about there needs to be common sense um gun uh gun safety measures but he wants a re-imposition of the assault weapons band which he was integral in getting in place back in the 90s I'm looking the the first person who slated to speak is congresswoman Lucy mcbath who lost her son Jordan the the case that was made famous because his music was too loud she was a flight attendant just you know regular citizen living her life her son gets killed and she turn her G and her pain into action and activism and so to have someone someone like her and they're going to be folks from you survivors Sandy Hook and yal and and Charleston I mean this these go back years it's time for and I think because they're here and speaking out about this for a candidate who you know has been working on it as the vice president who Contin wants to continue to work on it as president shows just how serious that everyone knows this is a serious issue but this to me says that this is a serious issue that if if she wins from their perspective when she wins um that this is going to be one of the front burner priorities and David to that point the selection of Tim Walls as her running mate who explicitly talked about the fact that he is a gun owner that he is a a hunter um but also said that he would like to see an assault weapon and assault rifle B how does that reframe the conversation potentially it may I've always thought the the big problem with people who want to these assault weapon bands is they don't have spokesman from red America they have people like Mike Bloomberg the New York mayor is the big active donors and supporters and it's guns are a cultural issue I was at the Republican convention I need to buy a t-shirt uh and all the t-shirts were like you'll rip my guns from my cold dead hand so it's all gun gun gun gun gun and I'm not going to walk around Capitol Hill in Washington DC with one of those t-shirts so I couldn't buy them but guns have become a symbol of Elites have betrayed me I'm taking care of myself and that's on the Republican side so they're like that's front and center for them I'm a little surprised they haven't talked about it more here maybe it's because they want to go after Rural America rural parts of Michigan and Pennsylvania maybe that but there it's an issue that unites Democrats it's an issue that's wildly popular with the country and you can pin a very unpopular position on the Republican party so I'm a little surprised they haven't done it but the way Tim Waltz did it showing himself hunting that that had that had credibility that sometimes the Democrats have La I I I'm sorry you um you rais a good point that this is we haven't heard much about it but I uh in this convention but I do think it's significant that when we are hearing about it it's on the night when the most eyes will be here when she will be here to give her give her speech and we're get inching closer and closer where more people are are tuning in and listening and so that also amp raises up this issue yeah and I want to go back to that point we've been talking about uh that we had in our polling about who makes you feel safe for kamla Harris or uh Donald Trump and they're tied on that question among voters in Battleground States and I think it goes to your point about what do guns symbolize for many in this room but also not in this room guns don't make you feel safe and so it's the freedom issue is freedom to be safe from gun violence for many the gun issue does celebrate freedom I don't feel safe this gun I don't trust institions I need the gun to keep me safe so the division on guns as safety is really really Stark and I think they are not they need to they're talking much more about the safety let's head to the convention stage because congresswoman Lucy mcbath is speaking right now I saw firsthand the power of telling our stories you youve just heard mine but there are many more to tell on December 14th 2012 I walked into Sandy Hook school I stopped at the office chatted with my principal then started my day with my second graders suddenly a loud crash like metal folding chairs falling 154 gunshots blaring hiding in the coats trying to sing with my students trying to read to them trying to drown out the sounds Terror crying running I carry that horrific day with me 20 beautiful first grade children and six of my beautiful colleagues were killed they should still be here it's 10:30 a.m. at Rob Elementary in Uvaldi the school is recognizing my 10-year-old daughter Lexi for receiving all a she receives a good citizen award and we pose for photos she wears a St Mary sweatshirt and a smile that lights up the room 30 minutes later a gunman murders her 18 classmates and two teachers we are taken to a private room where police tell us she isn't coming home Uvaldi is national news parents everywhere reach for their children I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again [Applause] my niece Sandy Patrice was 22 she drove to Myrtle Beach for Sun and Fun and motorcycle parades hours later my phone rang shooting on the beach no one can find Sandy I stayed calm you see my mother Patricia an had been shot and killed by an abusive partner I was calm then too I got to handling business I called relatives the police hospitals and I kept calling voice steady heartbeat pulsing then I was connected to the coroner 10 years of waiting and s's murder is still unsolved I'll keep calling and I'll keep fighting I was in high school when my classmate got shot it changed my story instead about worrying about taking a test I started worrying about living to take another test they say schools are for Learning and I did learn a lot that day I learned how to run how to hide and drop that what happens in the news can happened to me but I learned something else too that we can write and must write a new story if we choose [Applause] to our are stories of loss but make no mistake our losses do not weaken us they strengthen our resolve we will secure safer Futures that we all deserve we will organize we will Advocate we will run for office and we will join with Americans from small towns and big cities to keep our community safe and we will elect leaders like comma Harris who won't just empathize but will [Applause] act please welcome former Arizona representative Gabby gford [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] hello fellow Americans I'm Gabby G I was born in the great state of Arizona I was born with grit I grew up racing motorcycles McKing stalls and exploring the beautiful desert I fell for an astronaut for five years I served in Congress from a swing District everybody called me a rising star then on January 8th 2011 a man tried to assassinate me he shot 19 people he killed six terrible terrible day I almost died but I fought for my life and I survived I learned to walk again one step at a time I learn to talk again one word at a time so many people helped me as I worked hard to recover including a decent man for Delaware who always checked in in he still does thank you Joe Biden thank you for everything Joe is a great president my friend Kamala will be a great president she is tough she has Grit kamla can beat the gun lobby she can fight gun trafficking Pamela stood up to Wall Street and the drug company she will protect abortion access she will defend our freedom she save lives join me in voting for kamla Harris bra oh thank you [Applause] don't know why but I feel like I had the honor of meeting vice president Harris when I thought to introduce her when she spoke at my high school about gun violence Parkland happened and all I can think about is that I wanted to keep my kids safe on July 4th 2022 I was next and line to walk in the Highland Park Independence Day parade and gunshots erupted seven people were shot and killed and 48 more were injured vice president Harris has been a gunsense champion since she was our California a we have two options in November we have KLA Harris who has already proven her leadership in the Biden Harris Administration they passed the first ever comprehensive gun reform in 30 years meanwhile Donald Trump has cozied up to the NRA in the gun lobby I have full confidence in vice president Harris that she's dedicated to and committed to finding a solution to end gun violence please welcome three-time Grammy winning singer songwriter and Global pop icon [Applause] pink we search lights we can see in the dark we [Music] Rock pointed up at the stars we are billions of beautiful hearts s us down the river too far what about us what about all the times you sent you had the answer what about us what about all the broken happy ever [Music] Afters what about us what about all the pled inter What About Love what about trust What About Us we are problems that want to be solved we are children that need to be [Music] loved we were willing we came when you call but man you fo eyes enough is [Music] enough what about us what about all the times you said you at the what about us what about all the broken happy ever [Music] Afters us what about all the Ed in disas [Music] What About Love what about trust what about us Sticks and Stones they may break these bones but then I'll be ready are you ready I don't want control I want to let go I'll be ready now it's time to let [Music] I found what about all the times you said you at the anwers so what about us what about all the broken happy ever Afters what about us what about all the pl that Ed in disaster What About Love what about trust what about us what about us what about us what about [Music] a captivating performance there from pink with some help on the background vocals from her 13-year-old daughter Willow we want to bring into this conversation Transportation secretary Pete paj Jed who we should say is speaking in your your personal capacity here this evening thanks so much for being with us thanks for having me on yeah I want to start with a question about the speech you gave last night because it's the Republican party that for so long has sought to Define what family values are and you talked about how your life married with two kids sitting at around a dinner table at night how that has only been made possible by the work that Democrats have done unpack that for us and why you feel like that is a resonant argument to make yeah I think it's important right now to make clear that uh to really be there for families means being there for All Families including families that look like my family and families that might look different uh I think people in this country are really tired of politicians imposing their own vision of what your family ought to be like and uh it also ties into one of the main themes that kamla Harris has been expressing which is that freedom is at stake that includes freedoms like the freedom to marry the person that you love uh the Democratic party is strongly for that most Americans are for that Democrat independent Republican unfortunately today's Republican politicians are not it's just one example of the choice that's in front of America right now you also mentioned last night uh a line that got quite a response here in the room you said I'm pea judge you might recognize me from Fox News you do appear regularly there it feels like you enjoy that sparring making your points to people who might assume other things about the Democratic party and your policies but I wonder if you think this ticket if if vice president Harris if Governor wals if they should be going out on Fox News similarly well uh you know uh uh each of us has different kind of tactical decisions about about where we go and how we do it but I'm proud to uh speak on Fox News and other conservative outlets on behalf of this campaign because I believe in this campaign and I think it's especially important in places where uh certain arguments not even arguments just certain facts might not otherwise be aired I'm pretty sure that a majority of fox viewers sincerely are unaware that crime went down in this country after Donald Trump Was Defeated because it just wasn't reported very much on that Network I I I imagine most viewers of news are sincerely unaware that immigrants are no more likely to commit a crime than somebody who was born here because that's just not a fact that it's mentioned on their airways very often so to the extent they're willing to invite me on there I think it's important for me to take the opportunity to share it you live in Michigan now that's a must-win state for the Harris walls ticket we saw a big uncommitted push in Michigan these are folks who take issue with the US approach to Israel policy uncommitted delegat stage to sit in here they wanted a Palestinian American to have a speaking slot should that have happened and how does the Harris walls ticket move forward and make sure that they can win Michigan and and address some of these concerns well I don't think these uncommitted delegates are saying they want Donald Trump to be president I think what they're saying is they want their concerns to be heard and what we've had from the Harris walls campaign is a commitment to engage people who are raising concerns like the anguish over the loss of life in Gaza we have in Kamara somebody who has spoken to the complexity of this issue has been one of the first to speak about the need for a just ceasefire and a peace that also brings hostages home to speak to the uh catastrophe of what is happening in Gaza without saying anything that could be taken to be making an excuse for Hamas likewise she has spoken about our relationship with Israel about Israel's right to look after its legitimate security interests without making excuses for every decision of the Netanyahu government I think that's exactly the kind of uh adult complex approach that stands in contrast uh to the the Trump Vance approach on this issue should the American people expect that that a Harris Administration would be a continuation of the Biden presidency in many ways what areas do you think there might be some some daylight uh well I think the job growth will continue I think the seriousness about climate action will continue uh as we just saw in incredibly moving and Powerful terms I think you will see a continued commitment to do the right thing around gun violence but of course uh she is going to have her own approach her own priorities her own message she repres presents a different messenger still uh I think what we felt over these last 4 days here at the Democratic National Convention is that our big tent party with uh let's face it some varied and sometimes even fractious uh Corners has coalesced in a way that I haven't seen in recent years with remarkable speed and remarkable solidarity around our candidate kamla Harris and so I think you have a very clear direction of travel even if she of course represents a distinct separate and new voice we also have in this race a new Contour we haven't had for several Cycles which is both JD Vance and Tim Walls are military veterans and you yourself are a military veteran I just wonder how you think that changes the conversation or the race at all ahead uh well uh both of them are military veterans uh only one of them disparaged the service of another veteran uh so uh there's a pretty big difference in how each of them talks about military service uh I I do think that uh Tim Walls is 24 years of service as a Guardsman and in particular is non-commissioned officer is important for those who aren't uh too familiar with the structure of the military you know usually when you have uh people get to high positions in politics often they come by way of having been an officer uh but uh uh Tim Walls was a senior non-commissioned officer that means as a sergeant and as a command sergeant major ultimately in the guard he was responsible for that day-to-day mentorship of troops in a job that I think in many ways resonates with what it's like to be a football coach or what it's like to be a teacher in each of those jobs it's not about you and I think that's the spirit he's brought to being governor and the spirit he seeks to bring to the vice presidency you ran for president in 2020 against kamla Harris and many other Democrats one would imagine you didn't think she was the right person for the job at the time why is she the right person for the job now well she's demonstrated both uh as vice president and as leader of our party her capacity to bring people together which is so important right now and she's offered a vision that is just more in line with what most Americans believe in she believes that it is the wealthy who are not paying their fair share and uh and the middle class that needs a break not the other way around she believes in protecting a woman's uh right to access abort uh to access abortion care um but also just as a leader I I have seen her intellect her Focus the same qualities that made her a great prosecutor uh the same qualities that made her uh a a really formidable competitor back when she and I and 20 other people were competing for the Democratic combination uh and I think they're president it really was yeah before we let you go can I just ask I think your twins are now 3 years old is that right you handling the three Ager year you know it's it's been intense we love them uh it's the best hardest thing ever uh but of course you know they also make us think in a new way about the future we hope and expect our twins will experience the 22nd century and that gives us a whole different level of obligation to do everything we can not just as uh political figures but just as adults to make sure we do we have a good 21st century secretary South B Indiana Secretary of Transportation personal capacity P bu thanks very much thank you thanks for three Ager I've never heard of that before in my house we like to joke that uh at three they became professional 2-year-olds even harder we dealt with that too yeah yeah yeah uh back up here in our booth we've still got our panel with us David and Jonathan reflect for a moment Ken just want to go back to that really powerful Block in which we heard about people who had been affected by gun violence each in their own way stories that we have covered as journalists stories that resonated with the rest of the American public Jonathan just give us your takeaways well I mean it's really difficult to relive those stories but we must relive those stories if only to remind people that this is an issue that needs to be solved or it's an issue where government must do something so that that stage is not filled with more and more parents um or victims of gun violence but I want to go back to I can't remember who was talking about this I think it was you David talking about Governor walls and you know the discussion of the Second Amendment and when you said that something triggered in my my memory in something that Governor walls said in every speech that he just about every speech he's given when he's brought up the Second Amendment he talked about gun violence laws it jumped out at me because it's a new way of talking about this before it was gun control and then folks no no no no it's not about control then it became gun safety legislation but when you put the focus on why people want regulation of guns it's because of the violence and when you talk about it as gun violence laws it focuses the imagination it focuses your attention and it's then I think it makes it possible for people in red States who care about the guns oh they're not coming for me they're not coming for my guns they're going after they're going after the the bad people with the guns or the guns that are wreaking Mayhem and havoc on communities and families I think that I actually think that's a smart way to talk about it it's actually a more honest and direct way to talk about it we've seen Democrats do that on the issue of abortion talking less about abortion rights and more about reproductive freedom to what degree does the language matter Amy you know the other thing I think about too is when you talk to young people and you say what are the most important issues to you gun violence and climate those they come up over and over and over again and so much of this we've been talking about is this a future forward looking campaign this is the these are the issues that young people feel like are existential threats to them and their generation and you know to David's point about putting something substantive in front of these voters they do feel cynical about it and for good reason if you are a millennial if you are a genzer gun violence in schools has been the only thing you've ever known it is uh and and you've heard politicians year after year tell you that they're going to fix it and they don't they say they're going to do work on climate and every year we hear stories about the planet is warming and things are getting worse so they are understandably a skeptical group of Voters that um they haven't expectation for politicians that I think is very different from the kinds of older folk that are in this uh voting pool David is there room here you think on this one topic and we should not this previous ad the Biden Administration working with Congress was able to pass what is the most significant sort of gun safety reform effort in years it wasn't much according to The Advocates but it was something given where public opinion is now and the fact that gun violence is now the number one killer of children in America up to the age of 18 it's just a remarkable statistic we report on but every time I say it it stuns me is there room for this in a bipartisan way regardless of what Congress looks like this fall um I sort of think so I mean it's been a block but you know there were a lot of politicians gave speeches the last few days and I'll remember some of them but not really but the mom from yaldi I probably remember that for a long long time uh and so that that's just shocking on a human level uh and it's some point you have to feel that that Universal human emotion is going to register with people and this is not a far away issue we're on the near west side of Chicago right now and I lived in Chicago for the spring this year and this is a city just the whole atmosphere is devastated by gun violence uh and and it just affects the whole move to the city cuz people have been trying so hard to reduce it Ary Duncan and so many others and it's become such a tough issue but it has become not only a a story of like searing tragedy but of the Civic health of places like Chicago and so you just have to think that the horrors are such that the veto the NRA uh has has issued can be overcome as I said if you get Messengers that are culturally respectful of Al America and maybe Tim Walls is an example of that are we at that moment the NRA is a shell of its former self it doesn't nearly control the same space in American life as it once did you talk about those those Messengers that have that cultural competence I mean is that could that be the inflection point yeah like I said the Republicans guns have become the major cultural and identity issue though they see it as a bunch of urban people telling them how to live their lives and so it it's just become super tough because it's become for a lot of Americans come about identity and you know you have all these Republican office holders at Christmas time posing with their families and their assault weapons uh and that's like become now a political symbol they walk around in their TV commercials carrying these weapons um so it we shouldn't underestimate how tough it's going to be unless magically there's like 80% Democrats in the Congress and and to the cultural Point um it's also become a a symbol of masculinity I mean the Republicans and far conservative Republicans an have done been very good and the gun lobby have been very good about tying one's masculinity to guns and Dr Jonathan metel in his book dying of whiteness has a whole chapter outlining the the the linkage between the two and the the two need to be decoupled let's head to the convention stage because uh Ruben gyo is speaking he's in a hotly contested Senate race in Arizona's listen but I am even prder to be a my mom raised us alone on a secretary salary I slept on the floor I worked every job I could meat packing construction making pizzas I made it to Harvard with no money or connections other kids were happy cuz they were at Harvard I was happy because I finally had a mattress then I enlisted fought alongside my brothers with Lima 325 in Iraq they called us lucky Lima but our luck ran out we saw some of the heaviest combat of the war and when we got home the government failed to help us readjust we have a duty to care for our Patriots who serve our our nation for the Vietnam veteran and Bucky who relies on the VA for his medication for the Afghan veteran in Pittsburgh who finally got treatment for his PTSD for the Marine in Milwaukee who relies on the benefits she earned for my Navajo brothers and sisters to serve the Marines with me I remember you too Kama Harris and Tim Walls are fighting for for them KLA Harris has delivered more benefits to more veterans than ever before and has achieved the lowest veterans unemployment rate in history vice president Harris has stood up for us and our families always Tim Walls served for 24 years his passion for veterans earn him respect on both sides of the aisle and he stands with us too in fact fact let me introduce you to some of the many Democrats who understand what service means cuz we put country over politics we were proud to wear the uniform and we're proud serving our countries in City Halls state capitals the US House and the Senate these veterans represent the best of our country We Stand United as veterans Democrats and Patriots to fight for everyone who serves but politicians but politicians like Donald Trump they don't stand with us they call Patriots like Senator McCain losers John McCain was an American hero show some respect Trump's project 20125 will slash veteran benefits and force VA hospitals to close Across the Nation show some respect so for the 18-year-old who decides to enlist for the families like mine who prayed every night that their loved one would come home for our troops stationed thousands of miles away for my Marines of Lima Company let's elect KLA Harris and Tim Walls who don't just respect our service but Revere it because the veterans who defended this country aren't just the reason we can sleep at night they're the reason we can [Music] dream and together together we'll fight for our veterans and everyone who served our country thank you [Applause] [Music] [Music] n [Music] [Music] please welcome Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer I'm Governor Gretchen Whitmer in Lancing they call me Governor but in Detroit they call me big gret Donald Trump called me that woman from Michigan as an insult being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honor like women across America we just GSD get stuff done at 29 I joined the sandwich generation sandwiched between working and raising my newborn and caring for my mom who was dying from brain cancer it was hard but not extraordinary it's life those nights reminded me who I was fighting for people just trying to make it kamla Harris knows who she's fighting for too she took care of her mom who also battled cancer as president she'll fight to lower the cost of Health Care and elder care for every family she's lived a life like ours she knows us Donald Trump doesn't know you at all you think he understands that that when your car breaks down you can't get to work no his first word was probably chauffeur you think he's ever had to take items out of the cart before checking out hell you think he's ever been to a grocery store that's what the chauffeur is for but Kam haris she gets us she sees us she is us look we've all lived through a lot of history over the past few years floods and fires an attempted coup a plot and a pandemic it's exhausting we don't know what the next four years will bring but what we do know is this through it all your life won't stop you're going to have to get to work pick up the kids and pay your bills and then one day when you're just trying to get everyone out the door a news alert goes off something happened something hit the fan you'll ask is my family going to be okay and then you'll ask who the hell is in charge what if it's him what what if it's that man from maril Largo I know in a crisis we need someone strong enough to come up with a plan to tell the truth and to bring people together right now before the crisis is when we get to choose why wouldn't we choose the leader who's tough tested and a total badass I know who I want as our commanderin-chief America let's choose kamla Harris Michigan Governor BR and Whitmer taking this stage here one of the sort of next generation of rising stars among the democra party we've been hearing from all week Laura Bron Lopez has been down on the convention floor watching all of this unfold I believe joins us now Laura give us a sense of how some of the latest speakers in particular that very emotional Block in which we talked about gun violence they had survivors of gun violence speaking as well how that was going down with the delegates you're with it was a very emotional response from the delegates omna and a number of them you could tell were covering their mouths were tearing and I spoke to a public school teacher margorie ronado from California she teaches kindergarten and she said that it really resonated with her and that what was going through her mind was just what would she do in a situation like that she thought about it often uh she thought about what she would do if someone came into her school and and how she would make sure that her kids that she teaches are safe she also talked to me about just the larger moment in general omna and how excited she is to see Harris have this nomination she was a Hillary delegate in 2016 and thought that the country was close to electing a woman then and she said that this time around she really hopes that it happens and Laura as you've been traversing the floor you also spoke with the youngest delegate here is that right last night you spoke with the oldest delegate uh tell us about this person that's right Isaac Winkler of Minnesota he's 17 years old Jeff he's going to turn 18 I think roughly three days before election day so just in time and he told me that the the reason he's so afraid about a second Trump term is because he has Type 1 diabetes his mother has Type 1 diabetes and he praised the Biden Harris Administration for capping insulin at $35 and the Promises by Harris uh to continue doing that but for all Americans to lower the price of insulin and he's worried that if Trump is elected that that could go away Baron Lopez thinks as always let's turn our attention back to the convention floor uh convention stage rather where actress and activist Eva Eva Loria is speaking ask you is she ready to lead this country forward we're going to say she when somebody says is she qualified for the job we're going to say she said with when somebody asks is she going to be the first female president of the United States we're going to say she said with our voices our vote we're going to decide this election and let me tell you the energy tonight isn't just here in Chicago Chicago it's all across the country people are gathered at watch parties everywhere to celebrate kamla Harris say hello yes all right we know how to work so let's get to work let's turn all of this enthusiasm and joy into action between now and November 5th let's go she she please welcome former Illinois Republican representative Adam kininger [Music] hey good evening good evening thank you thank you thank you I'm Adam kinzinger and I am proud to be in the trenches with you as part of this sometimes awkward Alliance that we have to defend truth defend democracy and decency I was just a kid when I re was drawn to the party of Ronald Reagan to his vision of a strong America The Shining City on a Hill I was a republican for 12 years in Congress and I still hold on to the label I never thought I'd be here but listen you never thought you'd see me here did you but I've learned something about the Democratic party and I want to let my fellow Republicans in on the secret the Democrats are as patriotic as us they they love this country just as much as we do and they and they are are as eager to defend American values at home and abroad as we conservatives have ever been I was relieved to discover that because I've learned something about my party too something I couldn't ignore the Republican party is no longer conservative it has switched its Allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to to a man whose only purpose is himself Donald Trump is a weak man pretending to be strong he is a small man pretending to be big he's a faithless man pretending to be righteous he's a perpetrator who can't stop playing the victim he puts on listen he he he puts on quite a show but there is no real strength there as a conservative and a veteran I believe true strength lies in defending the vulnerable it's in protecting your family it's in standing up for our Constitution and our democracy that that is the soul of being a conservative it used to be the soul of being a republ republ but Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party his fundamental weakness has coursed through my party like an illness sapping our strength softening our spine whipping us into a fever that has untethered us from our values our democracy was frayed by the events of January 6th as Donald Trump's deceit and and dishonor led to a Siege on the United States capital that day I stood witness to a profound sorrow the desecration of our sacred tradition of peaceful transition of power tarnished by a Man Too fragile too Vain and too weak to accept defeat how can a party claim to be patriotic if it idolizes a man who tried to overthrow a free and fair election how how can a party claim to stand for Liberty if it sees a fight for freedom in Ukraine an attack pitting tyranny against democracy a challenge to everything our nation claims to be and it Retreats it equivocates it nominates a man who is weirdly obsessed with Putin and his running mate his running mate who said quote I don't care what happens in Ukraine yeah he wants to be vice president yeah how can a party claim to be conservative when it tarnishes the gifts that our forbearers fought for men like my grandfather who served in World War II who believed in a cause bigger than himself and he risked his life for it Behind Enemy Lines to preserve American democracy his generation Found the courage to face down armies listen all we're asked to do is to summon the courage to stand up to one weak man some some have questioned some have questioned why I've taken the stand I have the answer is really simple ladies and gentlemen we must put country first and tonight and tonight as a republican speaking before you I'm putting our country first because the fact is I do belong here I know KLA Harris shares my allegiance to the rule of law the Constitution and democracy and she is dedicated to upold upholding all three in service to our country whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle of decency and of fidelity to this nation listen to my fellow Republicans if you still pledge allegiance to those principles I suspect you belong here too because because democracy knows no party it's a it's a living breathing ideal that defines us as a nation it's the Bedrock that separates us from tyranny and when that Foundation is fractured we must all Stand Together United to strengthen it if you think those principles are worth defending then I urge you make the right choice vote vote for our Bedrock values and vote for kamla Harris God bless you please welcome lawyer policy Advocate and sister of the vice president Maya [Applause] [Music] Harris hello Chicago in 1958 a 19-year-old from India left the only country she'd ever known to chart her own path in America she came here to pursue an education but she stayed here here to build a life her name was Dr shamala gopalan Harris but we called her mommy mommy was so many things to so many people a civil rights activist a scientist a devoted mother to her two little girls but most of all mommy was a Trailblazer who defied the odds and defined herself and when it came to KLA and me mommy had great expectations for us but she had even greater expectations of us she she raised us to believe that we could be and do anything and we believed her you see mommy understood the power and the power ability that come with knowing and showing who you truly are she she knew we could be the authors of our own stories just as she'd been the author of her own mommy's journey and the opportunity that she wanted for kamla and me that's a distinctly American story we may all have different histories different struggles or different perspectives but what binds us together is the fervent desire to be free to fulfill our god-given potential kamla's entire life has been about fighting for each of us to have that freedom and like so many Americans kamla knows what it's like to be underestimate at and be counted out she knows what it's like to be the underdog and yet still beat the odds and now she has created so much electricity so much optimism so much joy throughout the nation and it is why we need her leadership in this historic moment we are living in a Time when some are trying to divide us to separate us in ways that make it difficult for us to come together well look my sister rejects that view where others push Darkness comm's promise where others feel Detachment kamla Foster's connection where others want to drag us back to the past my my sister says hold up now we are not going back because kamla understands we have so much more in common than what separates us she knows the measure of our success isn't just winning an election it's about who we bring along and lift up in the process and so as I look out at all of you today and take in this incredible moment I so wish that mommy could be here tonight I can just see her smiling saying how proud she is of come and then without missing a beat she said that's enough you got work to do she would tell all of us to roll up our sleeves and get to work to elect a leader who sees the potential in each of us a leader who cares for all of us a leader who fights for every one of us our Democratic nominee my big sister the next president of the United States kamla Harris we are on a Glide path now to remarks later this evening from vice president kamla Harris as she officially accepts her party's nomination for the presidency let's bring in to the conversation our very own Judy W Woodruff it's great to see you this evening it's great to see you great to be here on this fourth night indeed indeed your Reflections on what you've heard so far this evening well uh a lot of exuberance and great music and dancing and oh my goodness and you're right Jeff this is the these are the testimonials leading up to uh hearing her acceptance speech at this convention um I do want to interject that I have a little special video I want to share uh it was 2009 early 2009 15 years ago and our dear belov Barack Obama had been elected president was about to be inaugurated our dear beloved late colleague Gwen Eiffel had written a book uh during the year before it had just come out she was being interviewed on the David Letterman show and to talk about the book she was making the rounds the book rounds and he asked her about Obama and Gwen had something someone else she wanted to mention who she thought was worthy of not the book was about Rising black political Stars Gwen had been working on this book for a couple years but here's the excerpt there's a great district attorney in San Francisco whose name is camela Harris she she's brilliant she's smart she doesn't look anything like anybody you ever see on Law and Order yet she's tough and she's got a big future and they call her the female Barack Obama I mean people aren't very imaginative about these things anymore so that's our Gwen um we all of us who knew her know um Amy um David all of us who who worked with her know she was she was on top of so many stories but here it was more than 15 years ago kamla Harris was the district attorney uh in San Francisco and Gwen had spotted her uh we know now at that time Harris was already friends with uh Barack Obama and had worked for his campaign in early uh in early 2008 but I think it speaks uh very well to to Gwen's ability to look into the future she was Visionary Vision uh you know we've heard from a number of people you just heard that personal testimony from har say own sister no one in the room has known her longer fa to say uh tell us a little bit about what you're expecting to hear from Harris what you're going to be listening for in terms of what she says and what she doesn't say in this biggest speech of her political career well there's a lot that we still don't know about her I mean you all have been talking about this all week we she's the vice president she's got a lot of visibility in many ways but we don't know really very much about her in the last month there have been some stories written but the American people don't know her we know that when she ran for president a few years ago she had a very tough campaign they made a lot of mistakes it was the first first of the Democratic candidate campaigns that year to shut down uh there was a lot there was a lot written about questioning her political skills so I think a lot of us are wondering you know what has she learned in the interim uh what are we going to see and hear tonight that's different this is the biggest audience she's ever faced it you could arguably say the most important speech of her career so of her life so far how specific is she going to be on the issues we've heard a lot about her life about her personal story but how much is she going to tell us about what she believes where she going to take the country we don't have any idea we do believe that the vice president is here in the building the White House says that President Biden and Dr Joe Biden called her earlier this evening to wish her well as she delivers Her speech the pool of reporters that has traveled with her in the motorcade said that the streets of Chicago were lined with wellwishers uh this pool reporter says it was a very positive crowd no protesters of any kind uh in the in the moments that remain before we go back to the convention stage I want to return to what we heard from Adam kininger David because he said he invited Republicans he said if you have an allegiance to the principles of democracy join him in standing with kamla Harris he says democracy has no party yeah and I think the one of the strongest thing he says is the Republican party is no longer a conservative party and I think that's fundamentally true it's become a more reactionary party uh and it reverses for somebody like kiner or me who was uh motivated to think that way by Ronald Reagan by the victory of the Cold War by the resist of the American economy all those policies have pretty much been walked away from uh by the current Republican party instead we get 20% tariffs uh which is the exact opposite of what a lot of people believed it's so interesting to me and we've talked about this for however many years Trump has been around in office um you thought that politicians are motivated by conviction and it turns out relatively few are you can switch the convictions and they'll go with the party uh and kiner is a is a brave counter exam well as the rest of the country gets to know this candidate vice president Harris Let's go after the convention floor where they're presenting a video telling more of her story she was all of 5T tall if you met her you would have thought she was 7t tall and our mother if I'd ever come home complaining about anything she wouldn't have it the first thing she'd say is well just stop the complaining just tell me what you're going to do about it and since she was a young girl kamla Harris has been fighting for families like the one she grew up with that is kamla 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 as a courtroom prosecutor she went after Predators who targeted women and children and frauders who ripped off working families and she put dangerous gang members and human traffickers behind bars we didn't have Partnerships with doj or F bi or DEA or any of those law enforcement agencies now we all work collaboratively she was the person who built the foundation and how we do criminal justice in America as Attorney General of California she held the Big Wall Street Banks accountable for fraud winning $20 billion for California families she took on one of the largest for-profit colleges that was scamming students and in the Senate she fought for her constituents with the determination of a prosecutor standing up for Reproductive Freedom can you think of any laws that give the government the power to make decisions about the male body I'm not a I'm not a thinking of any right now Senator she fought to keep our children safe from the terror of gun violence how many of you guys had to have a drill where you learned about how you need to hide in a closet or crouch in a corner in the event that there is a mass shooter look at that look at that on the intelligence committee she defended our nation against foreign adversaries and in 2020 she made history was the first woman to be elected vice president of the United States she cast the tiebreaking vote to deliver urgent relief to the American people during the pandemic she beat big Pharma to lower prescription drug costs and capped the cost of insulin and led the fight to restore Reproductive Rights after Ro v Wade was overturned we have worked too hard and fought too long to see our daughters grow up in a world with fewer rights than our mothers because she's never been afraid to stand up to powerful interests sometimes people will open the door for you and leave it open sometimes they won't and then you need to kick that door down excuse my language now she's running for president still fighting for families like the one she grew up with our campaign is about saying we trust the people we're saying we just want fairness we want dignity for all people and we are a work in progress we haven't yet quite reached all of those ideals but we will die trying cuz we love our country we believe in our country we're not falling for these folks who are trying to divide us trying to pull us apart we know what we stand for and we stand for the people and we stand for the Dignity of work and we stand for Freedom we stand for justice we stand for equality and so we will fight for all of it that's who kamla Harris is that's what she believes and that's what she'll fight for every [Applause] day about myself let my freedom right in hell hey I'mma keep running quit on [Music] [Music] themselves please welcome the Democratic nominee for president vice president of the United States of America kamla Harris ch [Applause] good evening good evening everyone good evening good evening good evening everyone good evening good evening thank you thank you good evening thank you thank you thank thank you thank you thank you everyone thank you thank you thank you thank you all thank you all okay we got to get to some business we got to get to some business okay thank you all okay thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you please thank you please thank you so very much thank you everyone thank you everyone thank you okay let's get to business let's get to business all right so let me start by thanking my most incredible husband Doug for being an incredible partner to me an incredible father to col and Ella and happy anniversary douge I love you so very much to our President Joe Biden when I think about the path that we have traveled together Joe I am filled with gratitude your record is extraordinary as history will show and your character is inspiring and Doug and I love you and Jill and are forever thankful to you both and to coach Tim Walls you are going to be an incredible vice president and to the delegates and everyone who has put your faith in our campaign your support is humbling so America the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected but I'm no stranger to unlikely Journeys so my mother our mother shamba Harris had one of her own and I miss her every day and especially right now and I know she's looking down smiling I know that so my mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone traveling from India to California with an unshakable dream to be the scientist who would Cure breast cancer when she finished school she was supposed to return home to a traditional arranged marriage but as fate would have it she met my father Donald Harris a student from Jamaica they they fell in love love and got married and that act of self-determination made my sister Maya and [Music] Me growing up we moved a lot I will always remember that big Mayflower truck packed with all our belongings ready to go to Illinois to Wisconson and wherever our parents' jobs took us my early memories of our parents together are very joyful ones a home filled with laughter and music artha Cole train and miles at the park my mother would say stay close but my father would say as he smiled run comma run Don't Be Afraid don't let anything stop you from my earliest years he taught me to be Fearless but the harmony between my parents did not last when I was in elementary school they split up and it was mostly my mother who raised us before she could finally afford to buy a home she rented a small apartment in the East Bay in the bay in the bay you either live in the Hills or the Flatlands we lived in the flats a beautiful workingclass neighborhood of firefighters nurses and construction workers all who tended their lawns with pride my mother she worked long hours and like many working parents she leaned on a trusted Circle to help help raise us Mrs Shelton who ran the daycare below us and became a second mother Uncle Sherman Aunt Mary uncle Freddy Auntie Chris none of them family by Blood and all of them family by love family who taught us how to make gumbo how to play chess and sometimes even let us win family Who Loved Us believed in us and told us we could be anything and do anything they instilled in us the values they personified Community faith and the importance of treating others as you would want want to be treated with kindness respect and compassion my mother was a brilliant 5 foot tall brown woman with an accent and as the eldest child as the eldest child I saw how the world would sometimes treat her but my mother never lost her cool she was tough courageous a Trailblazer in the fight for Women's Health and she taught Maya and me a lesson that Michelle mentioned the other night she taught us to never complain about Injustice but do something about it do something about it that was my mother and she taught us and she always she also taught us and she also taught us and never do anything half asked and that is a direct quote a direct quote I grew up immersed in the ideals of the Civil Rights Movement my parents had met at a civil rights Gathering and they made sure that we learned about civil rights leaders including the lawyers like th Good Marshall and con Constance Baker those who battled in the courtroom to make real the promise of America so at a young age I decided I wanted to do that work I wanted to be a lawyer and when it came time to choose the type of law I would pursue I reflected on a pivotal moment in my life you see when I was in high school I started to notice something about my best friend Wanda she was sad at school and there were times she didn't want to go home so one day I asked if everything was all right and she confided in me that she was being sexually abused by her stepfather and I immediately told her she had to come stay with us and she did this is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor to protect people like Wanda because I believe every everyone has a right to safety to dignity and to Justice as a prosecutor when I had a case I charged it not in the name of the victim but in the name of the people for a simple reason in our system of justice a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us and I would often explain this to console survivors of crime to remind them no one should be made to fight alone we are all in this together and every day in the courtroom I stood proudly before a judge and I said five words kamla Harris for the [Music] people and to be clear and to be clear my entire career I've only had one client the people and so on behalf of the people on behalf of every American regardless of party race gender or the language your grandmother speaks on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely Journey on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with people who work hard chase their dreams and look out for one another on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America and with this election and and with this election our nation our nation with this election has a precious fleeting opportunity to move move past the bitterness cynicism and divisive battles of the past a chance to chart a new way forward not not as members of any one party or faction but as Americans and let me say I know there are people of various political views watching tonight and I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans you can always trust me to put country above party and self to hold sacred America's fundamental principles from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power I will be a President Who unites us around our highest aspirations a president who leads and listens who is realistic practical and has common sense and always fights for the American people from the courthouse to the White House that has been my life's work as a young courtroom prosecutor in Oakland California I stood up for women and children against predators who abuse them as Attorney General of California I took on the big Banks delivered $20 billion for middle class fam who faced foreclosure and helped pass a homeowner Bill of Rights one of the first of its kind in the nation I stood up for veterans and students being scammed by big for-profit colleges for workers who are being cheated out of their wages the wages they were due for seniors facing elder abuse I fought against the cartels who traffick in guns and drugs and human beings who threaten the security of our border and the safety of our communities and I will tell you these fights were not easy and neither were the elections that put me in those offices we were underestimated at practically every turn but we never gave up because the future is always worth fighting for and that's the fight we are in right now a fight for America's future fellow Americans this election is not only the most important of Our Lives it is one of the most important in the life of our nation in many ways Donald Trump is an unserious man but the consequences but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious consider consider not only the chaos and Calamity when he was in office but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes when he failed he sent an armed mob to the United States capital where they assaulted law La Enforcement Officers when politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help he did the opposite he fanned the flames and now for an entirely different set of crimes he was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans and separately and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse and consider consider what he intends to do if we give him power again consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the capital his explicit in inent to jail journalists political opponents and anyone he sees as the enemy his explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens consider consider the power he will have especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune immune from Criminal prosecution just imagine Donald Trump with no guard rails and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States not to improve your life not to strengthen our national security but to serve the only client he has ever had himself and we know and we know what a second Trump term would look like it's all laid out in Project 2025 written by his closest advisors and its sum total is to pull our country back to the past but America we are not going back we are not going back we are not going back we are not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare we are not going back to when he tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act when insurance companies could deny people with pre-existing conditions we are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our Public Schools we are not going to let him end programs like Head Start that provide preschool and child care for our children America we are not going back and we are charting and we are charting a new way forward forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class because we know a strong middle class has always been critical to America's success and building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency and I'll tell you this is personal for me the middle class is where I come from my mother kept a strict budget we lived within our means yet we wanted for little and she expected us to make the most of the opportunities that were available to us and to be grateful for them because as she taught us opportunity is not available to everyone that's why we will create what I call an opportunity economy an opportunity economy where everyone has the chance to compete and a chance to succeed whether you live in a rural area small town or big city and as president I will bring together their labor and workers and small business owners and entrepreneurs and American companies to create jobs to grow our economy and to lower the cost of everyday needs like Health Care and housing and groceries we will provide access to capital for small business owners and entrepreneurs and Founders and we will end America's housing shortage and protect Social Security and Medicare now compare that to Donald Trump because I think everyone here knows he doesn't actually fight for the middle class not he doesn't actually fight for the middle class instead he fights for himself and his billionaire friends and he will give them another round of tax breaks that will add up to5 trillion dollar to the national debt and all the while he intends to enact what in effect is a national sales tax call it a trump tax that would raise prices on middle class families by almost $44,000 a year well instead of a trump tax hike we will pass a middle class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans friends I believe America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives especially on matters of heart and home but tonight in America too many women are not able to make those decisions and let's be clear about how we got here Donald Trump handpicked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom and now he brags about it in his words quote I did it and I'm proud to have done it end quote well I'll tell you over the past two years I've traveled across our country and women have told me their stories husbands and fathers have shared theirs stories of women miscarrying in a parking lot developing sepsis losing the ability to ever again have children all because doctors are afraid they may go to jail jail for caring for their patients couples just trying to grow their family cut off in the middle of IVF treatments children who have survived sexual assault potentially being forced to carry a pregnancy to term this is what's happening in our country because of Donald Trump and understand he is not done as a part of his agenda he and his allies would limit access to birth control ban medication abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress and get this get this he plans to create a national anti-abortion coordinator and force states to report on on women's miscarriages and abortions simply put they are out of their minds and one must ask one must ask why exactly is it that they don't trust women well we trust women we trust women and when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive Freedom as president of the United States I will proudly sign it into law in this election many other fundamental freedoms are at stake the freedom to live safe from gun violence in our schools communities and places of worship the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis and the freedom that unlocks all the others the freedom to vote with this election we finally have the opportunity to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the freedom to vote act and let me be clear and let me be clear after decades in law enforcement I know the importance of Safety and Security especially at our border last year Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades the border patrol endorsed it but Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign so he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal well I refuse to play politics with our security and here is my pledge to you as president I will bring back the bipartisan Board of security bill that he killed and I will sign it into law I know I know we can live up to our proud Heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system we can create an earned Pathway to citizenship and secure our border and America we must also be steadfast in advancing our security and values abroad as vice president I have confronted threats to our security negotiated with foreign leaders strengthened our alliances and engaged with our brave troops overseas as commanderin-chief I will ensure America always has the strongest most lethal fighting force in the world and I will fulfill our sacred obl o ation to care for our troops and their families and I will always honor and never disparage their service and their sacrifice I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence that America not China wins the competition for the 21st century and that we strengthen not abdicate our Global Leadership Trump on the other hand threatened to abandon NATO he encouraged Putin to invade our allies said Russia could quote do whatever the hell they want 5 days before Russia attacked Ukraine I met with president zalinski to warn him about Russia's plan to invade I helped mobilize a Global Response over 50 countries to defend against Putin's aggression and as president I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies with respect to the war in Gaza President Biden and I are working around the clock because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done and let me be clear and let me be clear I will always always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7th including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival at the same time what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating so many innocent lives lost desperate hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again the scale of suffering is heartbreaking President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure the hostages are released the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity security freedom and self-determination and know this I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and iran-backed terrorists I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un who are rooting for Trump who are rooting for Trump because you know they know they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors they know Trump won't hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself and as president I will never waver in defense of America's security and ideals because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs so fellow Americans fellow Americans I I love our country with all my heart Everywhere I Go Everywhere I I go in everyone I meet I see a nation that is ready to move forward ready for the next step in The Incredible Journey that is America I see an America where we hold fast to The Fearless belief that built our nation and inspired the world that here in this country anything is possible that nothing is Out Of Reach an America where we care for one another look out for one another and recognize that we have so much more in common than what separates us that none of us none of us has to fail for all of us to succeed and that in unity there is strength you know our opponents in this race are out there every day denigrating America talking about how terrible everything is well my mother had another lesson she used to teach never let anyone tell you who you are you show them who you are America let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for Freedom opportunity compassion dignity fairness and end L possibilities we are the hirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world and on behalf of our children and our grandchildren and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and Li we must be worthy of this moment it is now our turn to do what Generations before us have done Guided by optimism and Faith to fight for this country we love to fight for the ideals we cherish and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth the privilege and pride of being an American so let's get out there let's fight for it let's get out there let's vote for it and together let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary Story Ever Told thank you God bless you and may God bless the United States of America thank you all that is Vice President kamla Harris officially accepting her party's nomination to be president speaking before a packed Arena hanging on her every word and making history in the process of her remarks tonight as the first black woman in South Asian defent to accept a major party nomination for president she spoke of her mother she spoke of her upbringing of her background as a prosecutor of her work as vice president and she talked about her VIs vision for the future of this country using these core values she repeated of Freedom opportunity compassion dignity and fairness joined now of course by her husband Doug mhof on stage as the couple celebrates their 10th wedding anniversary today indeed Nom it was a speech I mean she tried to appeal to voters across the political Spectrum she issued a a stark warning against returning Donald Trump to power and she said she was accepting the nomination on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest country on Earth joined there on stage by her running mate Tim Walls and his wife quen as they walk to the front of the stage there to wapor his Applause and that is it that is the Democratic party ticket for this election that now has the next 75 days to try to convince Americans that they should be the ones to go to the White House our panel up here has been watching alongside us as well Judy as you watched this speech tonight yeah took it in in the room with everyone else what stood out to you well she made it clear from the beginning when she quieted the Applause and said let's get down to business she made it clear that she was going to give a serious speech and this was a serious speech I think it was a powerful presentation uh of where she stands at this point point of the campaign 75 days to go she told her personal story she shared her personal values she made it clear that her background as a prosecutor is going to govern her approach to her work uh she talked about being a president of all the people she talked about an opportunity economy she made a bold promise to end the nation's housing shortage crisis which uh will be remembered if she's elected uh and as you say on the Middle East uh the the speaking about the is promise to stand up for Israel and for Palestinian self-determination we'll see where that goes but all in all uh a strong start but the proof is in the pudding uh this is a 75 days to go the race is close and as we keep our eye here on the convention floor that's 100,000 balloons that are falling from the rafters here on the delegates Amy we heard Judy mention kamla Harris talking extensively about her background as a prosecutor it struck me in her 2020 campaign her biography as a prosecutor that was in many ways a liability for her absolutely and now four years later it's one of her most valuable assets that's right not only because of who she's running against and Donald Trump and the fact that uh now he uh has those convictions against him but um also because of this thing we talked about earlier about having to show that she's tough and that she's strong in a campaign that Donald Trump has really built around strength here's what else really struck me about this speech some of it was um focus on the things that Joe Biden was always trying to get through making it about Donald Trump saying uh he would say this a lot she said Donald Trump's an unserious man but the consequences of putting him in the White House is very serious but she also was able to drive a message that Joe Biden couldn't which is to say she's um a she talked about a chance to chart a new way forward so in some ways this is the campaign strategy going forward Prosecuting the case against Donald Trump that has been the argument from Democrats from day one of the election campaign that if they have to make this about the consequences of trump getting a second term but then she has the opportunity to do something I said that Biden couldn't which is to also be this change agent and uh flipping the page David as much as this is about defining herself for many Americans who aren't as familiar with her uh as others this is also about defining what a presidency would look like under kamla Harris did did you hear those details I know you had questions earlier about what that policy policy won this is a policy heavy speech uh you know my second favorite part first of all I should say was a very good speech my second favorite part was the biography part cuz she didn't just say what happened to me each anecdote was about how my values were shaped my mother shaped this part of my values my the sexual abuse thing she had to confront with her friend that shaped that part of my Val so you got to see the moral formation of the person the domestic policy part was good it was familiar but it was good I wish there had been more Economic Policy but that's just me uh but then I I never say this the most moving part of the speech to me was the foreign policy part really because it was about America's role in the world and this really is a continuation of Biden it's a continuation of Biden McCain Hillary Clinton it was a pretty aggressive picture of America's role in the world and but what it really was was a definition of what America is what America stands for and what America's place in history with and so really it was a redefinition or a strong definition of what America is uh and running against a guy who is a very negative view about where America is trending it was a pretty clear contrast and as a patriot I found it quite moving how the way she described her country Jonathan what stood out to you well um you guys have the good seats you could actually see her at the at the S so I watched on the monitors here um what I saw was a a vice president standing in her own light standing in in just being herself um a vice president who is confident and comfortable in her own skin in the position she has now and for the position that she hopes to to be elected to um her her campaign slogan of uh a new way forward it's in some ways you know she's a sitting vice president so people could think well how is this a new way forward the way to look at it is now the race is between her and Donald Trump the new Way Forward is in this election you can go back to this guy and all the problems and Chaos that comes with it or you can come with me come with us and together cuz this whole convention has been about together we can solve these problems and I think her I love the speech is sort of the Capstone of a convention where it was we've got problems we have we let's work together and find them and and we will lead you as Democrats and I as the Presidential nominee am ready to lead I can't wait to see what the next 75 days are going to be as uh keep our eye on the stage there the vice president was standing with her nieces this is the extended Harris family uh the M hofs were on stage if her if her in-laws are there I mean this is this is quite a collection of harrises and walles on this convention stage Jamie Walter I got to say as convention speeches go I don't think I've ever heard such an extensive discussion of Reproductive Rights as what we heard earlier tonight well absolutely and she's staked a lot of her time as vice president on this issue after dobs was overturned she went I mean I'm sorry grow was overturned it was in the dobs case she went across the country in 2022 really talking about this a lot she's honed her message certainly on um on the trail the other thing that's kind of remarkable about this again for somebody who has been in the background for somebody who has not had a very high profile in terms of these kind of speeches uh to be able to come out with that kind of pressure uh was also you know it's notable that you know she was able to deliver that get across what she needed to get across at least at this moment and now the hard part comes not just in the campaigning but the next big stage which is the September debate that's right around the corner and that's where she's really going to have to put all of this to the test this is quite a foundation though Judy for her campaign to move forward though is it not it is she is as Amy is saying she's going to face a series of tests maybe even daily tests between now and election day uh the the debate is the biggest one we see on the horizon but there are things there are going to be surprises um I think you know and we don't know we do know that she went the races that she ran in California for district attorney for attorney general and for uh Senate United States Senate those were all tough races as she said tonight she went into those races underestimated she has that experience under her belt um and again I'm struck by you know this is want to get down to business she was pushing her way through this audience tonight there were moments when the people were cheering and and yelling and she kept talking she was determined to get through this you could maybe in Prime Time David you mentioned the other day something about what we could see ahead and I want you to expound on that a bit if you can this idea that it all changes after the conventions right there's a debate ahead this is campaigns will ramp up what should people anticipate happening and unfolding over the next 10 to 11 weeks well this you get to you get to control you're in you run the show uh after today you don't really run the show events run the show and I have a feeling it's not a super big prediction which is that there's going to be some crisis I we've just been in such an eventful time whether it's an economic crisis some foreign policy thing with Iran or who knows and so you remember 2008 the financial crisis happened in the middle of the campaign so who knows about that I will say two final things the first is I worried that the the the race is going to mostly be run Pennsylania Michigan Wisconsin is it really really smart to pick a San Francisco liberal I would have to say she's dispelled a lot of my concerns about that she has not come across and this whole convention is not come across that way Jonathan Kart when there was all that pressure for Joe Biden to exit the race and there were those Fridays on on Brooks and Kart when you were saying this is if if it's not him this is going to fall apart could you have imagined that Democrats would have fallen in array in in the way that they have um look I'm glad they fell in Array but um look this is what was supposed to happen if they had skipped over her the Democrats would have lost absolutely would have lost because you cannot tell African-Americans and black women that you are the foundation you are the spine and the backbone of the democratic party and then skip over the black lady who's the sitting vice president what's so wonderful about this moment and this speech is that she has shown um people the doubters and the naysayers and there were a lot of them within the party that they were wrong Judy come back to you on this idea we're going to talk a lot about the politics and the campaigns and all of that this moment set aside if anyone is a Republican or a Democrat or independent or whatever but to have arrived at this moment for all of us as as journalists you covering as many elections as you have this is a moment hundreds of years in the M it is uh a woman was nominated for the Democratic uh nomination for president president in 2016 Hillary Clinton there was a great feeling at that convention that she was going to win in fact that feeling went right up almost until election day so we are we know there can be surprises having said that I sense that in this convention there is more excitement more enthusiasm uh behind kamla Harris even than there was for Hillary Clinton yeah this feels very different from 2016 both the energy but most important the party was much more divided much more united today Amy Walter Judy Woodruff Jonathan capart David Brooks are deep thanks to all of you and that concludes our broadcast coverage of the final night of the Democratic National Convention if you are watching on YouTube don't go anywhere our coverage continues with Laura Baron Lopez and our Dima Zayn reviewing the highlights of the night and of course we're going to have full analysis of the convention and the day's other news on tomorrow's PBS NewsHour including analysis from David and Jonathan we're all making the trip back to Washington very early tomorrow morning finally we want to send our deepest thanks to our production technical engineering editorial staff who helped us get on the air for a week both in Milwaukee at the RNC and here in Chicago for the DNC we know it's been a huge undertaking and omnna and I deeply appreciate it so thank you and with that I'm Jeff Bennett and i'mna Naas on behalf of all of us all of us here at PBS news thank you so much for joining us this program was made possible by The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] you're watching PBS