Clinton, Pelosi, Warren, Obama The Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, offered a very personal warning to her party on the third night of the convention, as well as to undecided and non-voters who might take Donald Trump’s defeat for granted once again: “This can’t be another woulda, coulda, shoulda election.” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spoke about the party's agenda, and slammed Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell over stalled legislation and relief. Sen. Elizabeth Warren slammed Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic during her remarks, saying that the crisis was his fault, and the fault of the Republicans who enabled him. Warren's background scenery made some news, too. But it was former President Barack Obama who truly carried the stage ahead of the nomination acceptance speech. Obama delivered a passionate, blistering, emotional, unprecedented rebuke of President Trump. “I have sat in the Oval Office with both of the men who are running for president,” Obama said. “I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies. I did hope, for the sake of the country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously, that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care. But he never did. “He’s shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show he can use to get the attention that he craves. “Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. And the consequences of that failure are severe,” he said. The speech is one for the record books. Watch it here. Seriously. Watch. This. Speech. "I’ve known the darkest of days" Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head during a 2011 mass shooting in Tuscon, delivered an emotional endorsement for Biden last night. In rare public remarks, Giffords — who suffers from a condition calls aphasia, which makes it difficult for her to talk — spoke candidly about her recovery. “I’ve known the darkest of days,” Giffords said. “Days of pain and uncertain recovery. But confronted by despair, I’ve summoned hope. Confronted by paralysis and aphasia, I responded with grit and determination. I put one foot in front of the other. I found one word and then another. My recovery is a daily fight, but fighting makes me stronger. Words once came easily, today, I struggle to speak. But I have not lost my voice. America needs all of us to speak out, even when you have to fight to find the words.” Giffords argued that the nation is at a crossroads, and went on to make a heart wrenching appeal for the former vice president. My Future Billie Eilish performed her song “My Future” during night three of the convention. She also spoke briefly on her support for Biden. "Silence is not an option, and we cannot sit this one out," the singer said. HARRIS ACCEPTS NOMINATION Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for vice president, delivered her big speech on night three of the DNC Convention, speaking from Wilmington, Delaware. Harris opened commemorating the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment — which guaranteed women the right to vote — and said the fact she could stand there accepting the nomination was a testament to “the dedication of generations before me.” “There’s something happening all across our country. It’s not about Joe or me. It’s about you,” Harris said in her history-making address. “In this election we have a chance to change the course of history. We’re all in this fight. You, me, and Joe. Together. What an awesome responsibility. What an awesome privilege.” Watch the full speech and dramatic moment here. The Reviews Speaking on CNN’s post-convention coverage, Wolf Blitzer called Obama’s remarks “scathing,” and “a truly unprecedented moment.” “I’ve been watching President Obama … since 2004 deliver speeches,” Blitzer said. “This may have been the most powerful address he ever gave. A presidential address to the nation, not only strongly supporting the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, right now. But going after the sitting president of the United States.” MSNBC's Joy Reid said Obama's speech was was a warning to everyone: "Warning about the potential end of America.” Colleague Rachel Maddow said much the same. ""His warnings that we could potentially be at the end of American democracy scared me, and I found upsetting and hard to watch. But just powerful, powerful stuff," she said. Fox's Chris Wallace gave a mixed review of the nomination acceptance speech from Kamala Harris. Trump's review was .... decidedly more predictable. DNC NIGHT FOUR Catch the live program for the fourth night, as well as all the clips and highlights, via our ongoing coverage, when former Vice President Joe Biden will accept his party's nomination for President of the United States. Night four features speakers to include: Sen. Cory Booker, former mayor Pete Buttigieg, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, fellow former 2020 candidates Mike Bloomberg and Andrew Yang, and musical performances to include Common and John Legend. FIND ALL OUR DNC COVERAGE HERE
Not a good look Fox News’ Outnumbered panel did not sugarcoat their reactions to Steve Bannon’s fraud charge Thursday — with Kennedy even calling for President Trump to release his taxes. CNN's Brian Stelter had words, too. Precarious Despite the fact that the S&P 500 just hit a record high, CNBC’s Jim Cramer is skeptical about the state of the U.S. economy. "The stock market’s not a great reflection of the broader economy anymore,” Cramer said. “If anything, the actual economy’s in precarious shape.” ‘Cuties’ Series Netflix is facing major backlash over an upcoming French series, Cuties, that is being accused of sexualizing children as young as 11-years-old, with nearly 30,000 signing a petition demanding the streaming service remove the show. He’s a piece of work Sarah Palin appeared on Fox News Wednesday night to talk about the DNC convention, and Tucker Carlson asked her about former McCain campaign official and current NeverTrump pundit Steve Schmidt, who is with the Lincoln Project. After laughing at the very mention of Schmidt, Palin trashed him and his fellow MSNBC'er and ex-campaign official Nicolle Wallace as "wolves in sheep's clothing." Her profound ignorance Schmidt fired back at former Palin in a blistering barrage that accused her of “paranoia, pathological lying, profound ignorance, brittleness and insanity.” "We had to deal with her for 70 days. It has been amazing to watch her soar and prove all her critics wrong," he wrote in pure liquid sarcasm. For the Children Late-night hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon took on DNC day three, or as Fallon called it, “Trump’s entire list of enemies,” on Wednesday night. They were both pretty funny. 6.5.0 |