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The Guardian
What time are Barack and Michelle Obama speaking at the Democratic convention tonight?
By Guardian staff,
12 hours ago
Exactly 20 years ago, Barack Obama was a relatively unknown state legislator when he delivered a keynote address at the Democratic party’s convention.
“I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on Earth, is my story even possible,” Obama said that evening.
His 2004 speech offers one of the clearest examples of how convention speeches can elevate a rising political star to national prominence. Four years later, he returned to accept the party’s nomination for president.
The first night of the convention saw significant delays, with Biden’s speech pushed out of prime time. He took the stage later than expected and finished speaking well after midnight ET.
Major news networks are likely to carry prime-time programming. PBS will have live coverage beginning at 8pm each night.
What will Obama talk about?
Obama is expected to set out Harris’s qualifications for the world’s most powerful job, and touch on the day’s theme: “A bold vision for America’s future”.
Earlier this month he commended her on X, saying: “She has the vision, the character, and the strength that this critical moment demands, and I know she will deliver.”
Obama, along with his wife, Michelle, endorsed Harris for president on 26 July, five days after Joe Biden stepped aside. The endorsement was seminal in securing her the nomination, helping to bypass a potentially ugly internal fight.
“I can’t have this phone call without saying to my girl Kamala that I am so proud of you – this is going to be historic,” Michelle Obama told Harris in a recorded video of their phone conversation.
Will Michelle Obama be there?
Yes. Michelle Obama is confirmed to speak before her husband on Tuesday night.
In addition to the Obamas, speakers include Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff; the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer; JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, who is hosting the convention; the Illinois senator Tammy Duckworth; Bernie Sanders, the progressive senator from Vermont; New Mexico’s governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham; and the mayor of Mesa county in the critical battleground state of Arizona, John Giles.
Who else is speaking at the convention?
The full lineup of speakers has not yet been released, but several big names – plus many new lawmakers and rising stars – are expected to appear.
Wednesday 21 August: The former president Bill Clinton will join the Minnesota governor and nominee for vice-president, Tim Walz, on the convention’s third night.
Thursday 22 August: The vice-president, Kamala Harris, will close out the fourth night of the convention.
Joe Biden closed out the first night, delivering a reflective and optimistic 50-minute address, urging the nation to elect Kamala Harris to protect American democracy.
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