Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was given a euphoric reception as he walked out on stage as the headliner on the third night of the Democratic National Convention, officially accepting his nomination as the vice presidential candidate. He delivered a short, snappy speech, taking listeners through his upbringing, entry into politics and his accomplishments since then.
“Never estimate a public school teacher,” Walz said. “I represented my neighbors in Congress for 12 years and I learned an awful lot. I learned how to work across the aisle … and I learned how to compromise without compromising my values.”
The 60-year-old also made the case for the Harris-Walz campaign and the theme of the night: freedom.
“When Republicans use the word freedom, they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctor’s office, corporations free to pollute your air and water and banks free to take advantage of customers,” Walz said. “But when we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love, freedom to make your own healthcare decisions, and yea, your kids freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall.”
Walz: I know guns. I’m a veteran, I’m a hunter. I was a better shot than most of the Republicans in Congress and I got the trophies to prove it. But I’m also a dad. I believe in the 2nd Amendment, but I believe our first responsibility is to keep our kids safe. pic.twitter.com/1tppxBNzz8
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 22, 2024
“I don’t know about you, I’m ready to turn the page on these guys. So go ahead say it with me…,” Walz said as the crowd erupted into chants of “We’re not going back!,” which has become the Harris campaign’s slogan. “We’ve got something better to offer the American people.”
Here are some of the other standout themes from the third night of the convention:
Joy
Since the end of night one, which closed out with a farewell from President Biden, Democrats have been focusing a whole lot of energy on making the convention fun — and to show the juxtaposition between Harris’ vibrant policy-focused campaign and Trump’s grievance-based one.
On Wednesday, the word that came up over and over again to articulate this dynamic was “joy.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) used it in quoting a verse from the Old Testament, saying, “weeping may endure during the long night, but joy will come in the morning.”
“Here is how we do it,” Jeffries continued. “Strategize on Sunday, meet the moment on Monday, take it to ‘em on Tuesday, work it out on Wednesday, thank the Lord on Thursday, fight the power on Friday, set it off on Saturday, get a few hours of sleep, wake up the next day and do it all over again until joy, joy, joy comes in the morning,” Jeffries said.
Jeffries on Trump: “There’s no reason for us to ever get back together. Been there, done that, we’re not going back.”
Jeffries then gets the crowd going with some creative word play during his endorsement of Harris. pic.twitter.com/o55AVF6gFW
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 22, 2024
And former President Bill Clinton touched on the same theme.
“We need Kamala Harris, the president of joy, to lead us,” Clinton said. “So, I’ll be doing my part, you do yours. I’ll see you when we’re making a real joyful noise when the votes are counted.”
It’s not surprising several speakers brought it up.
Joy has been the ethos of the Harris campaign. Her campaign has been fun and exciting. Her rallies — including the one Tuesday, hosted at the packed ex-RNC venue that she managed to fill during the DNC — are jubilant parties. That’s something Obama and Trump had/have too; people didn’t go to their rallies to soberly fulfill their democratic duties, but to have a good time with like minded folks.
It bleeds into Harris’ and the Democrats’ newfound approach to Trump: He’s weird, he’s small, he’s annoying, he’s played out. She laughs at him rather than shuddering about his badness. And if that proves more compelling to voters than characterizing him as what he also is, an enormous and dangerous threat, then so be it — the happy ending would be the same.
Immigration And The Border
Over the last two nights, we have heard from several speakers that Donald Trump doesn’t actually care about the border or the issues that come with an uptick in border crossings that Republicans have manufactured into a crisis that’s taken on a life of its own in right-wing media circles.
Several speakers specifically brought up the bipartisan border bill that Trump was successful in convincing Senate Republicans to tank this summer.
Trump reportedly argued at the time that the passage of such a bill would be a “gift” to Democrats during an election year because it would actually solve an issue that he wanted to knock Biden for on the campaign trail. The bill never passed and on Wednesday Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) revealed some behind the scenes details about the Republicans who tanked their own legislation.
“Donald Trump’s allies weren’t just in the room. They helped us write the whole bill,” Murphy said. “It was a bipartisan bill. It was a tough bill. $20 billion in new border security that gave the president the emergency power to shut down the border. It made some compassionate but serious reforms to our asylum system. One Republican said they would’ve had almost unanimous support if it weren’t for Donald Trump.”
Multiple speakers who either live in a border state or work with migrants who have crossed the southern border shared stories about the dangers of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, and how dire things might get if he’s allowed back into the Oval Office — a practical and non-hysterical counter to Republicans’ “border czar” attack on Harris.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore addressed immigration, from a personal perspective. He also wove it into a crucial theme of his speech — reminding the crowd that the workers who died when the Francis Scott Key Bridge in his state collapsed earlier this year were immigrants.
“Making America great doesn’t mean telling people you’re not wanted,” Moore said, taking a shot at the MAGA slogan. “And loving your country does not mean lying about its history. Making America great means saying the ambitions of this country would be incomplete without your help.”
“It’s the legacy of those six workers who fixed potholes on a bridge while we slept,” Moore added, referring to the six individuals who lost their lives earlier this year when the cargo ship crashed into the Baltimore bride. “Who were born in a different country but who knew that America was big enough for them too. It’s the journey of a man raised by a remarkable, immigrant, single mom, a man who felt handcuffs on his wrists at 11 years old, who now stands before you as the 63rd governor of Maryland and the first Black governor in the history of our state.”
Wes Moore: “Loving your country does not mean lying about its history.” pic.twitter.com/Bv5JbxwLCF
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 22, 2024
Project 2025
We were told on night one that Republicans’ Project 2025, and the toxic details of its contents, would keep coming up over the course of the week. Wednesday night brought us just that.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) called it a “poisonous agenda.”
And during the prime time speech, Walz called it an agenda “nobody asked for.”
“It’s an agenda that does nothing for our neighbors in need. Is it weird? Absolutely. But it’s also wrong. And it’s dangerous,” Walz said.
Walz on Project 2025: It’s an agenda that does nothing for our neighbors in need. Is it weird? Absolutely. But it’s also wrong. And it’s dangerous. pic.twitter.com/5zp0uAXUO1
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 22, 2024
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis homed in on its anti-LGBTQ objectives.
“Page 451 says the only legitimate family is a married mother and father, where only the father works. You know what, I’m going to take that one out,” Polis said as he ripped out the page in question from a printed version of the Project 2025 document, folded it and put it in his jacket pocket. “I’m gonna put that in my pocket so I can share it with undecided voters so they better understand what’s at stake this election.”
Democrats even invited Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson to do a mini stand up routine educating voters about how Project 2025 could impact them and their lives directly.
“You ever seen a document that could kill a small animal and democracy at the same time? Here it is,” Thompson said, holding a giant printed book version of the document.
“You know how when you download an app and there are hundreds of pages there that you don’t read, it’s just the terms and conditions and you just click agree. Right?” Thompson asked. “Well these are the terms and conditions of a second Trump presidency. You vote for him, you vote for all of this.”
Kenan Thompson on Project 2025: “You ever seen a document that could kill a small animal and democracy at the same time? Here it is.” pic.twitter.com/2y7PN0q30O
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 22, 2024
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