What’s remarkable about the 2024 Democratic National Convention, which starts Monday in Chicago, is how it has all the makings of a celebration, rather than a week of serious doubt.
That certainly wasn’t the case a month ago.
Then, as Donald Trump wrapped up the final night of the Republican National Convention with a long-winded speech that detailed the assassination attempt on his life just days earlier, the conventional wisdom was that it was his race to lose.
The GOP was looking not just at a Trump victory in November, but an overwhelming one. Democrats were fretting over the possibility that a steadfast Joe Biden would remain on the ticket, and the story of their Windy City would be all about a lack of enthusiasm.
But Kamala Harris quickly solidified her place at the top of the ticket, while delegates have already confirmed her via virtual roll call vote, removing even that aspect of the proceedings to all but one of ceremonial show.
That said, media outlets are going into the convention in anticipation of an uptick in audience interest, as what looked like the long-slog Trump-Biden rematch now is a neck-and-neck sprint with just 2 1/2 months to go.
“Just because the transition, if you will, has already happened, doesn’t mean we’re done processing what exactly just transpired,” said MSNBC host Alex Wagner, who is among the network news figures who will be on the convention floor.
“It’s a temperature taking, if you will, to see the level of optimism, the excitement, whether there’s an articulation of specific platform and policy priorities.”
Seni Tienabeso, executive director at ABC News Live, said that they have seen a “strong uptick” in audience interest in recent the past month, and suggests that will continue as Harris is a historic candidate. “The last few weeks have been something people will be reading about for the next 100 years,” he said.
With some 15,000 members of the media on hand, there will be plenty of storylines, even if the week turns out to be a breather from the topsy-turvy way that this election season has unfolded.
NBC News’ Peter Alexander said, “I think the ability of a party and a nominee to put on a convention that communications their message, that demonstrates their values, still does matter.”
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As much as the convention is about boosting the Harris-Tim Walz ticket, it’s also primetime programming, which is among the challenges for producer Stephanie Cutter and Ricky Kirshner, who helmed the Covid-limited convention in 2020. The Republican National Convention featured a mix of speakers and a mix of Vegas- and WWE-like showmanship, reflecting the tastes of Donald Trump. The DNC show likely will be much different.
Here’s what to expect throughout the week:
Kamala Harris’ speech
The Democratic convention may be a bit different from those of yore, but the finale will still be the presidential nominee’s speech on Thursday, typically the highest-rated night of the week and the best opportunity for Harris to reach undecided voters.
“The suspense is in how she continues to introduce herself or reintroduce herself to people,” said CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe. “…This is her chance to tell the world what kind of a president she would be, both here at home and for the sake of the rest of the world. She’s got to figure out a way to talk about her Oakland, Bay Area roots, her parents’ immigrant story, how it is she got into the prosecutors’ office in the Bay Area, and then attorney general, and then working alongside the guy she considers to be the most consequential president in modern times. Not only shore up her own base but maybe assuage the skeptics, who are concerned whether she can do the job, or who want to vote for her, but want to hear more, and need to hear it in a palatable, quick way at night.”
Alexander said, “Even if these conventions have become much more choreographed affairs in recent years — and while there have been comparisons made and the Democrats desire not to repeat anything we witnessed in 1968 — it’s been a long time since these conventions were particularly dramatic. That has certainly gone away. But I do think for a lot of people watching this is going to be a true introduction to Kamala Harris as the Democratic party’s nominee. I think there’s going to be a desire by journalists, including myself, to try to put a little bit more meat on the bone of Kamala Harris’ policies and positions.”
Also speaking will be Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, whose address is scheduled for Tuesday.
Tim Walz’s speech
The vice presidential nominee’s speech will be Wednesday evening and, even more so than Harris, he will be introducing himself to a larger TV audience. Unlike many other rising stars in the Democratic party, the Minnesota governor was a virtual unknown until Biden dropped out and he made a mark in a series of well-publicized media appearances.
O’Keefe said that “as minimal as a running mate’s effects can be, what does Tim Walz do to perhaps tell her story, and maybe serve as an affirmation of her to the types of voters from where he came from that may be skeptical of her. Polling suggests that the country is ready for a woman president, that the country is ready for a Black woman president. But again, famous but unknown.”
Joe Biden
The president and First Lady Jill Biden are trekking to Chicago on Monday for what looks to be a extended tribute — a far different scenario than what was expected before his dismal debate performance in June. His speech likely will be covered as the president’s first major step toward establishing his legacy, but also for what he says about Harris. There is some hint that there will be some kind of a “pass the torch” moment, as Harris arrives in Chicago tonight.
“There’s some amount of concern that they not overshadow the outgoing president, and that they pay him his due, given the extraordinary choice he made to step down,” Wagner said. “I think they want to honor Biden at the same time as giving Kamala Harris all the leeway that she needs and they think rightly deserves as the new nominee for the party. So it’s a really interesting changing of the guard dynamic that we haven’t seen, really, ever.”
Past presidents
Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are in the bill, along with Hillary Clinton, and no word yet on whether Michelle Obama will be there. There’s also buzz that there will be some kind of a tribute to Jimmy Carter, who turns 100 on October 1.
That lineup will be a contrast to the Republican National Convention, which did not feature the only other living former Republican president, George W. Bush, or previous GOP nominee, Mitt Romney, or even any former vice presidents, Mike Pence included. It’s a sign of just how much has changed in the party under Trump.
Democrats have a number of rising stars ostensibly competing for a choice convention slot: the 10 p.m. ET hour, when broadcast networks join cable networks and streamers in coverage.
Protests
Even before Biden dropped out, there was every expectation that protests, particularly over the war in Gaza, would be a part of the week. The Democratic National Committee, the Secret Service and the Chicago Police have spent months plotting out designated protest areas, with the first organized march expected Monday. A question is whether any demonstrators will get into the United Center, with a robust security perimeter, and disrupt the proceedings, as they have so many other political events this cycle.
A pro-Palestinian protest is scheduled for Monday, which will give an indication of the size of the demonstrations, while news outlets are taking precautions.
“We have a plan in place,” ABC News’ Tienabeso said.
“We are always very diligent about security,” he said. “The safety for all of our folks in paramount.”
Stars
Democrats have a corner on A-listers, and the question is who appears on stage and how celebrities are deployed at other events throughout the week.
Some events have been announced: Julia Louis-Dreyfus will headline a panel for the Democratic Governors Association on Wednesday. John Legend is scheduled to perform at an event hosted by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) on Tuesday evening. The Creative Coalition has five events it is sponsoring or co-sponsoring including a concert on Wednesday evening featuring Joan Jett and a list of celebrity attendees including Octavia Spencer, Uzo Aduba, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Iain Armitage.
The Hollywood element is a feature of every Democratic convention, but there were serious questions as to who would show up when this looked like a Biden coronation.
Robin Bronk, the CEO of the Creative Coalition, said that has changed considerably. The new Harris ticket “is certainly invigorating,” she said. “We went from one event to five.”
There’s also the question of surprise guests, with speculation over Beyoncé, given that she has given her blessing to Harris’ use of “Freedom” as a campaign anthem. (Back in 1992, Bill Clinton ended his convention with an appearance by Fleetwood Mac to sing “Don’t Stop,” which already was a campaign theme.)
That would certainly be an A-list counter to the rough and tumble final night of Trump’s RNC, which featured Hulk Hogan and Ted Nugent. But as much of a show as the week is, with celebrities meant to gin up enthusiasm and turnout, the showbiz element can overdo it. That’s something that many Democrats are well aware of, as a favorite attack of the GOP is that their rivals are the party of Hollywood elites.
Late night
Comedy Central’s The Daily Show and CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert are based in Chicago throughout the week in what is hoped to be an uptick in audience interest given the dramatic change in the race.
The Daily Show executive producer Jen Flanz, who since 2000 has traveled with the show to every convention they have gone to, said that as exhausting as the 18-hour-day schedule can be, a benefit is that their correspondents will all be in one place. “We’re all there, and so they get to play off each other on [the convention] floor,” she said. “That is one of my favorite things.”
Like the convention planners, the show, too, had to pivot and change plans. They had a Biden biofilm planned for Thursday night, “and now we are writing one for Kamala, so that’s going to be a quick turnaround.”
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When it comes to other segments, she said that they have fallbacks on topics like women’s health and education, “but if something really specific happens … we have the ability to start gaining jokes and takes and send correspondents out with that the next morning.”
The Daily Show also is scheduling some public events, including The Daily Show Presents: InDogCision 2024, a partnership with HeadCount and PAWS Chicago that combines voter registration and dog adoption. The event today will be at Wrigleyville as attendees make their way into the Cubs game. The show’s Jordan Klepper will be throwing the first pitch, and he will be wearing the number 25, a not to the number of Trump rallies he has covered.
The Daily Show scrapped plans for Milwaukee-based shows during the Republican convention, given the Trump assassination attempt.
And while late-night shows have mined plenty on the Trump side in the weeks since then, when it comes to the Democratic gathering, “we find things,” Flanz said. “I’m sure there will be things that are ridiculous, over the top things that Dems do, whether it’s their production value.”
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Digital creators
For the first time, the Democratic National Committee has credentialed a group of digital creators, aka social media “influencers,” to cover the proceedings. It reflects a new front by campaigns to tap into memes, TikTok and other short-form video, typically from a friendlier audience than mainstream media. President Biden hosted a gathering of the content creators at the White House last week, while the DNC is rolling out a “blue carpet” for these creators to capture high profile attendees, as well as a platform with a choice vantage point of the stage inside the United Center.
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O’Keefe said, “That’s interesting, that’s fine. That’s very much a reflection of how people are consuming things, but that is very much consumption through a filter, and in this case, a blue-hued filter, and I think watching how the party allows access for them versus the non partisan press corps allows access for them, at least those of us who are nonpartisan, is sort of a subplot … to continue watching.”
Surprises
If all goes as planned, Democrats will leave Chicago energized and bullish of their prospects in November, albeit with some caution of overconfidence. Think 2016. Harris keeps reminding supporters that Democrats are the underdogs, and O’Keefe said that after this week will be better sense of which party’s base is “hungrier” to win.
This cycle also has been one of expecting the unexpected, and it may not be over.
“In a summer of surprises, we should not be surprised that there are more of them,” O’Keefe said.
As Wagner said, “This has been a moment of extraordinary change in American politics. I don’t think we’ve finished processing it, either as members of a democracy or as members of the media, and you never know what curveballs are in store.”