Democrats Rally Behind Joe Biden at Convention

The 2020 Democratic National Convention kicked off Monday night, marking the most extraordinary presidential nominating convention in recent history.

Democrats were slated to hold their nominating convention this week in downtown Milwaukee, however, the coronavirus pandemic forced them to transform their convention into a virtual event; none of the leading participants will appear from Milwaukee.

However, the newly built Fiserv Forum, just one street block off Wisconsin Center, will host the last few parts of the democratic national convention that is still taking place in Milwaukee.

The event lasted for two-hours with American actress Eva Longoria serving as mic controller and keep the evening moving between prerecorded and live video presentations.

It offered a vivid illustration of how both the pandemic and widespread opposition to U.S President Donald Trump has upended the country’s politics.

Furthermore, family members of George Floyd, the Black man whose death in the custody of the Minneapolis police this spring set off a national protest movement, attended the event.

Philonise Floyd, George Floyd’s brother, said it was “up to us to carry on the fight for justice,” naming several other Black men and women slain by the police in recent years, including Eric Garner and Sandra Bland.

Top speakers of the night included former U.S Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who is set to be ratified as the Democratic nominee, former first lady Michelle Obama, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris, and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

They appeared from different cities across the country, delivering their remarks in a well-written and carefully rehearsed fashion.

Biden conducted a question-and-answer session, which spanned for a few minutes, in which he discussed systemic racism with figures including Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago, and NAACP President Derrick Johnson.

Democrats hailed the former U.S Vice President who will formally accept his party’s nomination on Thursday, and his running mate, Harris, and made clear their deep apprehension about the country’s future if Mr. Trump were to win a second term.

Mrs. Obama urged voters to mobilize in overpowering force to turn Trump out of the office and elect Biden.

“Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment.” she said.

The convention is set to conclude on Thursday, August 20, with a speech from Biden, which marks the beginning of the formal general election between Biden and Trump.

There will be no official business conducted in Milwaukee. The voting to nominate Biden and to approve the platform was conducted over email and completed Saturday.

The virtual event is also a reminder that this is an election season unlike any other. The country, the economy, and the campaign trail have all been upended by the pandemic, which has killed almost 170,000 Americans.

The pandemic has also reshaped the daily American life, which included the political world, voting priorities, and access to the ballot box.

On his part, Trump accused Democrats of representing left-wing extremism and, returning to the xenophobic themes of his first presidential campaign, argued baselessly that Biden would “overwhelm Minnesota with refugees from terror hot spots.”

The U.S president and other Republicans are holding in-person events in Wisconsin this week, in an attempt to highlight the absence of Democrats.