It's Thursday. Starbucks launched its fall menu today. Aug. 22 is far too early for anything pumpkin, IMHO. I will hold onto summer for as long as possible! It's the final day of the Democratic National Convention — here's the latest: - Harris will close out the Democratic National Convention tonight with the biggest speech so far in her political career.
- Tim Walz leaned into the Midwestern, football dad persona during his address.
- Doug Emhoff referred to Harris as "my wiiiiife" in a Borat-like voice. Keep scrolling for the clip.
- Mindy Kaling had some good jokes as the host.
I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send tips, commentary, feedback and cookie recipes to cmartel@thehill.com. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. |
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How many coconut references do you think she'll make tonight?:
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It's the last night of the Democratic National Convention. This is the night when Vice President Harris will formally accept her party's nomination, and most importantly, the night of the iconic balloon drop! 🎈One X user compared 📸 the hoisted balloons to giant Nerds clusters, and I can't unsee it. This is an incredibly important moment for Harris, the biggest speech so far in her career. Just two months ago, Democrats had doubts about her electability. Now, she's brought in massive fundraising totals, has closed gaps in polling, has had viral social media post after viral social media post — and attracted a star-studded guest list for Democrats' convention. Can you imagine how differently this week would have felt if it had been President Biden's convention? The Hill's Amie Parnes writes that any doubts about Harris have been "left in the trash after a head spinning month." She reports that some Democrats think "part of the excitement revolves around a feeling of relief following Biden's departure." The Hill's Alexander Bolton argues how Democrats are now winning the unity and excitement battles against the GOP. How has she been preparing?: The New York Times reports that Harris has been working on her convention remarks since she was President Biden's No. 2 on the ticket. She's had rehearsals with teleprompters in three different time zones. Her three goals for the speech: "Tell her life story, frame her contest with Donald J. Trump as one pitting the future against the past and reclaim the banner of patriotism for the Democratic ticket," according to the Times. Read more on how she's prepping Who else is speaking tonight?: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) and former Illinois *Republican* Rep. Adam Kinzinger are part of tonight's lineup. Pink is also expected to perform. Taylor? Beyoncé?!: There are rumors swirling of another celebrity appearance tonight. It's unlikely, but here's what we know. 💻 Tonight's convention livestream |
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Idk, maybe I am on the Mankato West High School football team now?: |
© GIPHY/Carson-Newman Athletics |
Fired up, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) — or "Coach Walz" — delivered his pregame team pep talk to the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday. By the end of the night, even I questioned whether I was a political journalist or a high school football player headed to the state championships as an underdog. "Let me finish with this, team," Walz told a fired-up crowd. "It's the fourth quarter. We're down a field goal, but we're on offense and we've got the ball. We're driving down the field." Walz leaned into his Midwestern small town, approachable neighbor vibes — a balance from Vice President Harris, the former prosecutor from California. Convention organizers handed out signs that read, 📹"Coach Walz." A group of his former football players showed up 📹in their jerseys. And at one point, Walz looked at his family and said, "you are my entire world." His family got emotional at that line — and his son stood up and yelled, "that's my dad!" Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) 📹 posted that clip. Jokes like this have been all over social: "If Tim Walz walks out onstage wiping his hands on a greasy rag because he just fixed the transmission on the campaign bus, we win all 50 states," @mrbenwexler posted. |
The gist of the other major speeches: - Clinton went long: Former President Clinton gave a 28-minute, partially unscripted speech where he emphasized that despite his advancing age, he is still younger than former President Trump.
- Pete is a great orator: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg took some shots at Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) for selling "darkness" — but also talked about the progress for LGBTQ families in the past 25 years.
- Oprah was effective: Oprah Winfrey seemed very comfortable delivering some fiery attacks against the GOP ticket — and received raucous applause.
- Pelosi handled the awkwardness: Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) awkwardly navigated her remarks about President Biden after becoming one of the most influential voices in urging him to step aside last month.
Read more: '5 takeaways from Day 3 of Democratic convention' |
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➤ SIGHTS AND SOUNDS FROM THE WINDY CITY:
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The funniest clip I've come across from the convention: While speaking at an after-party, second gentleman Doug Emhoff reportedly referred to Harris as "my wiiiiiiiife" in what sounds similar to the "Borat" voice. 📹 Yes, yes, there's video
^By the way: Today is also Harris and Emhoff's 10-year wedding anniversary! Both posted on social platform X to mark the milestone. 📸 Harris's post 📹 Emhoff's post Actor and comedian Mindy Kaling had some good lines: - She joked about "outing" Harris as Indian. 📹 Watch
- "The real reason I'm here is that deep down, I truly believe that as a woman of color and a single mother of three," Kaling stated. "It is incredibly important that I be appointed ambassador to Italy." I'll fight you for that job, Mindy. 📹 Watch her delivery
The two conventions: MSNBC's "Morning Joe" spliced together clips to compare Republicans' roll call vs. the Democrats'. 📹 Watch What a great troll: A Spectrum News reporter asked New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) to try some deep-dish pizza. She declined and said "it's kinda funny looking." She didn't stop there: "It takes like an hour to make … we want our pizza done in a New York minute," she said. Honestly, good point. 📹Watch the clip This reporter looked like he was about to crowd surf: NBC's Jacob Soboroff hung out with the Minnesota delegation last night, and it looked pretty raucous. Those Walz face cutouts are funny. 📹 Watch the clip Bahaha: The Independent's Eric Michael Garcia 📹 posted a video of the Minnesota delegation still going hard after the arena had mostly cleared out — and wondered whether Walz was down there. @RandyRenstrom chimed in to add, "That's actually just a Midwestern goodbye, they last forever." 💀 Buttigieg had something nice to say about Mike Pence: "And don't even get me started on his new running mate," Buttigieg remarked, referring to Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). "At least Mike Pence was … polite." 📹Watch the clip Ooof, that was a tough camera transition: Oprah referenced the controversial "childless cat lady" comments that Vance made. The camera then cut to a random woman. I'm sure this was accidental, but it was awkward. 📹 Watch The sign language interpreter had a blast: Watch her 📹 jam out to Stevie Wonder and then 📹 to John Legend. Pelosi as 'The Godmother': Politico's Sarah Ferris noticed some Democratic members wearing pins featuring former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) 📸 as "The Godmother." The Bill Clinton teleprompter situation: Clinton went off-script for large chunks of his speech. Compare what he's saying to what the prompter shows 📹 in this clip. "Feeling a little stressed for the prompter person," CNN's MJ Lee wrote. |
Amen to this: "Nancy Pelosi is 84 and wearing stilettos and I have refused to go to a concert unless there are chairs since I was like 26," @jilltwiss posted on X. This is controversial but I wholeheartedly agree: Connecticut Democrats 📸 wore pins that said, "Our pizza is better than your pizza." That's so cheesy: Check out this 📸 stack of cheeseheads for Wisconsin's delegation. The lines around the venue seem rough: Oof, 📸 this shuttle line. | |
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➤ HOW THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN IS REACTING TO THE CONVENTION: |
Former President Trump ripped Walz as a "lightweight." He told "Fox & Friends": "First of all, he's a total lightweight, and he shouldn't be even having any access to possibly being president. He has no capability. They call him coach. He's a semi-coach. He coached some football for a little while. This guy is a lightweight." Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) argued that Democrats' "dark message" on Trump doesn't match their claims of a "joyful" theme of the convention. He told CNN's Jake Tapper: "There's a lot of attacks on Donald Trump, a lot of criticisms of what he's done and what he said. Not a whole lot of positive vision for how Kamala Harris is going to fix the problems that plague the country." |
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🥟 Celebrate: Today is National Bao Day! 🚗 Omg!: The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg posted a photo of a car punched through the second floor of the Whole Foods in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. "One police officer I interviewed said, laconically, 'Brakes and gas are very different pedals,'" Goldberg posted. 📸 The car popping through the wall |
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The House and Senate are out. President Biden is in California, and Vice President Harris is in Chicago. (all times Eastern) |
- 1 p.m.: Former President Trump campaigns in Sierra Vista, Ariz. 💻 Livestream
- 1 p.m.: Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) campaigns in Georgia. 💻 Livestream
- This evening: The final night of the Democratic National Convention. 💻 Livestream
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