Jill Biden, Bill Clinton and AOC, Dems Focus on Leadership for the Second Night of the DNC

Though there were some awkward transitions between the various videos, some of which were live and others that were recorded, the second night of the DNC went off mostly without a hitch. Focusing on leadership, the speakers were there to highlight their relationship with the former Vice President and what they believe would make him a great president of the United States, along with sharing the Biden’s personal story.

The night began with a video of various local politicians, including mayors and state representatives and senators, talking about a variety of issues, including COVID, abortion, health care and other progressive causes.

Tennessee State Senator Raumesh Akbari stated, “As president, he will restore funding for Planned Parenthood. He will codify Roe v. Wade. And he will make reducing maternal mortality, especially for women of color, a top priority.”

For tonight, actress Tracey Ellis Ross moderated the event.  

Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader of the Senate, gave his address from Brooklyn, New York with the Statue of Liberty in the background. He said, “America, Donald Trump has quit on you…Democrats must take back the Senate. We will stay united and with our unity we will bring bold and dramatic change to the country…Restore a Supreme Court that looks out for people, not corporations…We will save the post office.”

Next, former president Bill Clinton shared his support for the candidacy of Joe Biden.

Video from MSNBC

“The presidential election is the world’s most important job interviews. It’s a tall order this year, with COVID deaths expected to reach 200,000,” Clinton said. “Our party is united in offering you a very different choice, a go to work president. A down to earth, get the job done guy. A man with a mission to take responsibility, not shift the blame, concentrate and not distract, unite not divide. Our choice is Joe Biden. Joe brought us back from a recession before and he can do it again.”

Reflecting a somewhat divided party, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, known for her progressive policies, continued her support for Senator Bernie Sanders. “Thank you to everyone here today for endeavoring to a better more just future for our country and our world.”

Video from MSNBC

“In fidelity and gratitude to a mass peoples movement working establishing 21^st century social, economic and human rights, including guaranteed health care, higher education, living wages and labor rights for all people in the United States. A movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny and homophobia. And to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy, that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past.”

“A movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few, at the expense of long-term stability for many…And out of a love for all people, I hear by second the nomination of Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont for President of the United States.”

In a somewhat different format given the COVID restrictions, the party’s roll call vote went to all 50 states and 7 territories, where the delegates cast their votes for Vice President Joe Biden and some votes for Senator Bernie Sanders.

Video from MSNBC

After receiving the nomination, Biden, who appeared with his wife and, likely, some of his grandchildren in a high school library, said, “Well thank you very much from the bottom of my heart, thank you all. It means the world to me and my family. And I’ll see you on Thursday. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

The focus of the event then shifted to expressing the former Vice President’s continued support of Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was passed under the Obama administration. The DNC showed a prerecorded conversation, called ‘Like My Own Family,’ between Biden and five families that had benefited from ACA. He promised to continue, and likely grow the program, stating, “We will make sure we do not lose the ACA…I’m going to protect you like I tried to protect my own family, my own family, and I promise you that.”

Former Secretary of State and Senator John Kerry shared how Joe Biden will handle foreign policy and how Donald Trump has bungled it. “Joe understands that our values don’t limit our power, they magnify it…This moment is a fight for the security of America and the world.”

In a video touting Biden’s foreign policy prowess, experts shared their views on the former Vice President, including “Joe Biden is tough as nails, and everyone knows it.”

In the final segment, Jill Biden gave the keynote, which began with a prerecorded introduction of the Biden family and Jill taking a run outside, where she quips that she tries not think of anything “negative” while exercising.

Video from MSNBC

“She is so d**n tough and loyal,” Biden said of his wife in the video. “I never doubted that anything she set her mind to she could do.”

“You never stop grieving, but you have to find purpose. Running for president is too tough to not be together,” Jill said in the video. “We all need community. We need to depend on others for our strength.”

Highlighting her experience as a teacher, Jill gave her address in Brandywine High School, where she used to teach English. Her live address was personal, sharing about her family.

“You know motherhood came to me in a way that I never expected, I fell in love with a man and two little boys standing in the wreckage of unthinkable loss,” Jill said. “Mourning a wife and mother, a daughter and sister. I never imagined at the age of 26, I would be asking myself, how do you make a broken family whole? Still, Joe always told the boys Mommy sent Jill to us, and how can I argue with her?

“Love makes us flexible and resilient. It allows us to become more than ourselves, together…And though it can’t protect from the sorrows of life, it gives us refuge, a home. How do you make a broken family whole, the same way you make a nation whole, with love and understanding and small acts of kindness…The heart of this nation still beats with kindness and courage.

“Joe’s purpose has always driven him forward. His strength of will is unstoppable. And his faith is unshakeable. Because it’s not in politicians or political parties or even in himself. It’s in the providence of God. His faith is in you, in us.”

When she concluded her remarks, Vice President Biden and his wife hugged, and he said, “As you heard tonight, you can see why she’s the love of my life and the rock of our family. She never gives herself much credit, but the truth is she is the strongest person I know. She loves furiously, and cares deeply. Nothing stops her when she sets her mind to getting something right.”

The schedule on Wednesday includes addresses from former President Barack Obama and Senator Kamala Harris, his running mate.

Photo from MSNBC 

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