“That’s How a Democracy Withers”: Barack Obama Declares a National Emergency
Four years ago, leaning into the twilight of his presidential tenure at the Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama reminded the country that democracy does not depend on any one person. It doesn’t come from a “self-declared savior”—he meant Donald Trump—”promising that he alone can restore order.” Wednesday night found Obama in the same city, this…
Watch President Barack Obama’s Full Speech to the 2020 Democratic National Convention
Former President Barack Obama headlined the third night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, delivering a live address from the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. Obama said he had hoped that Donald Trump, upon winning the 2016 election, “might show some interest in taking the job seriously; that he might come…
Hillary Clinton Assails Trump and Implores Voters to Turn Out for Joe Biden
Democratic National Convention/CNP/Zuma For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.Four years after she accepted the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made the case for electing Joe Biden—while reminding viewers that Donald Trump never should have been president in the first place. “Remember back…
Jill Biden’s Speech at the DNC Gets Personal
For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.Jill Biden got personal at the Democratic National Convention tonight, shortly after her husband accepted his party’s nomination for president. Speaking from an empty classroom, Biden noted, “So many classrooms are quiet right now. The playgrounds are still. But if you listen…
Hearing Health Care Activist Ady Barkan Was One of the Night’s Most Moving Moments
Ady Barkan, a health care activist who was diagnosed with the terminal neurodegenerative disease ALS four years ago, gave one of the most moving speeches of the second night of the Democratic National Convention. After Barkan’s diagnosis in 2016, President Donald Trump signed a tax bill that threatened Barkan’s health insurance. Barkan traveled to Washington,…
Joe Biden Is Officially Nominated by Jacquelyn Brittany
For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis and more, subscribe to Mother Jones’ newsletters.On Tuesday evening, Jacquelyn Brittany, a security guard at the New York Times, nominated Joe Biden at the Democratic National Convention. “I take powerful people up in my elevator all the time,” Brittany said in her nomination message. “When they get off,…