Democrats gathered Thursday night in Chicago to hear a bevy of speakers followed by Vice President Kamala Harris’ formal acceptance of their nomination for president to close out the party’s convention.
The weeklong coronation of Harris, who replaced President Joe Biden as Democrats’ presidential nominee just one month ago, commenced with a party-like atmosphere that featured music and dancing at the United Center.
All week, organizers of the Democratic National Convention presented a show of unity despite underlying divisions in the party, most notably on the Israel-Hamas war. The same spirit filled the air Thursday night as delegates and attendees awaited the most important speech of Harris’ political career.
Shortly after the opening ceremonies, Democrats offered the stage to two teachers union bosses, followed by members of Congress and the Rev. Al Sharpton, the controversial activist and commentator.
Here are some of the more notable highlights from the fourth night of the convention.
Dressed in white blazers, the two teachers union leaders took the stage to warn delegates about the dangers posed by former President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, his running mate on the GOP ticket.
National Education Association President Becky Pringle and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten made partisan appeals in keeping with their unions’ one-sided political giving to Democrats.
“Donald Trump and JD Vance are not just wrong—they’re dangerous. It’s all right there in Project 2025. They will shut down the Department of Education,” said Pringle, who leads the larger of the two teachers unions. “We are coming together to say, ‘Not on our watch.’”
Launched by The Heritage Foundation two years ago, Project 2025 grew to a coalition of 110 conservative organizations that developed a transition plan for the next presidential administration. Unlike some of the misstatements and lies about it, Project 2025 does call for the Education Department’s elimination—an idea endorsed by Trump.
Weingarten, whose controversial statements during the COVID-19 pandemic drew the ire of conservatives and parents alike, pledged her allegiance to the Democrat ticket.
“One of the first lessons my students taught me was you got to walk the walk,” she said. “That means Donald Trump and JD Vance can’t claim they’re pro-child while gutting funding for public schools. That means that being pro-family means we support access to good union jobs, affordable housing, health care, and higher education. That’s what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are fighting for—and we are all in.”
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., began her remarks by talking about the two grandparents who raised her as a child. It was her attempt at appealing to senior citizens—and casting doubt on Trump’s pledges to protect Social Security.
Dating to his first presidential run in 2016, Trump repeatedly has stated his opposition to cutting Social Security benefits.
“Donald Trump was asked what he would do about Social Security and Medicare and he said, “There’s a lot you can do in terms of cutting.’ He’s talking about cutting Social Security and Medicare while giving a huge new tax break to billionaires and corporations,” Baldwin said.
There’s just one problem—that’s not exactly what Trump said. In fact, he never mentioned Social Security or Medicare by name.
In a March 11 interview on CNBC, Trump said: “There is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and the bad management of entitlements.”
The term entitlements may reference any number of government programs; entitlements have grown in recent years to encompass an even greater share of the federal budget.
For his part, Trump clarified his position by stating: “I will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare.”
Delivering a divisive speech filled with appeals to several identity groups, the Rev. Al Sharpton began his remarks by taking aim at Trump.
“Donald Trump was a fellow New Yorker I’ve known for 40 years,” Sharpton told the crowd. “Only once, once in that time, did he take a position on racial issues. He spent a small fortune on full-page ads calling for the execution of five innocent young teenagers.”
Sharpton was referring to the so-called Central Park Five, a group of black men convicted of beating and raping a woman in 1989. They were released in 2002 when another man confessed to the crime. Following his speech, Sharpton invited four of the convicted men to the stage to make brief remarks.
At the time of the 1989 incident, Trump purchased newspaper ads with this headline: “BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE!”
Recent polls show black men are gravitating toward Trump, potentially a deciding factor in the election’s outcome. Sharpton didn’t mince words.
“All Donald Trump has been consistent about is making himself richer and sowing division to get that done,” Sharpton said. “This man sat right here in Chicago a few weeks ago refusing to apologize for claims that migrants were taking black jobs. Well, in November we are going to show him when blacks do their job.”
Sharpton, at one point, mispronounced Harris’ first name, a mistake repeated by several other speakers at the Democratic National Convention despite accusations that anyone who does that is making a racist remark.
Ken McIntyre contributed to this report, which is being updated throughout the night. Please keep checking back for more.