5 takeaways from the Democratic convention, Biden’s speech on Day 1

Welcome to The Campaign Moment, your guide to the biggest developments in the 2024 election, where the Democratic National Convention so far is largely about Donald Trump.

1. Biden’s big send-off. Democrats were pulled in two directions at the end of Monday’s program. On the one hand, they wanted to send Biden off with a moment he could be proud of and a focus on his legacy; on the other, this convention is about the race ahead, and Biden is an unpopular president.

So Biden’s swan song sought to thread the needle between promoting his own record and framing up the 2024 race. Biden went into extensive detail about his proudest accomplishments, while interspersing attacks on Trump and playing up Harris’s contributions. And he sought to downplay any hard feelings about being ushered out of the race.

2. Ocasio-Cortez’s coming out party. If there’s to be a lasting moment from a politician in Monday’s program — beyond Biden’s de facto farewell after a lifetime in politics — it’s likely to be Ocasio-Cortez’s rousing speech.

Ocasio-Cortez cast Trump as no ally of working people, saying he would “sell this country for a dollar if it meant lining his own pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends.”

3. Abortion and covid feature prominently. Perhaps the two most notable attacks on Trump on Monday night involved abortion and the coronavirus.

The program in prime time featured three women who faced arduous circumstances related to abortion. One was a rape survivor whose stepfather impregnated her when she was 12; another waited three days for an abortion for a nonviable pregnancy; another was turned away from emergency rooms despite miscarrying. The latter two stories involved severe pain.

4. Few signs of major divisions so far. The move from Biden to Harris has been about as seamless as Democrats could have hoped, and enthusiasm is off the charts. But a big question this week is whether any divisions might emerge in the bright spotlight.

So far, there’s little sign of that — even aside from Biden’s speech.

5. An attack is born: “Trump’s a scab”. Trump has sought to appeal to labor unions, even featuring Teamsters president Sean O’Brien prominently at the Republican National Convention last month.

But a comment Trump made last week on the subject led to one of the biggest rallying cries Monday night. And it would seem likely to feature plenty moving forward.
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