Democrats will honor Biden while pivoting to Harris on first day of convention

CHICAGO (AP) — A refreshed Democratic Party gathered Monday night for a valedictory speech from President Joe Biden, whose decision to end his reelection bid released newfound energy with Vice President Kamala Harris ′ rise to the top of the ticket.

The Democratic National Convention that began Monday in Chicago holds particularly high stakes for the party one month after an unprecedented mid-campaign switch from Biden to Harris. The opening night was designed as a handoff from the incumbent to his hand-picked successor — albeit four years before he intended for her to follow him.

Harris makes an appearance

Harris made an unannounced appearance onstage as the convention’s prime-time program began Monday evening to thank Biden for his leadership in advance of his speech later on.

“Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you’ll continue to do,” she said. “We are forever grateful to you.”

Democrats are looking to the weeklong event to slingshot Harris toward a faceoff with Republican Donald Trump, whose comeback bid for the White House is viewed by Democrats as an existential threat. Having taken over the ticket just one month ago, Harris must now win over a divided country that is viewing her more positively but still making up its mind about the election.

Beyond the convention’s pomp, the event comes as a pivotal moment for the party and its new nominee. A false step could hobble Harris at a moment when her candidacy has been enjoying a burst of money, momentum and even joy. And real questions loom about the depth of Harris’ newfound support, the breadth of her coalition and the strength of her movement.

Not even a month ago, Democrats were deeply divided over foreign policy, political strategy and Biden himself, who was holding on after a disastrous debate by claiming he had a better chance than any other Democrat — including Harris — of beating Trump.

‘A graceful exit’

Part of introducing Harris and Walz will be first giving a graceful exit to the incumbent president, who is slated to deliver the main address Monday.

The Democratic Party would almost certainly have been in a far worse state if Biden had continued to cling to the nomination. He faced growing concerns about his mental and physical acuity after struggling to complete sentences during his debate against Trump.

After deciding to step aside and endorse Harris, Biden will instead receive a hero’s welcome in his final turn in the spotlight 52 years after being elected to the Senate from Delaware.

Biden, aides said, was looking to use his speech to cast Harris as a key partner to his accomplishments in office and to make the case for why she must defeat Trump in November. Harris, for her part, was building a large portion of her policy agenda should she win the White House on continuing and expanding on Biden’s record from the last three and a half years.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was greeted with prolonged applause, saluted Harris while noting her potential to break the “highest, hardest glass ceiling” to become America’s first female president.

Clinton was the Democratic nominee in 2016, but she lost that election to Trump.

“Together, we’ve put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling,” Clinton said. “On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris taking the oath of office as our 47th president of the United States. When a barrier falls for one of us, it clears the way for all of us.”

‘A new chapter’

Clinton also saluted Biden for stepping aside, saying, “Now we are writing a new chapter in America’s story.”

Highlighting the party’s generational reach, Clinton, 76, followed New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 34, who endorsed Harris while delivering the first mention of the war in Gaza from the convention stage, addressing an issue that has split the party’s base ever since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and Israel’s resulting offensive.

“And she is working tirelessly to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and bringing the hostages home,” Ocasio-Cortez said of Harris, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Democrats will keep abortion access front and center for voters, betting that the issue will propel them to success as it has in other key races since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. Speakers Monday included three women whose healthcare suffered as a result of that decision.

And United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain led the crowd in chanting that “Trump is a scab” as he credited Biden and Harris with standing by striking autoworkers last year.

Others honored

The convention program also honored the civil rights movement, with an appearance from the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the founder of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition, who is ailing with Parkinson’s disease. There were several references to Fannie Lou Hamer, the late civil rights activist who gave a landmark speech at a Democratic convention in 1964.

Hamer was a former sharecropper and a leader of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a racially integrated group that challenged the seating of an all-white Mississippi delegation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Hamer spoke on Aug. 22, 1964 — exactly 60 years before Harris is set to accept the Democratic nomination and become the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to be the presidential nominee of a major party.

Outside the arena thousands of protesters descended on Chicago to decry the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

A few thousand people marched toward the United Center, site of the DNC, on Monday afternoon. And a group that called itself the Abandon Biden movement held an event to rebrand itself as Abandon Harris. The group argued the vice president’s inability to differentiate herself from Biden’s handling of the war was not acceptable.

Harris’ allies hope the pro-Palestinian protesters will not overshadow the official program, which features a slate of current and former Democratic stars, plus what organizers describe as “everyday people.”

Among the speakers: Reps. Grace Meng, Jamie Raskin and Jasmine Crockett; Sens. Chris Coons and Raphael Warnock; and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

Also performing were musicians James Taylor, Jason Isbell and Mickey Guyton.