The first night of the Democratic National Convention ended with a valedictory speech from President Joe Biden who expressed his rousing support for the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz.
At multiple points, the crowd broke into a chant of “Thank you, Joe!” But Biden was quick to correct them. “And thank you, Kamala,” he said, repeatedly emphasizing the role Harris played in the most important decisions of the administration. This is likely the second-to-last big speech that Biden will deliver to the American people, and it was good to see him strong and forceful in recounting events over his career, especially his term in the White House.
When Harris and Walz joined him onstage, America could practically feel the breeze of a page being turned. Biden had done what he could to save lives—and democracy—in an hour as dire as any the nation has known in modern history. Now it’s time for Harris to keep that trust safe, and to carry America forward.
Biden’s speech came at the end of an evening filled with addresses that were sometimes eloquent, but just as often raw with emotion. Some of those speeches looked at the heartbreaking consequences of how Donald Trump mishandled the pandemic. Or his role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. Or his rank hatred for ordinary women and men who do the work of the nation.
But none of those speeches ended with Trump. They all turned that page, relegating Trump to something negative that has afflicted the nation in the past. They all pointed to Harris as the opportunity the nation has, not just to defeat Trump in this election, but to move on from the whole Trump era.
The themes of past and future might have been best expressed in the speech delivered by Hillary Clinton, who touched on all the times when women sought to press beyond the limitations of a prejudiced society.
“Afterwards, we refused to give up on America,” said Clinton of her presidential loss in 2016. “Millions marched, many ran for office. We kept our eyes on the future. Well, my friends, the future is here.”
The official theme for night one of the DNC was “for the people,” but really, it might have been the statement Harris has made so often in her speeches: “We are not going back.”
Biden’s appearance at the end of a long evening provided those present in the United Center in Chicago a last chance to cheer the man for his fifty-year career in public service, and to applaud the accomplishments of the last three and a half years. But the big, unspoken message was written in the scheduling: Biden was appearing at the end of the first evening to step down as the leader of the Democratic Party and complete his endorsement of Harris.
For the remainder of the week, the DNC will be about building on the messages of the Harris/Walz campaign and creating momentum for the final two months before the election. That’s a luxury that’s only possible because Biden spoke on Monday night, not on Thursday when Harris will address the nation in what is certain to be a widely watched speech.
To make this week happen took two decisions from Biden. The first was to step aside in the face of a poor debate performance and a rising tide of concerns over his health and age. But the second decision, maybe the more important decision, was Biden moving just minutes later to endorse Harris as the next Democratic candidate for president.
That was not guaranteed. Many pundits and politicians pushed for a so-called “mini-primary” or some other means of sorting among several potential candidates. Rather than the astounding energy that Harris and Walz have generated over the past three and a half weeks, Democrats would have had no candidate at all. Rather than entering a convention in which unity was the one sure theme for every night, Democrats could be going into this week fractured into feuding factions.
If there’s any decision by Biden that saved the party—and quite possibly democracy—it wasn’t the moment when he stepped aside. It was when he threw his full and unwavering support behind Harris.
The support, trust, and love he has for Harris was there in his speech last night. The faith in her leadership was also present in the speeches of the others who took the stage on Monday night. From Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s fiery defense of labor to Sen. Raphael Warnock’s barnburner of a sermon, each of those speeches made clear that Harris was someone who they believed in to carry the nation into the future.
Clinton in particular was not speaking to some abstract and fuzzy vision of things to come, but clearly and directly to a woman she trusts and respects. Biden was the last to speak, but Harris was the heart of every speech. She arrived in Chicago at the head of a party more united, more determined, and more ready for the future than any candidate has enjoyed in recent memory.
The page is turned. The torch is passed. Now … forward.
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