The Democratic National Convention (DNC) continued for a second night on Tuesday. PJ Media has been watching this not-exactly-prime television so you don’t have to. Check out our liveblogs from Monday night and last night, and follow us live on Wednesday and Thursday night.
Without further ado, here’s a recap of the second night.
1. You weren’t watching? Neither were most Americans.
The first night of the DNC on Monday was a snoozefest, and the ratings reflected that.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the common hour-plus coverage of the DNC on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC averaged 18.68 million viewers, down about 28 percent compared to the opening night of the 2016 Democratic convention. The broadcast networks suffered the biggest drops: ABC, CBS, and NBC added up to 6.7 million viewers at 10 p.m., down from the 11.6 million who tuned in to those channels in 2016.
Monday night featured Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Michelle Obama, and Govs. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) and Gretchen Whitmer (D-Mich.). If the ratings tanked so badly on the night featuring Bernie Sanders and Michelle Obama, why would they get better for night 2, which featured the star power of… Dr. Jill Biden? Yes, former President Jimmy Carter spoke — without video — and Bill Clinton also spoke, on the same day a viral photo showed him getting a message from one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims (YIKES!).
Sure, night 2 featured Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), but she complained that she’d only get 60 seconds to speak, and she did only speak for 96 seconds. Don’t worry, she smuggled in “colonization” into those seconds.
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2. Democrats nominated some candidate or whatever
On Tuesday night, Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr., the former vice president and former senator from Delaware, officially became the Democratic nominee for president. Delegates from 50 states and 7 territories gave their support to Biden or Sanders.
The nominations ran on interminably, but it was cool to see the different backgrounds. Since Democrats held a virtual convention due to the coronavirus pandemic, delegates from each state appeared in separate videos to nominate Joe Biden. Just watch the video without the sound on, and you can skip listening to the Democratic pablum.
The DNC launches a first-of-its-kind virtual roll call, with videos showing delegates all across the U.S. casting their votes to nominate the Democratic candidate https://t.co/tFT8FVSwQb pic.twitter.com/1N1xCqfEiT
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 19, 2020
Here’s the climactic moment when Biden became the official nominee. Somehow, he got out of his basement. It seems he accepted the nomination at a local library.
WATCH: Joe Biden is officially nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate — and the DNC shows a nationwide virtual party for him, with delegates in all U.S. states and territories celebrating https://t.co/tFT8FVSwQb pic.twitter.com/jaMHGZISfS
— CBS News (@CBSNews) August 19, 2020
Democrats think this spry man brimming with youthful energy should become president. He would be the oldest president ever, and — with all due respect — it shows.
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3. No, AOC wasn’t un-endorsing Biden
When AOC used her 60 seconds — sorry, 96 seconds — to endorse Sanders, many people on Twitter started scratching their heads. “Did AOC” started trending on Twitter as people wondered exactly what was happening.
AOC endorsed Bernie in her DNC speech!!!
Trump needs to send her a thank you note with a signed MAGA hat.
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) August 19, 2020
The congresswoman herself cleared up the confusion.
“If you were confused, no worries! Convention rules require roll call & nominations for every candidate that passes the delegate threshold. I was asked to 2nd the nom for Sen. Sanders for roll call,” AOC tweeted. “I extend my deepest congratulations to [Joe Biden] – let’s go win in November.”
Of course, AOC got in as many woke buzzwords as she could in those 96 seconds. “Colonization” fit into those few seconds, of course.
.@AOC's full nomination speech for @BernieSanders at the #DemConvention #DNC2020 pic.twitter.com/ikEpnKF7AJ
— People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) August 19, 2020
Wait, Did AOC Just Excuse Murders and Burglaries in the Name of Social Justice?
4. Khizr Khan repeated Biden’s Charlottesville lie
“Three years ago, my beloved city, Charlottesville, Virginia, was attacked by white supremacists and a young woman was killed. We were attacked again when Donald Trump praised those racists, turning his back on a community that just wanted peace,” Khan, who spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, said.
“That was the day Joe Biden decided to join this battle for the soul of America,” Khan, a Muslim military veteran, added.
Spotted: Khizr Khan, Trump antagonist and Gold Star father, casted Virginia's votes in tonight's virtual #DemConvention.
Khan gave one of the most memorable speeches at the 2016 DNC. https://t.co/lGJX7c4yPd pic.twitter.com/QWVNQsb47v
— POLITICO (@politico) August 19, 2020
Indeed, Biden launched his campaign on the premise of “restoring the soul of America,” specifically accusing Trump of praising white supremacists.
While the president did say there were “very fine people” on both sides, he also clarified: “I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally – but you had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists, okay? And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly.”
Liberals like Biden seized on the regrettable “very fine people” remark, completely ignoring the president’s clear condemnation of neo-Nazis and the white nationalists. Indeed, in his video announcing his candidacy for president, Biden accused Trump of having assigned “a moral equivalence between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it.”
Trump defended the “very fine people” remark, explaining that he meant to praise “people that went because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general. Whether you like it or not, he was one of the great generals. I’ve spoken to many generals here, right at the White House, and many people thought of the generals, they think that he was maybe their favorite general. People were there protesting the taking down of the monument of Robert E. Lee. Everyone knows that.”
Trump Defends Charlottesville Remarks After Biden Attack: ‘Fine People’ Supported Robert E. Lee
5. Omitting “under God” from the pledge
The Democratic National Convention recited the full Pledge of Allegiance — including that politically incorrect “under God” bit — but don’t worry, the Muslim Delegates & Allies Assembly moderator managed to cut it out of his recitation.
Kicking off the @JoeBiden/@DNC Muslim Delegates & Allies Assembly, moderator skips "Under God" while reciting The Pledge of Allegiance pic.twitter.com/oCia4ybFUo
— Chris Martin (@chrisjdmartin) August 18, 2020
Night 2 featured a good amount of God talk — from Jill Biden saying her husband believes in providence to an Episcopal woman priest giving the concluding prayer — but the Democrats’ increasing animosity toward conservative Christians remains strong.
It seems odd that a Muslim break-out would be the DNC session to exclude God from the pledge. It’s not like Muslims don’t believe in a supreme being, they just refer to their monotheistic deity as “Allah.” Of course, Democrats would be the last to insist that the Christian God and Allah are totally different conceptions of God (even though they are), right?! Perhaps observant Muslims know better…
Concluding thoughts: Jill Biden gave a surprisingly good speech, though Democrats are unlikely to take her message of love and unity to heart when it comes to the Republicans they demonize. The fact that Jimmy Carter would speak to a convention at 95 is impressive. Bill Clinton seemed rather old… perhaps the viral photo of him with a Jeffrey Epstein victim has aged him. AOC spoke at lightning speed.
That’s a wrap for me! Join us Wednesday night and Thursday night for some liveblogging. On Wednesday, the key speaker is Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.). On Thursday, it’s Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. himself. You’ll need a good stiff drink to watch Kamala, and a coffee to keep yourself from falling asleep when the nominee stutters his way through a speech on Thursday.
Tyler O’Neil is the author of Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Follow him on Twitter at @Tyler2ONeil.
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