The Democratic National Convention is under way in Philadelphia. Politics reporter Jim Brunner is sending frequent updates from the event. Follow along live and watch the live stream.
This is a live account of how the Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention unfolded.
READ THE STORY FROM WEDNESDAY: Obama boosts Clinton: Carry her like you carried me
The basics:
- Democratic delegations from across the country are gathering Monday through tomorrow in Philadelphia.
- Last night, Hillary Clinton became the first woman to be formally nominated as a presidential candidate by a major U.S. political party.
- Republicans ended their convention last week in Cleveland, with divisions remaining over nominee Donald Trump.
Update, 8:40 p.m.
Surprising the crowd, democratic nominee Hillary Clinton greeted Obama on stage after his speech. The convention hall went wild.
In his speech, the president said he’s “ready to pass the baton” to Clinton, who is the first woman to lead a major American political party toward the White House.
Update, 7:40 p.m.
Taking the convention center stage to an ovation and huge cheers, Obama started his much-anticipated address by reflecting on his past.
“Twelve years ago tonight, I addressed this convention for the very first time,” he said. “I was so young that first time in Boston. … But I was filled with faith, faith of America.”
The rest of his speech carried a similar theme of hope. Obama gave a tour of cited progress under his administration, such as forming student-loan policies and cutting homelessness among veterans. And when he mentioned marriage equality, the crowd cheered.
“By so many measures, our country is stronger and more prosperous than when we started,” Obama said.
He cast Clinton as the presidential candidate who also believes in the nation’s future.
“Even in the middle of crisis, she listens to people, and keeps her cool, and treats everybody with respect,” he said. “And no matter how daunting the odds, no matter how much people try to knock her down, she never, ever quits.”
When Obama mentioned Trump, the crowd booed. “Don’t boo — vote,” the president responded. When the president gave a brief nod to Sen. Bernie Sanders, supporters cheered.
Obama said Trump believes he will win if he “scares enough people” over immigration and crime. The GOP nominee is “selling the American people short” by suggesting “he alone can restore order” as a “self-declared savior,” the president said.
The president’s strongest shot at Trump, though, did not include his name.
“Anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues, will always fail in the end,” Obama said.
The president said though his tenure hasn’t “fixed everything,” he’ll leave office with assurances that the Democratic Party “is in good hands” with Clinton.
Obama closed, saying: “Hillary is ready. Ready to fight, ready to win, ready to lead.”
—The Associated Press contributed to this report
Update, 7:05 p.m.
In his first major speech as the Democratic vice presidential candidate, Tim Kaine emphasized his working-class background, promoted his experience in government and tore into Trump.
“Donald Trump has a passion,” he said. “It’s himself.”
Kaine said he formally accepts the party’s nomination on behalf of his wife, Anne, “and every strong woman in this country,” their three children and everyone in the military.
Meanwhile, president Obama’s motorcade has arrived at the Wells Fargo Center for the convention, according to the White House Press Office. He’s scheduled to speak soon.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report
Update, 6:40 p.m.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg voiced his support for Clinton, while giving tough critique of Trump and the GOP nominee’s practices as a businessman. “I’m a New Yorker and I know a con when I see one,” he said.
Update, 6:15 p.m.
Calling Obama “one of the finest presidents we have ever had,” Vice President Joe Biden cast Trump as too dangerous to trust with the presidency.
His speech drew huge applause and cheers from the crowd.
Biden said Trump backs “torture” and “religious intolerance” and “betrays our values,” making it harder for the U.S. to defeat Islamic State militants.
The vice president recalled his weekly breakfasts with Clinton when she served as secretary of state during the Obama administration. “I know what she’s passionate about. I know Hillary,” Biden said.
Meanwhile, president Obama just landed at Philadelphia International Airport, according to the White House Press Office. He reportedly watched Biden’s speech on the flight, the White House says.
—The Associated Press contributed to this report
Update, 6 p.m.
Some crowd members, including those in Washington and Oregon’s section of the hall, apparently didn’t agree with some remarks by Leon Panetta, a former congressman and secretary of defense.
After Panetta’s comments on the country’s response to violent attacks, for instance, some booed and chanted, “No more war!”
Some delegates in Washington and Oregon’s section of the hall were apparently among those making the noise, nearly drowning out the speech.
Update, 5:30 p.m.
Speeches are under way for the convention’s third night, leading up to a highly anticipated address from President Obama. He’s scheduled to speak between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Obama will close the night after speeches from Vice President Joe Biden and Clinton’s running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.
According to excerpts released ahead of his speech, Obama will acknowledge the economic and security anxieties that have helped fuel Trump’s rise, but argue they don’t define the country, The Associated Press reports.
Update, 4:18 p.m.
While Democrats gather in Philadelphia to promote Hillary Clinton, her GOP opponent Donald Trump again grabbed headlines Wednesday as he invited Russia to intervene in the U.S. presidential race by locating Clinton’s missing State Department emails. He later repeated that sentiment on Twitter.
The Washington State Republican Party said in a tweet Trump was just kidding.
Update, 3:54 p.m.
Bernie Sanders has spent the last couple days pleading with his army of supporters to shake off their disappointment with the outcome of the Democratic nomination and fall in line behind Hillary Clinton.
That included a visit to the Washington delegation Wednesday morning, in which Sanders warned Trump is not your average Republican candidate, but “the worst and most dangerous presidential candidate in the modern history of this country.”
Many of his ardent supporters loathe Trump. But they’re not necessarily sold on voting for Clinton, saying she still needs to earn their trust.
While Clinton has adopted some of Sanders positions (she’s come out against the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, for example), some are unsure they can trust her.
“With Hillary and promises, you don’t always get what you expect,” Richard May, a delegate from Blaine, said Wednesday afternoon as speakers on the Wells Fargo Center convention stage talked up Clinton’s resume and values.
May pointed out the Sanders delegates were elected to come to Philadelphia and support him. Clinton has only officially been the Democratic nominee since the convention-floor vote on Tuesday. The next stage of the election is to win over Sanders backers and other voters.
“She has three and a half months to make her case to the American people,” May said. “I am one of them.”
Update, 1:37 p.m.
With a bloody new attack in the news seemingly every day, the threat of terrorism looms darkly over the 2016 election. GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and other Republicans have been arguing Democrats are taking a too-soft stance.
They’ve hit the Democratic National Convention for failing to mention ISIS at all on the first day of the DNC in Philadelphia. (Politifact confirms that was true.)
I caught up with Washington’s senior Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray today at the DNC and asked whether Democrats are shying away from the issue — and whether Trump may take an advantage on the issue with frightened voters.
Murray, who has attended secret national security briefings, said tough talk by the GOP won’t help solve the problem.
“ISIS is not a country or one small group of people. They are in many places and they work throughout the social media. So, going after ISIS and dropping a bomb on a place not only will not defeat them, it will make their movement grow,” she said.
“We have to be very smart about how we do this. This is not easy. It is a huge challenge… It is not a simple 10-second sound bite response. It is going after their leadership as we have been with drones. It’s going after their financial system. It is going after their communications, the social media that they use.”
Murray also argued that “common sense” gun regulation — such as banning gun sales to people on the no-fly list and closing the so-called gun show loophole on background checks — should be part of the solution. “You don’t hear the Republicans talking about that because they don’t,” she said.
Update, 12:07 p.m.
Bernie Sanders supporters are planning a “fart-in” at the convention tomorrow in protest of the primary process that nominated Hillary Clinton, according to the Associated Press. Apparently, it’s exactly how it sounds (and smells?).
Update, 9:37 a.m.
Donald Trump has a message for Russia: find Hillary Clinton’s missing emails.
The Republican presidential nominee, holding a morning press conference, said that the 30,000 missing emails from Clinton’s private email server would reveal “some beauties” and made an extraordinary plea for a foreign power to find them.
“Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” Trump said. “I think you’ll be rewarded mightily by our press!”
— The Associated Press
Update, 6:12 a.m.
Washington’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention got a visit this morning from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who urged them to work to defeat a uniquely “dangerous” GOP nominee in Donald Trump.
Sanders spoke to the Washington group at its morning breakfast meeting for about eight minutes, continuing his efforts to persuade his hard-core supporters to get behind Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. He mentioned Clinton only once in his speech, concentrating more on the political movement he helped launch. He noted he won 22 states and was overwhelmingly supported by young people.
“That tells me the future of the Democratic Party, in fact the future of America, is with our agenda,” Sanders said. That agenda was about challenging the establishment and asking why the U.S., unlike most other nations, does not guarantee health care or paid family leave, and why millions struggle to make a living while income gains flow to the very wealthy.
Sanders said now is not the time to dwell on intraparty feuds.
“The immediate task we have over the next 100 days is to defeat the worst and most dangerous presidential candidate in the modern history of this country, Donald Trump,” he said. “What makes Donald Trump different is that he is a demagogue who does not believe in the Constitution of the United States of America. What he is trying to do right now is to divide us up, to play on the anger that many Americans have, and turn some of us against others.”
Sanders slammed Trump’s statements – widely condemned as racist and bigoted – against Mexicans and Muslims. He said people should not forget Trump, prior to running for president, was a part of the discredited “birther” movement questioning whether President Obama was a natural-born U.S. citizen.
“You know what that was about? That was an effort to delegitimize – not disagree with – delegitimize the first African American president in the history of this country.”
Sanders, who has endorsed Clinton, didn’t spend any time this morning singing the former secretary of state’s praises. He merely acknowledged she is the Democratic nominee.
He concluded that Democrats must “campaign and beat Trump,” but said the political revolution backed by his followers needs to continue after November. The Washington delegates, most of whom backed Sanders over Clinton, cheered enthusiastically. “Preach it brother,” yelled one woman.
Sanders exited the hotel meeting room quickly after his talk, pausing to hug a delegate.
— Jim Brunner
Update, 6 a.m.
After a roll call vote yesterday, Hillary Clinton was formally nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, gave a loving, personal speech about her, casting himself as a passenger in her life. “She’s the best darn change-maker I’ve ever met in my entire life,” he said. The speech focused nearly exclusively on his wife’s achievements and how she’d influenced him.
But the evening wasn’t all sunshine and roses. Some supporters of Bernie Sanders walked out of the convention hall in protest of Clinton’s nomination, and there’s talk among them of a party split.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report