Illinois’ top political names took the stage during Tuesday night’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, making rousing speeches to the party faithful who packed the United Center to hear remarks that were tinged with comedy and emotion.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s prime-time speech evoked the former with repeated digs at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Pritzker, one of the wealthiest politicians in America, quipped that “Donald Trump thinks we should trust him on the economy because he claims to be very rich. But take it from an actual billionaire, Trump isn’t rich, except in stupidity.”
Pritzker said it is wrong for the Republican Party to craft tax policies for Elon Musk and not for everyday working people, and after listing the U.S. presidents who have had Illinois ties, the governor said he wants to add Democratic nominee Kamala Harris to that list since she spent some of her early life in the Chicago area.
Pritzker then evoked the spirit of basketball great Michael Jordan in the very stadium where the Chicago Bulls superstar played.
“Trump once called Chicago embarrassing, and to quote a great Chicagoan who won six world championships on these very grounds, we take that personally,” Pritzker said.
Next up was U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, who walked on stage on crutches with her artificial legs in full view. Duckworth is an Iraqi war veteran who lost both of her legs in combat and didn’t mince words when talking about Trump.
“I went to war to protect America’s rights and freedoms, so I take it personally when a five-time draft dodger” tries to take away women’s rights, Duckworth said.
But it wasn’t her combat experience that Duckworth focused on in her remarks. It was her two daughters and the struggles that Duckworth and her husband had in starting a family, which eventually required in vitro fertilization (IVF).
“Trump’s anti-women crusade has put other Americans’ right to have their own families at risk. Because if they win, Republicans will not stop with banning abortion, they will come for IVF next,” Duckworth said. “My struggle with infertility was more painful than any wound I earned on the battlefield. So how dare a convicted felon like Donald Trump treat women seeking health care like they’re the ones breaking the law?”
The largest crowd reaction came when former First Lady Michelle Obama delivered an impassioned speech about the upcoming election, and she also did not hold back on former President Trump.
“We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth” like Trump, Obama said. “We don’t have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead.”
Obama reminded the delegates that their enthusiasm alone would not win the presidential election for the Democrats.
“This is going to be an uphill battle,” Obama said. “We need to vote in numbers that erase any doubt. We need to overwhelm any effort to suppress us.”
The former First Lady then introduced her husband, former President Barack Obama, who wryly observed that he was “the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama.” The 44th president then said about the possibility of a second Trump presidency, “We’ve seen that movie before and we all know that the sequel is usually worse.”
Former President Obama directed some of his remarks toward vice presidential nominee Tim Walz.
“I love this guy; Tim is the kind of person who should be in politics,” Obama said. “Born in a small town, served his country, taught kids, coached football, took care of his neighbors.”
Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris’ husband, charmed the crowd with his reflections on their life together, including an embarrassing voicemail he left his future wife when he was trying to set up a blind date with her. It’s a message that Harris replays every anniversary, and Emhoff noted that he will hear it again on Thursday, their tenth anniversary and the day that Harris will accept the party’s nomination for president.
The roll call, a normally dull convention procedure where all 50 states and U.S. territories cast ceremonial votes for the presidential and vice presidential nominees, was turned into a rolling carnival atmosphere with a live DJ as each delegation took to the microphone to boast about their states while pledging their votes. Republican commentators have derisively called the spectacle the “roll call dance party.”
As the tens of thousands of convention delegates streamed out of the United Center, small groups of people behind the security barricades could be heard shouting, “Fuck Joe Biden!” The reply from those who chose to engage them was, “You idiots, Biden isn’t even running.”
