‘Logistical Shitshow’: Tensions at DNC as Speeches Push Biden Headline Address Way Past Schedule
Screenshot via CNN.
CHICAGO — You wouldn’t know it from inside the United Center, the arena where the 2024 Democratic National Convention was held, but for viewers at home, the opening night stretched on for far too long.
Inside the packed stadium, thousands of amped up Democrats met each speaker with raucous cheers — including a surprise brief speech by the nominee herself, Vice President Kamala Harris. But as Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) took the stage around 10 p.m. CT — after 11 p.m. for those watching on the East Coast — viewers on social media began to object to an event that was, by that point, an hour behind schedule.
Crucially, the slow pace of the evening pushed what might be President Joe Biden’s final major address as president well out of prime time.
As New York Times media reporter Michael Grynbaum pointed out, “the later it gets, the smaller the overall TV audience will be for Biden’s speech, a development that may irk his allies in the party.”
Indeed, one Biden aide texted Axios reporter Alex Thompson: “This is awful. He literally set up a campaign and handed it over to them—do they have to cut him out of prime time?”
The organizers of the event may have realized they needed to speed things up. As of writing, Ashley Biden has taken the stage to introduce her father — apparently skipping over James Taylor, who was slated to deliver a musical performance before Biden’s speech.
Biden finally took the stage around 10:30 pm CT.
Below, a collection of several other reactions on X, formerly Twitter.
UPDATE 11:45 pm CT: DNC officials released a statement about the late start for Biden’s speech.
The full text of the statement, according to Axios national political correspondent Alex Thompson:
Attributable to convention officials: “Because of the raucous applause interrupting speaker after speaker, we ultimately skipped elements of our program to ensure we could get to President Biden as quickly as possible so that he could speak directly to the American people. We are proud of the electric atmosphere in our convention hall and proud that our convention is showcasing the broad and diverse coalition behind the Harris-Walz ticket throughout the
week on and off the stage.”
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