Their moments in the spotlight
Gabrielle Giffords, Sen. Harry Reid, California delegates and victims of gun violence address the convention.
Wednesday night featured some of the heavy hitters of the Democratic National Convention lineup: President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton’s running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine, all spoke.
Earlier in the evening, the focus was on climate change, LGBT issues and gun control. Here are some of the highlights:
Gabrielle Giffords returns to center stage
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona survived an assassination attempt in January 2011 and resigned from Congress a year later. At the convention Wednesday night, she made her first major public appearance without using a cane since she was shot.
“Speaking is difficult for me,” she said. “But come January, I want to say these two words: Madame President.”
Harry Reid takes off the gloves
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is retiring at the end of his term in 2017. The former boxer and U.S. senator from Nevada took the opportunity to leave it all in the ring, pulling no punches when it came to Republicans — particularly Clinton’s Republican rival, Donald Trump, whom he called a “hateful con man.”
“When Trump decided to run for president, he probably said to himself, ‘I’m an egomaniac. I don’t believe in science. I think women are inferior. Where would I feel at home?’ ” Reid said.
“Trump knew that hateful rhetoric and dangerous polices are the way to win in today’s GOP.”
California delegates get a turn onstage
California Gov. Jerry Brown and Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, along with Reps. Adam B. Schiff, Maxine Waters and Judy Chu, all spoke Wednesday.
Brown focused on climate change, touting California’s record of strict environmental regulations alongside its strong economy.
Trump gets roasted
The lineup had a selection of choice zingers for the Republican nominee. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan joked that “unlike Trump, Detroit is only going to do bankruptcy once.” Former Maryland Gov. and Democratic presidential contender Martin O’Malley called him an “immigrant-bashing carnival barker” and a “bully racist.”
“Trump says he wants to run the nation like he’s run his business,” former New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg wondered aloud. “God help us.”
Retired Rear Adm. John Hutson zeroed in on Trump’s comments that Sen. John McCain was “not a war hero” after spending more than five years as a prisoner during the Vietnam War.
“Donald Trump, you’re not fit to polish John McCain’s boots,” he said.
Families speak about loved ones killed by guns
A particularly moving portion of the evening was about families and gun control. Relatives of people who died in the mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut and in Orlando, Fla., and Charleston, S.C., spoke about the victims’ lives and legacies.
“I’m here alone, without my mother, because too many politicians cower behind the [gun] lobby,” said Erica Smegielski, whose mother, Dawn Hochsprung, was the principal of Sandy Hook in Newtown and was slain in the attack.
“What we need is another mother who is willing to do what’s right.”
‘Trump says he wants to run the nation like he’s run his business. God help us. I’m a New Yorker, and I know a con when I see one.’ — Michael R. Bloomberg, businessman and former New York mayor