Moment Goes to the 2024 DNC

Democratic National Convention – Day 4

All in the Family

On the final day of meetings and schmoozes, the upbeat, get-out-the-vote vibe of the previous day seemed to darken as more speakers and panel discussions took up the topic of antisemitism. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff arrived at the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) at about 3 p.m., a late addition to an afternoon program already bristling with discussions of the issue, including one with hostage families. 

Emhoff looked out at the room packed with maybe 500 Jewish Democrats and cracked, “I think I know most of you.” And then he added, “Is Rabbi Holtzblatt here somewhere?”

Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt, one of the clergy at Adas Israel in Washington, DC, is the rabbi the Second Couple is closest to—she’s been to their house, and they’ve attended her services. She wasn’t actually there, but later Thursday evening, at the end of the convention after Harris had accepted the nomination, she was one of two clergy members who gave the benediction. (All week, clergy have delivered the daily invocation and benediction in pairs, allowing the convention organizers to cover twice as many religious traditions, I guess.)

Introducing Emhoff, JDCA CEO Halie Soifer noted that it was Doug and Kamala’s tenth anniversary (a detail that later led off the vice president’s acceptance speech). Ten years after Doug broke a glass, Soifer added, it was Kamala’s turn to smash a glass ceiling. (As evocations of Emhoff’s Jewish heritage go, it might have been one of the week’s more convoluted. But hey, it was a friendly crowd.)

Emhoff kicked things off with his signature pragmatism: “This is all great, but we haven’t won anything yet.” He spoke briefly about the White House strategy to combat antisemitism, in which he’s been a key player, and stressed the vice president’s role in pushing him to act once he became concerned about antisemitism—especially after October 7. “Kamala said, ‘Go do something about it. You’re Second Gentleman.’ She pushed me to have that meeting,” he recalled, referring to the first big White House antisemitism conference.

Emhoff pledged to go on pushing his core mission, “to set an example by living openly and proudly as a Jew. I’m going to go on talking about taking the bus to Hebrew school—about my experience of being Jewish.” It seemed casual, almost an afterthought, until a surprising bit of edge crept in (the first he’s shown): “It may not be the same as your experience, but it’s mine, and I’m just as Jewish as anyone else.”

Everybody in the Pool

In contrast to the relaxed and festive vibe of Wednesday night, Thursday felt jittery. Everyone, it seemed, showed up at the United Center early. Proceedings had been starting every day at 5 p.m., but the first few hours were usually desultory. On this final day, I arrived shortly after five, and the place was a madhouse. The halls were boiling over with people who had passes to the building but couldn’t get on the floor or even, in some cases, into the celebrity boxes. As I stood where I could see the jumbotron through an open VIP entrance (the guards ignored me once they figured out I wasn’t trying to crash through), I witnessed wave after wave of fully credentialed guests (one’s pass actually read “honored guest”) apologetically being told that they were welcome to come in, but there were no more chairs. Everyone, it seemed, wanted to be as close as possible to the action when Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the nomination.

The programming, too, seemed more focused and urgent. Seeing four members of the exonerated Central Park Five on the big stage (two of them spoke) packed an emotional wallop that I wasn’t expecting. One, Korey Wise, struggled to speak; the other, Yusef Salaam, is now a tall and eloquent New York City council member. Both reminded the audience that Donald Trump had spent $45,000 on a full-page New York Times ad calling for their execution. It was one of many cutting references to Trump, who was dismissed as “not a serious person” (Interior Secretary Deb Haaland) along with many similar digs.

When the vice president ultimately spoke, what struck me most was the trained and polished way she uses her voice, especially when raising it for emphasis—a necessary task for an orator but one fraught with danger for women. Harris handles her voice like a subtle instrument, maybe as a result of her training in the courtroom. She knew just how to raise the emotional temperature when she reached the discussion of foreign policy and of America’s all-important role in the world—and, surprisingly at the very peak of the argument, a message of stalwart support for Israel, a full-throated assertion of its right to self-defense, an evocation of October 7 and the hostages’ plight, and also the need for Palestinians’ freedom and self-determination. The crowd roared more at the final clause, it’s true. But they were with her throughout, including when she talked about Israel. No one sat on their hands. More surprising than her position, to me, was her decision to place it at the emotional peak of the speech. That took guts. 

Soon after, she wrapped up, and the convention dissolved into celebratory hijinks and the iconic balloon drop.

Afterparty—Sort of

This is my third convention, and my favorite part of all three has been the post-gavel frolicking on the convention floor, with hundreds of heretofore ultra-serious adults, devoted all week to polls and policies, suddenly becoming like five-year-olds, playing catch and volleyball with the thousands of red, white and blue balloons on the floor, and stomping on them to make them pop and boom.

I took a 6 a.m. flight home Friday morning along with a surprisingly large crowd of tapped-out conventioneers, one of whom had clearly come right from the afterparties (he was still wearing his suit with Kamala buttons up and down the suspenders). The check-in line was a grim affair except for the orange foam cheesehead (de rigueur attire for the Wisconsin delegation during the Roll Call of the States) that I spotted poking out of a fellow passenger’s hand luggage.

—Amy E. Schwartz, Book and Opinion Editor 

Day 4, Part 2: Panels, Networking & Schmoozing, Oh My!

(Top left) Rachel Sklar models “Voting Suits You” hue; (center) CNN’s Van Jones and MomentLive! Producer Suzanne Borden; (right) Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff; (bottom left) David Litt, Amy Spitalnick, and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum

In addition to the evening productions at the United Center, there were plenty of opportunities throughout the week to attend panels on pertinent issues, network with others in related fields, and catch up and schmooze with old friends.

On day two of the convention, I attended the Interfaith Council panel discussion about the threat of Christian Nationalism and how to combat it. The program included California Congressman Jared Huffman, Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin, Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver and Dr. Kyati Joshi. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson made a surprise appearance and offered short remarks. The conversation was moderated by Katherine Stewart who participated in a past MomentLive! program on the same topic. 

After the program, I had a few seconds to chat with Congressman Raskin. He’s the recipient of Moment’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg Human Rights Award and had previously participated in the MomentLive! conversation Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy (January 2022). He invited my colleague Amy Schwartz and me to his after-party later that night, where I caught up with other Marylanders

On day three of the convention, I went to “The American Jewish Community and Israel After October 7,” the first of several panels sponsored by The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA). Ambassador Alan Solomont and former Congressman Steve Israel moderated the panel with JDCA CEO Halie Soifer; President and Founder of J Street Jeremy Ben Ami and political veteran Ann Lewis. Lewis, a former chair of the Moment Advisory Board, participated in the MomentLive! program Jewish Leaders in Women’s Fight for the Vote (January 2020) and moderated the MomentLive! conversation The Politics of Being Gay (September 2022) with her brother, former Congressman Barney Frank.

Thursday, the convention’s final day, provided many opportunities to meet with people. In the morning, I attended “Antisemitism in the Academy: A Deep Dive on Free Speech, Academic Freedom and Campus Climate” sponsored by the organization Zioness. I was fortunate to meet CNN’s Van Jones, who was also in attendance. Moderated by Zioness Founder and Executive Director Amanda Berman, the panel included Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the United States Department of Education, Catherine E. Lhamon; recent University of Oregon graduate Luda Isakharov; constitutional scholar and UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky; and former ADL Vice President for International Affairs and UCLA Adjunct Professor Sharon Nazarian. Nazarian was recently interviewed for the MomentLive! conversation The New World of Anti-Zionism and Antisemitism on Campus (April 2024).

From there I went to another JDCA program, “Jewish Values and Domestic Policy: What’s at Stake” with Senior Rabbi Emerita Sharon Kleinbaum and Jewish Council for Public Affairs CEO Amy Spitalnick, moderated by former Obama speechwriter David Litt. 

The next event, “Antisemitism, Extremism, and the 2024 Election,” included a last-minute addition, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, who gave some opening remarks to a jam-packed audience. At the end of the event I was able to snag a “Doug for First Mensch” sign. The program continued with a panel moderated by Amy Spitalnick and included Sharon Nazarian (twice in one day!), antisemitism expert Alan Solow, Christian Nationalism expert Amanda Tyler and North Carolina Congresswoman Kathy Manning. We are thrilled that the congresswoman is part of Moment’s 2024 Honorary Gala Committee. The gala event, Safeguarding American Journalism & Democracy, will be held on November 17, 2024, in Washington, DC.

Finishing up the day was a moving session with some of the families of the American hostages still being held in Gaza, both alive and deceased. We heard from Ruby Chen, father of 19-year-old Itay, who was killed on October 7 but whose body remains in Gaza; Orna and Ronen Neutra, who spoke at the Republican National Convention and are parents of 22-year-old Omer, and Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of 35-year-old Sagui Dekel-Chen, who spoke with Moment editor Sarah Breger less than one week after his son was kidnapped. 

Orna and Ronan Neutra, parents of American-Israeli hostage Omer Neutra.

Toward the end of the panel, Orna and Ronen Neutra spotted Alan Gross in the front row. Gross, a former U.S. contractor, spent five years in a Cuban jail before being released in 2015; he’s at the convention in no official role, but spends much of his time helping other returned hostages readjust to life in freedom. Ronen Neutra, visibly moved, told Gross that when their son Omer was younger, he and his classmates at day school wrote letters on Alan’s behalf while he was imprisoned and “prayed every day” for his release. They had no idea that Alan would actually be part of a program, and seeing him there gave them hope. Whatever dungeon Omer is being held in, Ronen Neutra told Gross, his memories of that campaign must help him believe that Jews outside are praying and organizing for him in the same way.

Later in the evening at the United Center, Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination. Harris reiterated her support for Israel, demanded the return of hostages and pushed for a cease-fire:

Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and a massacre of young people at a music festival. At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”

While the last few days were busy, I’m thrilled that I came away from these sessions with ideas for future MomentLive! programs and collaborations that I look forward to pursuing. Stay tuned!

—Suzanne Borden, MomentLive! producer

Democratic National Convention – Day 3

Joy in the Hall

These delegates are having a lot of fun! It’s fun to be a Democrat and to fight for a better world—that was the vibe of a rocking evening at the United Center on the third night of the convention. By the time Oprah Winfrey came out to speak, followed by John Legend performing with legendary drummer Sheila E., and then Amanda Gorman to read a new poem, the mood was set and the message was clear: Democrats are the cool kids, with the best tunes and the best jokes, and they are, as the frequent refrain had it, “not going back.”

“The joyfulness of that evening is something that will be with me for years,” said Ann Lewis, the longtime Democratic activist and veteran of multiple campaigns going back to the Bill Clinton White House. As is usual by this point in a convention, the elements of the message have mostly jelled: Kamala cares about you, Trump cares only about himself; the Democrats offer, in Oprah’s words, “optimism over cynicism” and “the sweet promise of tomorrow over the bitter return to yesterday.” And the campaign will be close and hard-fought—a lot of work, a short, hard sprint, but, as Tim Walz put it, “Leaders do the work.”

As a forest of “Coach Walz” signs waved in the arena, the candidate wrapped up the evening with a dollop of coach-speak: “You’ll have time to sleep when you’re dead.” 

Joy as a topline presents some difficulties—subtle, but real—when the secondary task of the evening is to treat dark topics and remind the faithful what they’re fighting against. The presentation of a four-minute video of the violent overrun of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was one such moment of solemnity. (On the Jumbotron, this played to shattering emotional effect, even though all of the footage had appeared in the 11-minute version produced for the January 6 committee.)

Another somber moment was the agonizing testimony of Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the parents of American-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. When Goldberg-Polin talked about her son, her pain was so naked that it was almost hard to share the space with her. That same stab of empathy I felt when I heard her at a Washington synagogue in November—in the early weeks of her ordeal—seemed to grip the crowd of 20,000 in the cavernous United Center arena. The vast audience stood throughout her brief remarks in silent respect, then chanted “Bring them home.”

How to modulate back to joy, even joyful struggle, from January 6 and October 7? One strategy, evidently, was to attack not with anger but with jokes. Mocking your enemies, as Ann Lewis observed, is “a way to remind yourself that they’re not eight feet tall, and you can fight them.” Former president Bill Clinton, in his speech, poked fun at Donald Trump’s egotism, advising Democrats listening to Trump, “Don’t count the lies—count the I’s.”

Speaker Olivia Troyes, once a deputy national security expert in Trump’s cabinet, described herself as having grown up in “the kind of family Donald Trump claims to care about.” Another speaker chimed in, “This is a vision of America that Donald Trump will never understand.” Veronica Escobar, a U.S. representative from a Texas district on the border, wrapped up a critique of Trump’s border policies, “They are not serious people. You know who’s serious? Kamala Harris!”

Off the Floor, It’s Back to Business 

Off the floor, too, the messages of the convention have generally come together by day three. During business hours, before the convention, Jewish conventioneers flocked to “Dempalooza” at the McCormick Place Convention Center, including a morning of panels hosted by the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JCDA) and a massive lunch at the Democratic Majority for Israel (DMFI). The lunch was a blowout affair attended by everyone from George Latimer, who defeated U.S. Rep. and Squad member Jamaal Bowman in a June primary, to the family of hostage Omer Neutra, to Harvard malcontent Shabbos Kestenbaum. U.S. Representative Don Davis of North Carolina, an African American legislator helped by DMFI and strongly supportive of Israel, bookended Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota, who talked of the emotional impact of visiting Israel with her wife, who is the grandchild of Holocaust survivors.

I also bumped into Arizona state legislator Alma Hernandez, the first Jewish Mexican-American woman elected to the Arizona State House and a past participant in Moment’s Jewish Political Voices Project, as well as pro-Israel stalwart Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida.

Though different in emphasis, the two groups—in hall and out—(and innumerable others caucusing around town) stressed a few points: The Republican/Trumpian support for Israel is performative and manipulative, not practical; Kamala Harris, like Joe Biden, has solidarity with Israel in her kishkes; and allyship, not hatred of immigrants and other ethnic groups, is the way Jews will flourish and Democrats will prevail.

—Amy E. Schwartz, Book and Opinion Editor 

Democratic National Convention – Day 2

Security is so tight here that not only the convention hall but many of the daytime caucuses and networking events are behind a tightly guarded perimeter. 

Pop-Up on the Periphery 

I started at the single-day art installation dubbed Hostage Square Chicago. This was a fenced-off vacant lot, filled with eye-catching and often moving mega-displays of art intended to draw attention to the plight of the hostages, including Israel- and LA-based artist Tomer Peretz’s twenty-foot-high replica of the bloody sweatpants worn in the photo of the murdered Naama Levy. Chicago tattoo artist Noah Elder was also there, painting a large replica of a tattoo he designed for an October 7 survivor, Elyse. Elder works with survivors of emotional trauma and says that since the Hamas attack, he’s had a wave of business from Jews who want tattoos but are uncomfortable going to traditional tattoo parlors and asking for Hebrew words or Jewish themes. 

Organizers said the pop-up site was made available to the Israeli American Council by a local businessman after the group was unable to get a city permit for a pro-Israel march, despite the plethora of pro-Palestinian demonstrations approved by the city. They said about 800 people had passed through—including a lot of press. What struck me was the range of political opinions I encountered in chatting with the visitors—from convention delegates and longtime Democratic activists stopping by to show their support for Israel, to Orthodox Jews deeply skeptical of Kamala Harris’s Israel bona fides, to local Chabad rabbis who brought tefillin and helped attendees lay them, to some, like the young Tunisian American Haia R’nana Bchiri, who said she “really hopes Kamala will become more vocal” in her support of Israel and the return of the hostages. 

Maybe support of the hostages is that elusive space in which Jews of all views in an increasingly polarized community can find common ground.

Protests and Watch Parties

At the Axios House event from 5 to 8, hordes of nicely dressed, vaguely tech-inflected young professionals heard a roster of speakers, including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo interviewed live. Raimondo, eloquent and enthused in a vivid pink jacket, stoked the crowd’s enthusiasm. (Asked what aggravated her most about the Republicans, she responded, “They just peddle such garbage.”) As she left the stage, a phalanx of young protesters leaped up behind her and unfurled banners and Palestine flags. They were immediately carried off by security—in one case, actually kicking and screaming. 

After the brief excitement died down, I joined a conversation between two thirtysomething local real estate professionals, friends who were arguing amicably about how much to trust that the IDF is actually seeking to minimize casualties. One, Greg Nagel, considers himself a moderate supporter of Israel and a supporter of both Biden and Harris (though, as real estate professionals, he says, he and his friends object to their talk of rent caps). The other preferred not to give his name. Was the protest we’d just witnessed a successful action, I asked them. “I don’t think it changed any minds,” Nagel responded, “but it did spark a conversation with my friend, so I guess that counts.” And though only a “momentary blip” in real life, he added, the protesters’ images will appear to take on greater prominence through social media. 

I ended the evening in good Chicago fashion watching the Obama speeches from the Hotel Chicago bar, surrounded by happy and exhausted delegates, several in light-up cowboy hats that I recognized from earlier TV footage of the Washington state delegation during my favorite convention evergreen, the rowdy and hilarious Roll Call of the States. They’d stayed for the roll call (they were nearly the last state called), then decamped to avoid the long lines and bus tie-ups leaving the site. 

After the Parties, More Parties

With the final gavel down and the TV commentators still going strong, I left the hotel to check out a very late-night reception hosted at a restaurant by Rep. Jamie Raskin. In what has to be saluted as highly creative on-message programming, the musical entertainment was provided by the band from a currently running play called 1972, described by the hosts as a musical about a woman trying to get an abortion. 

—Amy E. Schwartz, Book and Opinion Editor 

On day two of the Democratic National Convention, Rabbi Sharon Brous, who wore a yellow ribbon for the hostages held in Gaza, delivered the opening invocation along with Imam Talib M. Shareef. Brous talked about America’s redemption story, “a story of ceaseless striving toward a true multiracial democracy rooted in equal justice where every person is treated as unique, mighty and worthy of love.”

I had the pleasure of watching the night unfold from CSPAN’s skybox. Looking out, I saw a sea of people decked out in red, white and blue, people wearing cowboy hats, foam cheeseheads, corn heads and more. It was the night for the ceremonial roll call (the official roll call was held virtually earlier in the month) announcing the number of delegates being pledged to the candidate running for president. While a DJ played music and people danced, each state and territory had one, two or three representatives introduce their state and announce how many delegates they had for Kamala Harris. 

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff addresses the DNC on day 2.

While most states offered all their delegates to Harris and Walz, a few recorded one or two uncommitted delegates, with Minnesota announcing 11 due to policy differences over the Israel-Hamas war. But this did not seem to faze anyone; the mood in the United Center was festive and felt like one big party. Following roll call, some of the speakers included a trio of Jewish politicians: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, Chicago Governor J.B. Pritzker and New York Senator Chuck Schumer. Sanders’ call for an end to the war in Gaza, the release of the hostages and an immediate cease-fire was met with loud cheers and applause. Schumer told the crowd that he is the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history and that he was wearing a blue square pin to stand up against antisemitism and hate.

One of the highlights of the evening was a video introducing Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, narrated by his son Cole, that showed pictures from his childhood including his Bar Mitzvah. Emhoff then addressed the convention and shared more about himself, like riding his bike to Hebrew School as kid and how he met his future wife, giving everyone a small glimpse into their lives. He said that Harris attends High Holiday services with him while he attends Easter service with her, that his kids call her “mamala” and that she makes the best brisket for the holidays. Emhoff noted that it was Harris who encouraged him to take up the fight against antisemitism, which he has done, having launched a national strategy to combat antisemitism back in May 2023. Emhoff concluded his speech making the case for why he believes Kamala Harris is the right person to lead the country, calling her a “joyful warrior.” 

The loudest applause of the night went to Michelle Obama. “Hope is making a comeback,” she said, leading a chant to “do something!” and making it clear this was everyone’s invitation to get out the vote. The former first lady went on to tout Harris as the right woman for the job before introducing her husband, former President Barack Obama, who closed out the night. To say delegates left the arena pumped up is an understatement.

—Suzanne Borden, MomentLive! producer

Democratic National Convention – Day 1

I began my day riding the convention shuttle bus from my hotel to the McCormick Place Convention Center, where many different caucus and council meetings are being held each day of the convention, along with a variety of panels called DemPalooza. 

The scene outside the convention center was a bit hectic with all the buses and so many people trying to enter the building. Once inside I spent some time exploring the merch, including all kinds of pins: “Aerobic Instructors for Harris,” “People who Believe in Science for Harris” and “Hillbillies for Harris” among them. 

Next, I headed to the Labor Council meeting and listened to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, among many others, speak about the influence of local labor unions on their campaigns. Shapiro said he utilized labor unions to help build and rebuild Pennsylvania infrastructure, including rebuilding the I-95 bridge in Philadelphia in just 12 days. (In June of 2023, the bridge collapsed after a tanker truck carrying gas caught fire.)

Later, in a sit-down interview with Joy Reed of NBC at the convention, Shapiro would be asked about claims that he was bypassed for the VP slot for reasons related to his faith. Shapiro zeroed in on Trump as “the one attempting to inject that into the dialogue” and called him out as “someone who has absolutely no credibility to speak of antisemitism, or hatred or bigotry in any form.” He recalled Trump’s “good people on both sides” assessment after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, VA, as exhibit A that the former president is someone who enables antisemitism. 

“I want to be very clear,” Shapiro said, “antisemitism played no role in the dialogue between me and the vice president. None. It is true that there is antisemitism in this country. It is true that there is racism and Islamophobia and other forms of hatred and bigotry. And what we need to do—all of us, all leaders—is stand up and speak with moral clarity.”

After the Labor Council meeting, I checked out a training session called Project 2025: Organizing Your Friends and Family, where they discussed Get Out the Vote (GOTV) and other strategies to prevent the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 from being implemented. 

A little after 4 p.m., I hopped on the shuttle bus for what I thought was going to be a 15-minute ride to the United Center for the opening of the Democratic Convention. However, after 20 minutes, our bus driver was instructed to pull over because the police officer on board received notice from the Secret Service that protesters had breached the initial perimeter of fencing around the United Center. All buses were instructed to stay put until further notice. We were allowed to begin driving again within 5-10 minutes, but because security was only allowing three buses at a time to enter the drop-off zone, my 15-minute ride ended up taking two and a half hours. People on the bus were anxious and bit annoyed, but once we got inside the venue gates the mood improved.

Finally, I entered the security pavilion where we went through metal detectors. Unfortunately, my reusable water bottle, covered in cool stickers, was thrown in the trash by a Secret Service agent (even though plastic bottles were not on the prohibited list). But then it was on to the big event—I was finally in the arena! I found a seat in the press gallery and was able to watch the speakers. The mood was electric, the crowd loud and excited. The place went wild when the presumptive presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, made a surprise appearance on the stage. 

Other highlights included speeches by my representative, Congressman Jamie Raskin from Maryland, Congressman James Clyburn from South Carolina and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Also speaking was Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock from Georgia. I could see the teleprompter from my seat and saw that he went off script when talking about peace for all children around the world, including in Israel, Gaza, Congo and Sudan. People loved it. They were up out of their seats, cheering and pumping their fists.

And finally, the big finale arrived when Ashley Biden, who became emotional talking about her late brother Beau, introduced her father President Joe Biden. The arena was hoppin’ as everyone cheered amid a sea of “We ❤️Joe” signs. 

Day 1 was complete: It was a long day but an incredible day, and one that I will never forget.

—Hannah Rubin, intern