DNC Day 4: Hillary Clinton Accepts the Nomination and Other Top Moments
Chelsea Clinton introduced her mom as her hero and role model
By Noreen O'Donnell and Emilie Plesset ••
All eyes were on Hillary Clinton as she stepped into history formally accepting the Democratic nomination for president and becoming the first woman to lead a political party’s ticket.
To President Barack Obama, she is a leader who will “blast through glass ceilings.” To former President Bill Clinton, she is the “best darn change agent” he has ever seen. To former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, she is the “sane, competent” candidate in the race.
On Thursday, the last night of the Democratic National Convention, Hillary Clinton got the chance to talk about herself - and what she would do as president.
Her biggest deficit: With 54 percent of Americans saying they have a negative opinion of her, she is not seen as trustworthy. She took to the stage after an evening featuring accomplished women and issues they care about.
"We Are Not Afraid": Hillary Clinton Accepts the Presidential Nomination
Remarking on Donald Trump’s reliance on fear, Hillary Clinton quoted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s famous fear quote that he gave during the throes of the Great Depression.
Clinton told the country it was facing a moment of reckoning, as it had 240 years ago when the founders came together in Philadelphia and the revolution hung in the balance.
"Then somehow they began listening to each other, compromising, finding common purpose,” she said. “And by the time they left Philadelphia, they had begun to see themselves as one nation. That's what made it possible to stand up to a king."
Hillary Clinton notes the historical importance of her nomination to a major political party.
The country's founders had the courage that was needed then, and that courage is needed again, now that Donald Trump has taken the country from Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America" to "Midnight in America," she said.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt had the perfect rebuke to Trump more than 80 years ago, during a much more perilous time: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself, she said.
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An attendee wears anti-trump memorabilia during the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 28, 2016, in Philly.
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A woman with decorated nails walks the floor prior to the start of the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia.
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A delegate attends the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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New Orleans, Louisiana, delegate Sylvia Crier cheers during the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 28, 2016, in Philly.
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A Wisconsin delegate attends the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia.
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An delegate attends the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia
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Attendees arrive prior to the start of the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia.
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A delegate wears a hat with LED lights and a "TrumpBusters" button during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 27, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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A delegate in support of Sen. Bernie Sanders wears a hat with campaign memorabilia prior to the start of the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 26, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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A delegate wears American flag themed glasses at the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 26, 2016.
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Delegates partake in the invocation on the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 28, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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An attendee wears American flag themed shoes and socks during the second day of the Democratic National Convention.
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Actress Meryl Streep arrives on stage to deliver remarks on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 26, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Florida delegate Lavon Bracy walks the floor prior to the start of the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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An attendee wears a hat that reads "Make Donald Drumpf Again" attends the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 26, 2016.
Members of the Bearded Ladies Cabaret cross Broad St. before a march by supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders in Philadelphia, on the first day of the Democratic National Convention, July 25, 2016.
Texas delegate Kim Frederick walks the floor prior to the start of the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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A delegate wears a jacket with an image of Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia.
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An attendee wears a hat with campaign memorabilia while walking the floor prior to the start of the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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An attendee wears a hat with campaign memorabilia while walking the floor prior to the start of the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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On July 25, inside the Wells Fargo Center, Kelly Jacobs, Mississippi Delegate, shows off her dress and hat she made in support of Hillary Clinton.
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Hillary Clinton themed socks are for sale at a gift shop at an One Liberty Observation Deck at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Bernie Sanders supporters gather at City Hall on July 26, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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A delegate wears a crown that reads "Bernie" during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the Wells Fargo Center, July 25, 2016, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
"Now we are clear-eyed about what our country is up against," she said. "But we are not afraid. We will rise to the challenge, just as we always have."
Her speech presented her vision of America and lambasted Trump's. She called Trump "a man you can bait with a tweet" and "not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons."
In her remarks at the DNC on July 28,2016, Hillary Clinton called her opponent Donald Trump “a man you can bait with a tweet” and “not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.”
She thanked U.S. Sen.Bernie Sanders and his supporters for putting economic and social justice front and center at the campaign, and talked about what she wanted to accomplish.
"My primary mission as president will be to create more opportunity and more good jobs with rising wages right here in the United States from my first day in office to my last," she said.
And she contrasted her America with Trump's. She would: build an economy for everyone, offering a path to citizenship for immigrants already contributing to the economy; refuse to ban a religion, as Trump wants to do with Muslim immigrants; work with all Americans to fight terrorism.
The first woman nominated as president by a major political party, she acknowledged the milestone, saying "After all, when there are no ceilings, the sky's the limit."
A Proud Daughter
Chelsea Clinton Speaks at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night.
Chelsea Clinton introduced her mother as her hero and biggest role model, describing the "special window" she has had to watch her mother's hard work.
Clinton, who spoke a day after her father, former President Bill Clinton, sought to show voters her mother's softer side, talked about how Hillary Clinton embraces her roles as a mother and as a grandmother.
"My mom can be about to walk on stage for a debate or a speech and it just doesn't matter," she said. "She'll drop everything for a few minutes of kisses and reading 'Chugga Chugga Choo Choo' with her granddaughter."
She described the many times she watched her mother throw herself into public service, working diligently to improve the lives of families and children around the world.
Nancy Wanderer is a delegate from Maine who went to school with Hillary Clinton, graduating from Wellesley in 1969. Her New Yearu2019s resolution was to get Hillary elected. u201cI really believe in her,u201d Wanderer said.
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Molly Golden was excited to attend the convention in Philadelphia. "I think it [the DNC] shows that Hillary understands the complexities of many of the issues," she said. "Most of the issues we are dealing with from racism to the economy to civil wars [abroad] are multifaceted. Itu2019s an insult to all humans to distill those problems in 140 characters.u201d
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Gregory McKelvey, 23, is a Sanders delegate from Oregon. He said he would only vote for Clinton if Oregon votes for Trump.
Max Adams is a Democratic Committee member from Raleigh, North Carolina. "I feel the unity," he said. "Most Hillary and Bernie delegates are determined to go home and work harder than ever to elect Hillary.u201d
49-year-old Jesse Aguilar is a Clinton delegate from California. He said the issue he's most passionate about this election is public education.
20-year-old Melissa Cairo is a rising junior at Brown University and a Clinton delegate from California, studying political science and biology. "Healthcare is a big issue for me. The Clintons have been on the forefront of that forever in politics." She believes immigration will be one of the most consequential issues in this election.
Sheila Tyson, of Birmingham, Alabama, is a city council member, delegate and first-time convention-goer. u201cItu2019s time that women have taken a place in government," she said. "Everyone fights for rights. No one has really stood up for equal pay for women." Tyson is a Hillary supporter.
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Carol Heasley is an alternate delegate from San Diego. Heasley says the excitement around the election process has resulted in the interest that we should all have in our democracy.
25-year-old Daniel Clark is a Bernie Sanders delegate from Iowa and will vote for Jill Stein if Sanders is not made the nominee. The issue of most concern to him is LGBT rights. "Bernie Sanders has been an LGBT activist longer than I've been alive. Hillary Clinton has been an LGBT activist for about three years. She might have done a lot for us in those three years but Bernie's been at it his whole life."
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64-year-old Allison Vail Sanders, delegate from Colorado. The two issues she's most passionate about in this election are world peace and climate change.
"People ask me all the time how does she do it, how does she keep going amid the sound and the fury of politics? Here's how: It's because she never ever forgets who she's fighting for," she said.
Clinton, 36, has been in the public eye her entire life, growing up in the White House. Throughout the primary season, Clinton traveled around the country acting as a passionate surrogate for her mother.
Chelsea Clinton's introduction of her mother paralleled remarks delivered by Ivanka Trump, who introduced her father at last week's Republican convention.
Before Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump rivaled each other in the race for the White House, their daughters shared a close friendship.
Though the two have not appeared in public together since the start of the election, Chelsea maintained that she and Ivanka are still friends Thursday on "Today."
Another First
Before Clinton accepted the nomination for president, there was another historic moment Thursday evening.
"My name is Sarah McBride, and I am a proud transgender American."
With those words, McBride became the first transgender person to address a political convention.
A graduate of American University, she came out four years ago when she was the student body president.
"At the time I was scared," she said. "I worried that my dreams and my identity were mutually exclusive."
McBride, 25, interned at the White House Office of Public Engagement, helped to pass legislation in her home state of Delaware banning discrimination based on gender identity and is now the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign.
“Will we be a nation where there’s only one way to love, only one way to look and only one way to live?” she asked. “Or will we be a nation where everyone has the freedom to live openly and equally, a nation that’s stronger together. That is the question in this election.”
Her husband, a transgender man who fought for equality, died four days after they married.
From his death, she learned that every day mattered when it came to building a more equal world.
“Will we be a nation where there’s only one way to love, only one way to look and only one way to live?” she asked. “Or will we be a nation where everyone has the freedom to live openly and equally, a nation that’s stronger together. That is the question in this election.”
Fallen Police Officers
At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez shared a story illustrating how the city of Dallas came together after police officers were killed there.
The Dallas County sheriff and the families of three slain police officers described their legacies — a counter to Republican criticism that Democrats cared little about law enforcement, only those who had been killed by police.
The sheriff, Lupe Valdez, the daughter of migrant workers, said her father was angry when she told him she was joining the police. He and her older brothers had been beaten by the police for no reason.
“We put on our badge every day to serve and protect, not to hate and discriminate,” she said, and asked for a moment of silence.
Wayne Walker, the mother of 19-year-old Moses Walker, a Philadelphia police officer, said, "While we’re here, we must do the good we can."
The mother of Derek Owens, a Cleveland police officer, said her son had left a legacy of service, integrity and love.
“We never want the sacrifice and all of the other fallen officers to ever be forgotten,” Barbara Owens said.
And the wife of Thor Soderberg, a Chicago police officer, said he once got charges against a boy who had stolen a belt dropped. The boy only had a rope to hold up his pants, Jennifer Loudon said. Soderberg also paid for the belt.
“He knew effective policing required treating people with kindness and respect, especially when he was most often called to their worst moments,” she said.
A Muslim Soldier
Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim U.S. soldier who was killed in action, addressed the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
The father of an Army captain killed in a suicide bombing in Iraq challenged Donald Trump’s proposed ban on Muslim immigration, saying his son, Army Capt. Humayun Khan, would never had been in the country if it had been up to Trump. Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims and disrespects other minorities, women, judges, even his own party’s leadership, Khizr Khan said.
“Donald Trump you are asking Americans to trust you with their future,” Khan said. “Let me ask you: Have you even read the United States Constitution. I will gladly lend you my copy.”
Holding up that copy, he told Trump: “In this document, look for the words liberty and equal protection of the law.”
Khizr Khan, the father of a Muslim soldier who died to save the lives of his fellow soldiers, said that Donald Trump had made derogatory statements that smeared the patriotism of American Muslims.
Humayun Khan, 27, died in a suicide car bombing at the gates of his base in Iraq in 2004. Khan told his troops to get back but he took 10 steps toward the car when it exploded. After his death he was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
Khizr Khan said his son, who was born in the United Arab Emirates and moved with his family to Maryland when he was 2, had wanted to be a military lawyer.
He urged Trump to visit Arlington Cemetery, where he would see graves of all faiths, genders and ethnicities.
“You have sacrificed nothing and no one,” he told Trump.
The election of 1860 took place a year before the Civil War broke out, when regional tensions were running deep and the Democratic Party was fractured over the expansion of slavery. The upshot was four political conventions u2014 Democrats in the North and South each holding their own, as well as the Republicans and the short-lived Constitutional Union Party, formed with former Whigs, Know-Nothings and some Southern Democrats. The divided political field allowed Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln a sweeping victory in November.
Held at the Chicago Coliseum June 18-22, the convention, pictured above, was the breaking point for the once amicable relationship between Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft. After his second term, Roosevelt had endorsed Taft to succeed him as the Republican leader. But Roosevelt became disillusioned with Taftu2019s presidency and decided to run for a third term. This was the first year Republican primaries were held and the candidates walked into a contested convention. A floor fight ensued, with delegates shouting u201cliaru201d and u201csteamrolleru201d throughout the speeches. After losing the nomination to Taft in a floor fight, Roosevelt, declaring the nomination had been fraudulently stolen from him, stormed out of the convention and formed the Bull Moose Party. The divided Republican party cleared the way for a Democratic victory, making Woodrow Wilson the 28th president of the United States.
Taking 16 rowdy days and a record 103 ballots to determine a nominee, the Democratic Partyu2019s 1924 convention, pictured above, was the longest political convention in U.S. history. The convention, which was held in New Yorku2019s Madison Square Garden, has been dubbed u201cKlanbakeu201d for the Ku Klux Klanu2019s strong influence and its endorsement of one of the candidates. The Klanu2019s power was contested by candidate Al Smith and the partyu2019s anti-Klan, anti-Prohibition wing. Fistfights and obscene screaming matches broke out between ballots and the conventionu2019s 10th day coincided with the Fourth of July, when 20,000 Klansman burned crosses and effigies of Smith on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. Some Democratic party members tried to condemn the Klan in the partyu2019s platform, but were defeated after floor debates. The party eventually nominated federal judge John W. Davis, who lost to Calvin Coolidge.
Before Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee, there was Wendell Willkie, a Wall Street industrialist with no experience in public office. It was thought to be highly improbable that the businessman would win the nomination, but he became a u201cdark horseu201d as his support grew quickly. National security was the primary issue as Hitler waged war in Europe. While the other Republican candidates were staunchly isolationist, Willkie urged strengthening the countryu2019s defense and providing aid to the Allies. After France fell to the Nazis, Willkieu2019s popularity drastically increased and the media helped turn him into a national celebrity with a lead in national polls. Like Trump, Willkie prided himself on paying for his own travel and phone expenses so he would not be beholden to anyone. In the national campaign Willkie switched to staunch isolationism to counter President Franklin D. Roosevelt and lost the election. The picture above shows delegates in Philadelphia attempting to seize the New York State banner June 26, 1940 at the Republican National Convention. The scene followed the nomination of Willkie for the presidency.
Moderate Republicans tried but failed to stop Sen. Barry Goldwater from winning the partyu2019s nomination at the convention in 1964. The senator from Arizona, pictured above on the final night of the Republican National Convention in San Francisco, led the partyu2019s conservative wing, opposed the Civil Rights Act and hawkishly supported military intervention in the Soviet Bloc. Goldwater had won big in the primaries but many Republicans vehemently opposed Goldwater as the partyu2019s standard bearer. The convention was hostile; a fistfight almost broke out on the convention floor when a Goldwater supporter mocked Italian Americans during an immigration debate. One attendee recalled the event as u201chorrible. I felt like I was in Nazi Germany.u201d On accepting the nomination, Goldwater defended his radical conservatism, declaring u201cextremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.u201d The Republican Party remained deeply divided into the general election, allowing President Lyndon B. Johnson a landslide victory.
With the country in the midst of the Vietnam War, political leaders and the public were deeply divided. Outside the convention hall in Chicago, where Democrats were meeting, anti-war demonstrators clashed with thousands of Chicago police officers, Army troops, Illinois National Guardsmen and Secret Service agents over five days. By the convention's end, the Chicago police reported 589 arrests had been made and 119 police and 100 protesters were injured. Drama also filled the convention hall. President Lyndon Johnson faced heavy opposition from liberals within the Democratic party and he did not seek re election, but his vice president, Hubert Humphrey, sought the nomination. Humphrey was a pro-war Democrat and at odds with the other Democratic candidates, Sen. Robert Kennedy, Sen. Eugene McCarthy and Sen. George McGovern. Tensions continued to rise after Kennedy was shot and killed following his victory in the California primary in June. At a bitterly contested convention, Humphrey won the party's nomination but the anger that raged from within the party and outside set the stage for the creation of the modern primary process.
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Republican Gerald Ford had become president following Richard Nixonu2019s resignation during the Watergate scandal and, in 1976, Ronald Reagan challenged him for the nomination. Going into the convention the two were virtually tied in primary votes. Stephen Hess, author of Fordu2019s platform, told NPR that delegates for each candidate u201ccame to Kansas City ready to brawl.u201d Ford offered rides on Air Force One and tours of the White House to lure delegates. Reagan, in an unprecedented move, announced liberal Sen. Richard Schweiker as his running mate in an attempt to appeal to liberals and centrists. But the move backfired, infuriating conservatives. Mississippi delegates were the last to vote. When they voted against a rule change proposed by the Reagan camp and signaled support for Ford, fighting broke out on the convention floor. By the end of the convention, in a stunning moment of party unity, Reagan went up on stage to address the convention, calling the party platform one of u201cbold unmistakable colors with no pale pastel shades.u201d That year marked the last time the United States saw a contested convention and though Ford won the nomination, he lost to Democrat Jimmy Carter. Meanwhile, Reagan solidified himself as a rising star who would define the Republican party for a generation.
During a protest at the Republican Partyu2019s convention in Dallas, Gregory Lee Johnson, pictured here, set fire to an American flag to denounce Reagan administration policies. Johnson, a member of the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade, was arrested and charged with violating a Texas law on flag desecration. Johnson appealed his conviction and the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1989, the high court ruled that flag burning is considered freedom of speech and legally protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution
In a surprise speech at the 2012 Republican Convention in Tampa, Florida, actor and director Clint Eastwood spoke to an empty chair, pretending it was occupied by President Barack Obama. For nearly 12 minutes, Eastwood chastised an invisible Obama for the nation's high unemployment and his failure to deliver on promises such as closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay. At one point, Eastwood imagined Obama was objecting to his comments and appeared to engage in a conversation. Eastwood and the speech were mocked on social media, but when asked about the speech a Romney campaign adviser told the Washington Post: "His ad libbing was a break from all the political speeches, and the crowd enjoyed it." Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt coyly told the Washington Post he was "Referring all questions on this to Salvador Dali."
Ted Cruz refused to explicitly endorse the GOP nominee at the Republican National Convention on July 20, 2016. Cruz, who placed second behind Donald Trump during the Republican primaries, began his prime-time address by congratulating Trump's victory and the crowd was generally supportive of the speech until the Texas senator said this: "If you love our country and love your children as much as I know that you do, stand, and speak, and vote your conscience... Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution." The crowd, sensing that no endorsement was coming from Cruz, began to boo and started chanting "Trump!" and "USA!" Trump, meanwhile, made a dramatic entrance at the end of Cruz's speech to give a thumbs up to his supporters. When Cruz finally walked off the stage, the arena's boos became perhaps the loudest moment of the convention, NBC News reported.
