Transcripts For BLOOMBERG Balance Of Power Democratic National Convention 20240712

Fighting for. And Kamala Harris is the Vice President we need now, committed to our institution, brilliant in defending it and witness to the women of this nation our voices will be heard. Our mission is to fight for a future equal to the ideals of our founders, hopes for our children and the sacrifices of our veterans, brave men and women in uniform and their families. We will increase our majority in the house, we will win a democratic majority in the senate, we will elect Kamala Harris Vice President and elect joe biden Vice President president of the United States of america. God bless america. David that was nancy pelosi addressing the convention live. We have already heard from former secretary of state hillary clinton. Still to come, senator Elizabeth Warren and former president barack obama. The big event is the address from the candidate for Vice President Kamala Harris. We will bring you all of that during this hour. With us throughout our coverage, contributors. Lets start with a quick thought or two. It strikes me as we watch nancy pelosi, the first woman in speaker ofserve as the house, now we are going to nominate the first africanamerican and south a remake south asian american. Yesterday was the anniversary of the the hitting the women the right to vote. If joe was to win, you would have the second to the line a woman. David you have been there, you ran john mccains campaign and others. Tell us what joe biden needs from this Vice President . Thehe needs to connect with American Public. This is her first introduction at scale. The key thing is she develops a relationship with the public who views her tonight and follows forms a level of personality. This is her last chance not interrupted by any means to make her pitch to the people who will vote in november. She needs to do a good job. Not only explain who she is but give the case for joe biden and take good shots as Vice President ial nominee always does at the party in power. David thank you very much. They will stick with us. We will turn to someone who knows former Vice President biden very well and has worked with him through several administrations. Leon panetta served as secretary of defense and cia director, and chief of staff to president bill clinton. Welcoming him back to bloomberg. Joe biden. You say he is a good friend of yours. Lets focus on Foreign Relations. Put up for us a bite and Foreign Relations biden Foreign Relations policy versus a trump one. Leon the difference is joe biden believes the United States has to exercise world leadership in the world, and to build our alliances, build our trust in those alliances, the trust of our allies in the United States. And believes that if the United States doesnt lead, nobody else will. And i think that that contrast with President Trumps approach, which has been to withdraw leadership from the world, into an America First kind of approach, in which most of the world is just not sure as to where the United States stands. He has undermined the alliances that are so important to our security. He has undermined our intelligence agencies by refusing to listen to the truth they are providing. I am concerned about the militarycivilian relationship with regards to the military. It is important to recognize the military is not to be used for political purposes but to protect our security abroad. Joe biden recognizes all of those strengths, and he will restore basically the international approach the United States has had since the end of world war ii. I wanted to ask about this Intelligence Report that came out yesterday. I would not imagine you have had time to go through it, but i usder, a concern of some of is it has gotten lost among the news going on, the conventions, the u. S. Postal service, the upcoming election and we forget this is a republican senate, this comes out of a committee controlled by the republicans, and it is a devastating report in 2016. N interference what are your thoughts . Leon i agree, it is a devastating report. It is a bipartisan report from the Senate Intelligence committee. It is highly credible in terms of the points that it makes. Think that i have had for a long time as with this president is not recognizing the threat from russia for whatever reason. Somebody involved at the cia and secretary of defense, there is no question that the russians primary goal is to weaken the United States, to undermine our institutions and to create instability. That is what they are after. That is what they do. To not have a president who acknowledges the threat from russia and is willing to say to put in putin, dont interfere. We will not tolerate that, and we will do everything to stop you, then when he did not we got prudent that intelligence on the fact russians were putting bounties on the heads of our men and women in uniform in afghanistan, imagine the russians basically paying to have our troops killed in action. But the biggest problem is the president did not say to putin directly, we will not stand for you doing this, dont do it, or we will take action against you. That is what the president should be saying the russians. The report that came out basically indicates that there has been a relationship with regards to the russians, not only in the election, in 2016, but that it is taking place in the 2020 election, and that is something every american should be concerned about, and the president should be concerned about that as well. Thank you for joining us tonight. Havene area trump seems to not retreated from his the middle east. He inherited a major isis problem, and unraveled the Iranian Nuclear deal almost on arrival. Now declaring some victory with the peace accords between the uae and israel. How much of that would biden adopt as his policy in the middle east, or would he take a different approach to these countries about building a coalition against iran . Leon i have always operated on the basis that the middle east is critical to the security of the United States. One of the problems we have had is with the number of failed states in the middle east from , thoseo yemen to libya countries become breeding grounds for terrorism, isis. Trumpgest criticism of was when he withdrew our forces from syria and basically abandoned the relationship with the kurds. They were working with us to go after isis. We basically handed syria to iran and russia and hezbollah. Does he deserve some credit with regards to israel and the uae . Perhaps. They were trying to work on that, and i give him credit, because it is important to have the arab countries recognize the security of israel. Is the unitedy states has to build an alliance with moderate arab countries and with israel to confront isis, which remains a real threat to the United States and confront iran. We have right now a tenuous relationship with iran that could produce more at any time. One of the things the Biden Administration would do is a step in the right direction, go back to our allies, russia, china, germany, great britain, france and restore that alliance that was working with iran that produced the agreement. And forced that alliance to try to get iran to make concessions on Missile Development and supporting terrorism. That is the best way to get iran back to the table. David great pleasure to have you with us on this special night, leon panetta am a former secretary of defense. One of the questions that will loom large, whether it is donald trump or joe biden, will be our relationship with china. For the view from beijing, we turn to tom mackenzie, our coanchor a Bloomberg Markets china open. How does it look from china . Tom i want to give you an update on how it is being covered here in beijing. We work given an update. On the front page you have joe biden and the headline that he has now been nominated for the democratic ticket. Now talking of potential military confrontation you have a headline that says the Peoples Liberation army of china has sent a warning to the u. S. Navy over navy patrols in the taiwan strait. There was conflict in iran, and this has been the case for decades. The hot spot in this region is china and the u. S. , taiwan and the taiwan strait. Those are some of the concerns as freedom of operation patrols are a big concern for the chinese. The other englishlanguage version has joe biden on the front page and it says biden may be smoother to deal with. The chinese were unprepared for trump. They say whatever happens in 2020 november, it wont be a black swan event. They will be prepared for either option. David thank you for that report to tom mackenzie, the coker coanchor. We want to keep in mind how this is playing out at the white house and for President Trump. We turn to our colleague who covers the white house for bloomberg. How is it looking now as donald trump looks at this convention . He is paying attention of course. Earlier this evening, he had a press briefing at the white house, and the final question his final answer was in response to a question about president obamas prepared remarks this evening, where he will say President Trump wasnt repaired for the office, so President Trump defended himself there. And his campaign is out with Rapid Response talking about the speakers including hillary clinton. Parkerthank you to mario who is reporting throughout this entire convention for us. One of the biggest questions is how a President Joe Biden might manage a struggling economy different from President Trump. We will hear from senator Elizabeth Warren. We will bring you that live very lets turn to rick davis about thoughts on what Elizabeth Warren in june for can do for joe biden. One of the things we are seeing in the media is wondering why isnt the Progressive Left pushing back on this sort of centrist Convention Joe Biden has been orchestrating . One thing is to do exactly that, not push back and follow in suit as Bernie Sanders did supporting all heartedly joe biden and having policy difference for sure, but talking about how important it is he beat trump. Only then will they have a voice in government to enable these policies to occur. David i dont want to approach things all cynical but is it possible there might be a job for Elizabeth Warren . Conceivably. There is a school of thought, she may have more of a voice in a Biden Administration as secretary of something versus a Vice President. There is this school of thought, and she has been fundraising, she has been close to joe biden. I think we are going to see a lot to live a lot of Elizabeth Warren. She will appeal to women. She is coming from a school and will be talking about issues that appeals to suburban women who are so important and both sides are trying to get their vote. David after the sojourn into politics, you spent time on wall street. We heard ted earlier saying if Elizabeth Warren is secretary of treasury, wall street will hate it. Does he have a point . For sure. She is one of the people republicans are fearful of getting into the Biden Administration. Joe biden is likely to be a one term president. I strongly doubt somebody like Elizabeth Warren who has president ial ambitions would give up a safe senate to go in as a staff person to joe biden and give up her dream for running for president four years from now. Like Elizabeth Warren will be forcing the Democratic Party for some time. Jeanne she will continue to be. It is a big question what he is talking about. She may not leave. She could see depending on what the offer is, leave and go into the administration. If biden is a one term president , we will see quite a fight for who is going to be the top of the ticket. David it might be too early to talk about the senate, but it would be smart for President Biden to take one democratic senator away, particularly if it is close . You see at the convention we are about to hear from senator Elizabeth Warren. Put their lives on the line to keep our country going. Since covid19 hit, they have taken one gut punch after another. What is the covid follow doing to our babies . I am here at the Early Childhood Education Center in springfield, massachusetts which has been closed for months. Childcare was already hard to find before the pandemic and now parents are stuck, no idea when schools can safely reopen and fewer childcare options. The devastation is enormous. The way i see it, big problems demand big solutions. I love a good plan, and joe biden has really good plans, to bring back union jobs in manufacturing and create new union jobs in clean energy, to create Social Security benefits, cancel billions in Student Loan Debt and make bankruptcy laws work for families instead of the creditors who cheat them. Truth,eflect a simple our Economic System has been rigged to give bailouts to billionaires and to kick dirt in the face of everyone else. We can build a thriving economy by investing in families and fixing what is broken. His plan to build back better includes making the wealthy pay their fair share, Holding Corporations accountable, repairing racial inequities and fighting corruption in washington. Hisme tell you about one of plans that is especially close to my heart, childcare. As a little girl growing up in oklahoma, what i wanted most was to be a teacher. I loved teaching. When i had babies and was juggling my first big teaching job in texas, it was hard. But i could do hard. I was thankful for childcare. One night my aunt called to check in, and i thought i was fine but i broke down and started to cry. I had tried holding it all together, but without reliable childcare, working was merely impossible. When i told her i was going to quit my job, i thought my heart would break. Then she said the words that changed my life. I cant do their tomorrow, but i will come on tuesday. She arrived with seven suitcases and stayed for 16 years. I get to be here tonight because of my aunt. I learned a fundamental truth. Nobody makes it on your own. Two generations of working parents later. If you have a baby and dont ea, you are on your own. We build infrastructure like roads and bridges and Communication Systems so that people can work. The infrastructure helps us all because it keeps our economy going. It is time to recognize childcare is part of the basic infrastructure of this nation. It is infrastructure for families. Joe and kamala will make it affordable for every family, make preschool universal and raise the wages of every child care worker. There is one plan, but it gives you an idea of how we get this country working for everyone. Donald trumps ignorance and incompetence has always been a danger to our country. Covid19 was trumps biggest test. He failed miserably. Today america has the most covid deaths in the world and economic collapse. And both crises are falling hardest on black and brown families. Millions out of work, millions more tracked in cycles of poverty, millions on the brink of losing homes, millions of restaurants and stores hanging by a thread. This crisis is bad, and it didnt have to be this way. The crisis is on donald trump and the republicans who enabled him. On november 3, we will hold them all accountable. So whether you are planning to vote, wearing a mask or vote by mail, take out your phone right 30330. Text vote to we all need to be in the fight to get joe and kamala elected. And after november, we need to stay in the fight to get big things done. We stay in this fight so that when our children and our grandchildren ask what we did during this dark chapter in our nations history, we will be able to look at them in the eyes and say we organized, we persisted, and we changed america. We have been listening to senator Elizabeth Warren addressing the Democratic National convention and going over the ways she agrees with joe biden and a president xi has with problem she has with donald trump. When i continue on the subject of what a joe biden presidency would mean, we bring in an associate professor of economics. She served on the Transition Team for president obama and is a senior economist. She has been advising the bidenharris campaign. Rick davis,by political contributor. Give us your point of view, what this residency would do over the next year in the shortterm for the u. S. Economy that would be different from what we see from donald trump. The first thing is my is theanding of the plan first thing they will do is address the National Strategy associated with fighting the virus, the pandemic. We would not have a conversation now about a recession if there were not this pandemic. I think that is the top priority, to get us out of this chaos that is dislocating families, households, schoolchildren, university professors, everybody. Businesses, everybody. Is the economy has got to get back on track, but we cant without a National Coordinated strategy. David rick. Rick good to see you tonight. This is rick davis from washington. On of the things i wanted to ask you, your sister school, the university of michigan has got the Consumer Sentiment index. From politico running many campaigns in the past especially for national elections, that was my bible. If the Michigan Consumer index was the low 90, the party in power loss. If it was above 90, the party in power won. What is unusual right now is republicans in the index self identified are pretty positive on the economy, but democrats and independents are below that. I am curious if you have seen this kind of distribution of partisan views toward the economy. I have never seen that before and so i was curious if you had seen anything like that yourself. Jeanne lisa that is interesting, and it is one of the things i show why students. This is regular when you ask the American Public about the economy and depends on your affiliation. I dont know when it started, but it has been going on for decades. This is not unusual. The thing that is unusual now is the economic circumstances are changing so quickly. My sense is the Consumer Sentiment survey is probably a monthly survey. ,e probably have not seen it the stimulus payments ran out. Think it might look quite different now. We already know that walmart saw its sales plunge after the extension wasnt extended. Is thatnk there sentiment might change, quickly. David great to have you with us. We will cut it a little short because we dont want to up cut your former boss, barack obama. I believe that president obama presented the medal of freedom to joe biden. Now we will go to the convention and the 44th president of the United States. This is not a normal convention. It is not a normal time. Tonight i want to talk as plainly as i can about the stakes in this election. Because what we do these next 76 days will echo through generations to come. I am in philadelphia where the cost constitution was drafted and signed. It was not a perfect document. It allowed for the inhumanity of slavery and failed to guarantee women and even men who did not own property the right to participate in the political process. Document was as north star that would guide future generations, a system of representative government, the democracy to which we could better realize our highest ideals. War and bitter struggles, we improved this constitution to include the voices of those who had once been left out. Gradually we made this country more just and equal. And free. One Institutional Office elected by all of the people is the presidency. At a minimum we should expect a president to feel a sense of responsibility for the safety and welfare of all 330 million of us regardless of what we look like, how we worship, how much money we have worked we voted for. We should also expect a president to be the custodian of this democracy. We should expect regardless of ego, ambition or political beliefs, the president will preserve, protect and defend the freedoms and ideals so Many Americans marched for, went to jail for, fought for and died for. I have sent in the oval office with both of the men who were running for president. I never expected my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies. I did hope for the sake of our country that all trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously. That he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reference for the democracy that had been placed in his care. But he never did. Close to four years now, he has shown no interest in putting in the work, no interest in finding common ground, no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends. In treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show he can use to get the attention he craves. Hasnt grown into the job because he cant. And the consequences of that failure are severe. Dead, millionsns of jobs on while those at the top the top are taking more than ever. Worstrst impulses our impulses unleashed. Our reputation around the world diminished. Our Democratic Institutions threatened like never before. Times asat in polarized as these, most of you have already made up your mind. But maybe, you are still not sure which candidate you will vote for or whether you will voted. Maybe you are tired of the direction we are headed, but you cannot see a better path yet. Four you do not know enough about the person or you do not know enough about the person who wants to lead us there. Let me tell you about my friend, jode biden. 12 years ago when i began my search for a Vice President , i did not know i would end up finding a brother. Joe and i come from different places, different generations, but what i quickly came to admire about joe biden is his resilience bonrn too much struggle. Is empathy, born of too much grief. Joe is a man who learned early on to treat every person he meets with respect and dignity. Living by the words his parents taught him. No one is better than you, joe. But you are better than nobody. Empathy that that empathy, that decency. The belief that everybody counts. That is who joe is. When he talks with someone who has lost their job, joe remembers the night his father sat him down to say that he lost his. Who joe listens to a parent is trying to hold it all together right now, he does it as a single dad who took the train back to wilmington each and every night so he could tuck his kids into bed. When he meets with military families who have lost their hero, he does it as a kindred spirit. A parent of an american soldier. Faith hashose endured the hardest loss there is. For eight years, joe was the last one in the room whenever i faced a big decision. He made me a better president. He has got the character and the experience to make us a better country. Harris, hed, kamala has chosen an ideal partner who is more than prepared for the job. Someone who knows what it is like to overcome barriers and who has made a career fighting to help others live out their american dream. Neededith the experience to get things done, joe and kamala have concrete policies that will turn their vision of a better, fairer, stronger country into reality. They will get this pandemic under control like joe did when he helped me manage h1n1 and prevent any bull outbreak from reaching our shores. Ebola outbreak from eating our shores. He helped craft the Affordable Care act and knelt down the votes to make it the law. Will rescue the economy like joe helped me do during the great recession. I asked him to manage the recovery act, which jumpstarted the longest stretch of job growth in history. He sees this moment now not as a chance to get back where we were, but to make long overdue changes so that our economy actually makes life a little easier for everybody. Whether does their waitress trying to raise a kid on her own, a ship worker always on the edge of getting laid off, or the student figuring out how to pay for next semesters classes. Joe and kamala will restore our standing in the world. As we have learned from this pandemic, that matters. Joe knows the world and the world knows him. Strengththat our true comes from setting an example that the world wants to follow. A nation that stands with democracy, not haters not dictators. A nation that can inspire and mobilize others to overcome threats like Climate Change and terrorism, poverty and disease. Anything, what i know about joe, what i know about they actuallyt care about every american. Aboutat they care deeply this democracy. Believe that in a democracy, the right to vote is sacred and we should be making it easier for people to cast their ballots, not harder. One believe that no including the president is above the law and that no public official including the president to use their office to enrich themselves or their supporters. I understand that in this democracy, the commander in chief does not use the men and women of our military who are willing to risk everything to protect our nation as political props to deploy against Peaceful Protesters on our own soil. They understand that political opponents are not unamerican just because they do not agree with you. , free press is not the enemy but the way we hold officials accountable. That our ability to Work Together to solve big problems like a pandemic depend on a fidelity to fax in science and logic and not just making stuff up. This should be controversial. Republicand not be principles or democratic principles. They are american principles. At this moment, this president and those who enable him have shown they do not believe in these things. Toight, i am asking you believe in joe and kamalas ability to lead this country out of these dark times and build it back better. Here is the thing. No single american can fix this country alone. Not even a president. Democracy was never meant to be transactional. You give me your vote, i make everything better. It requires an active and informed citizenry. I am also asking you to believe in your own ability to embrace your own responsibility as citizens to make sure the basic tenants of our democracy and door. Democracy endure. That is what is at stake right now, our democracy. Why a lot of americans are down on government. The way the rules have been set up and abused in Congress Make it easier for special interest to stop progress than to make progress. Believe me, i know it. White factoryhy a worker who has seen his wages cut or his job shipped overseas might feel like the government no longer looks out for him. And why a black mom might feel like it never looked out for her at all. I understand why a new immigrant might look around this country and wonder whether there is still a place for him here. Why a young person might look at politics right now, the circus of it all, the lies and conspiracy theories and think, what is the point . Here is the point. This president and those in power, those who benefit from keeping the way they are, they are counting on your citizenry. They know they cannot win you over with their policy. They are hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote and to convince you that your vote does not matter. That is how they win. That is how they get to keep making decisions that affect your life and the lives of the people you love. That is why the economy will keep getting skewed to the wealthy and wellconnected. How our wealth systems will let more people fall through the cracks our Health Systems let more people fall for the cracks. That is how we democracy withers until it is no democracy at all. And we cannot let that happen. Do not let them take away your power. Do not let them take away your democracy. Now forlan right how youre going to get involved in vote. Do it as early as you can and tell your family and friends how they can vote too. Do what americans have done for over two centuries when faced with even tougher times than this. All those quiet heroes who found the courage to keep marching, keep pushing in the face of hardship and injustice. Month, we lost a giant of american democracy in john lewis. Some years ago, i sat down with john and a few remaining leaders of the early Civil Rights Movement. One of them told me he had never imagined he would walk into the white house and see a president who looked like his grandson. And then, he told me he had looked it up. It turned out that on the very day that i was born, he was marching into a jail cell. Trying to end jim crow segregation in the self. The south. What we do echoes through generations. Ever are backgrounds, we are all the children of americans who fought the good fight. Greatgrandparents working in fire traps and sweatshops without rights or representation. Farmers losing their dreams to dust. Irish and italians and asians and latinos told, go back to where you come from. Catholics and muslims and sikhs made to feel suspect for the way they worshiped. Black americans chained and on for and hanged, spit trying to sit at lunch counters, beaten for trying to vote. If anyone had a right to believe this democracy did not work and could not work, it was those americans, our ancestors. They were on the receiving end of a democracy that had fallen short all their lives. The dailyhow far reality of america strayed from the myth. Up,yet, instead of giving they joined together and they said, somehow, someway, we are going to make this work. We are going to bring those words in our founding documents to life. I have seen that same spirit rise in these past years. Folks of every age and background who packed city centers and airports and rural roads so families would not be separated. So another classroom would not get shot up. So that our kids will not grow up on an uninhabitable planet. Races joiningll together to declare in the face of injustice and brutality at the hands of the state that more, buts matter, no no less. That no child in this country feels the continuing staying of racism continuing sting of racism. To the young people who led us this summer telling us we need to be better, in some ways, you are this countrys dream fulfilled. Earlier generations had to be persuaded that everyone has equal worth. For you, it is a given. A conviction. Know is thatou to for all its messiness and frustrations, your system of selfgovernment can be harnessed to help you realize those convictions for all of us. You can give our Democracy New meaning. You can take it to a better place. You are the missing ingredient. The ones who will decide whether or not america becomes the country that fully lives up to its creed. Work will continue long after this election. Dependshance of success entirely on the outcome of this election. Shown itnistration has will tear our democracy down if that is what it takes for them to win. We have to get busy building it up. Effortsng all of our into these 76 days and by voting like never before for joe and kamala and candidates up and down the ticket so that we leave no doubt about what this country that we love stands for. Today and for all of our days to come. Stay safe. Douglas. God bless. David we have been listening to former president barack obama speaking to the convention from the museum of the American Revolution in philadelphia. A full endorsement of joe biden as candidate for president saying he is actually his brother now, not just as Vice President. Also saying, harris is a 1 also saying Kamala Harris is a wonderful choice. I am not sure when in recent history we have heard a president criticize his successor is strongly has heated, saying he did not even take the job seriously. There will be a lot of comment about that. You can agree or disagree. I daresay you cannot question the fact he is eloquent. To get a reaction, we will go to kevin cirilli. He has our washington correspondent and anchor on bloomberg radio. I have been listening to this. It reminds us of barack obama and the pot and the power of language. It is hard to get a read right now for me about who else is paying attention to this and what effect it is having across the country. Kevin it was still like and optimistic. A rallying cry to africanamericans to get out the vote on november 3 but also an address to the obama coalition, something that propelled him in 2008 and again to reelection in 2012 to keep the faith and keep on. He is speaking just before senator Kamala Harris will address the convention. In terms of who hears the message, viewership has been remarkably in decline in the Virtual Convention era. It is unknown whether or not the former president s speech will have the same resounding effect and carry the same weight as it would have had with the pomp and circumstance in the pageantry in the milwaukee packed Convention Hall stadium. We just do not know. What we do know is that in moments, senator Kamala Harris will deliver the most important speech of her political career as she inherits the next generation of democratic leadership to bolster the biden ticket to give it credence not just to the base but also on the campaign trail, both virtually and throughout the country to try to mobilize and increase voter turnout in these important swing states. David thank you for being with us. Kevin cirilli, our chief washington correspondent. We want to bring back in rick davis and jeannie dano. Harrisave kamala about the,. On the things that struck me was this contrast between the barack obama today and the one in 2004. It is such a different venue. He has such a different man in many ways. Jeanne i do not think we have seen him that emotional. At some point, he looked like he might be tearing up. Very emotional, a very passionate plea to democrats to get out and vote in 76 days. If we are wondering who was watching, one person we know who is watching as the president because he is tweeting in all caps about Barack Obamas speech. He is clearly watching. It is impacting the president , who is questioning what barack obama and joe biden are doing. Talking to his millions of supporters on twitter. It has been quite a backandforth. As you mentioned, not common for a former president test president to talk so strongly about his successor. David i would love your perspective on this because i think a lot of what we have heard is people speaking to their base. Trying to motivate their base to come out. I thought a lot of what president obama was trying to do was talk to people who maybe have not decided. He said a lot of you have decided but think about this. He was trying to appeal to people who are not really committed right now. Rick this is been a consistent theme throughout the convention. Mobilize your base. Make sure everybody is going to vote. All the instructions on how to vote, what to do, have been instrumental in how this convention has been orchestrated. Almost everyone has been trying to reach out to the underlying voters to see if they can bring them on board the biden train. There is a moment here during pelosis speech where she talked about a blue wave taking over the house, the senate, and the presidency. You can tell this is a convention that is pretty full of itself. They think they can score a win. They want to go out and give voters they have never gone before. Thus all of the concentration on republicans. I would say there is no question where the obama household stands on donald trump. Both his wife and he really did a number on the president. I think it will be part of the story that comes out of this convention. David limit jump ahead and ask, is this a new day where we are going to have president attacked their successors or do you think it is a oneoff . Rick it is interesting because part of what donald trump is tweeting, you did not help your successor during the primary. The tradition is, the president who has just left office does not put a finger on the scale of the primary process. Donald trump does not believe that at all. He wants his finger on the scale all day, all night. I do think you see a disintegration of some of the institutional discipline that has been going on. This is what obama was stressing tonight. These institutions matter. Our democracy is at stake. It is not just an election. It is the institution of democracy itself that is going to be voted on. David you referred to the tweet from the president. He said, why did it take him so long to endorse drug biden . It does not look like he did joe biden much harm. You could argue he did him a favor. Jeanne it is customary to wait unless the voters have their say, which is what president barack obama said he was doing. When it looked like joe biden was the presumptive nominee, he has been incredibly supportive. I think the president s criticism falls flat in that regard. I think it is an indication barack obama continues to get under President Trumps skin as he has done since before President Trump ran for office and continues to. I would say on this issue of institutions, it is no surprise we find president obama standing in front of the cause addition showing reverence for the institutions of government in office. David we are waiting for Kamala Harris to be speaking. We are going to go to that. Here she is. The passage of the 19th amendment. We celebrate the women who have fought for that right. Yet, so many of the black women who secured that victory were still prohibited from voting long after its ratification. But they were undeterred. Is senatortold this Kamala Harris on recording. My mistake. I thought she had begun talking. I am sorry. I am corrected. It is life. Lets go back. The generation that followed worked to make democracy an opportunity will in the lives of all of us who follow. Way for thehe trailblazing leadership of barack obama and hillary clinton. Us toese Women Inspired pick up the torch and fight on. ,omen like Mary Church Terrel sammy lou hamer and diane mash. The great shirley chisholm. We are not often told their stories. As americans, we all stand on their shoulders. There is another woman whose name is not known, whose story is not shared. Another woman whose shoulders i stand on. That is my mother. India at age from 19 to pursue her dream of curing cancer. At the university of california berkeley, she met my father who had come from jamaica to study economics. They fell in love in that most american way, while marching together for justice in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In the 60s evoked in the streets of oakland and berkeley, i got a shoulders i view of people getting into what john lewis called good trouble. When i was five, my parents split and my mother raised us mostly on our own. Like so many mothers, she worked aroundtheclock to make it work. Packing lunches before we woke up. Paying bills after we went to bed. Helping us with homework at the Kitchen Table and shuttling us to church for choir practice. She made it look easy, though it never was. My mother instilled in my sister and me the values that would chart the course of our lives. She raised us to be proud, strong, black women and she raised us to know and be proud of our indian heritage. She taught us to put family first, the family you are born into, and the family you choose. Doug, whomy husband, i met on a blind date set up i set up by my best friend. Family is our beautiful children. Family is my sister. , myly is my best friend nieces, and my godchildren. Family is my uncles, my aunts. Family is mr. Shelton, my second mother who lived two doors down and helped raise me. Family is my beloved alpha kappa alpha, our divine nine, and my hbc you brothers and sisters. Toily is the friends i turn when my mother, the most important person in my life, passed away from cancer. And even as she taught us to keep our family at the center of our world, she also pushed us to see a world beyond ourselves. She told us to be conscious and compassionate about the struggles of all people, to believe Public Service is a noble cause and the fight for justice is a shared responsibility. ,hat led me to become a lawyer a district attorney, attorney general, and a United States senator. And every step of the way, i have been guided by the words i spoke from the first time i stood in a courtroom. Kamala harris for the people. I have fought for children and survivors of sexual assault. I have fought against transnational criminal organizations. I took on the biggest banks and helped take down one of the biggest forprofit colleges. I know a predator when i see one. Me that service to others gives life purpose and meaning. Wish she were here tonight, but i know she is looking down on me from above. I keep thinking about that 25yearold indian woman, all of five feet tall, who gave birth to me at Kaiser Hospital in oakland, california. On that day, she probably could have never imagined i would be standing before you now and speaking these words. I accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States of america. So committed to the values she taught me, to the word that faith and to walk by not by sight and to a vision passed on through generations of americans, one that joe biden shares, a vision of our nation as a beloved community where all are welcome no matter what we look like, no matter where we come from, or who we love. A country where we may not agree on every detail, but we are united by the fundamental belief that every human being is of infinite worth, deserving of compassion, dignity and respect. A country where we look out for one another. Where we rise and fall as one. Challenges andur celebrate our triumphs together. Today, that country feels distant. Donald trumps failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods. Strugglinga parent with your childs Remote Learning or youre a teacher struggling on the others of that screen, you know what we are doing right now is not working. Nation that is grieving. Lossoflife, the loss of jobs, the loss of opportunities, the loss of normalcy, and yes, the loss of certainty. Virus touches of us all, we have to be honest. It is not an equal opportunity offender. Black, latino and Indigenous People are suffering and dying disproportionately. And this is not a coincidence. It is the effect of structural racism. In education, technology, health care and housing, job security and transportation. The injustice in reproductive and Maternal Health care, in the excessive use of force by police, and in our broader criminal justice system. This