CHICAGO — The conclusion of the Democratic National Convention left party members energized in the battle to keep control of the White House and Senate while attempting to flip the House away from GOP control.
Similarly, last month’s Republican National Convention, which took place just after former President Donald Trump barely survived an assassination attempt, saw the GOP rally around Trump and show their enthusiasm for their fight against President Joe Biden.
But Biden’s shocking decision to end his campaign and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris upended the 2024 campaign, giving Democrats a much-needed reset before November.
At the RNC, Trump appeared in his red VIP box, emblazoned with the phrase Make America Great Once Again, every night during the convention.
On the first night of the GOP convention, Trump even appeared onstage to an adoring crowd of supporters after the chaotic attack on his life. The former president attempted to unite the nation and move away from politically violent language in his acceptance speech on the final night of the RNC. But in the weeks afterward, he would revert back to attacking Democrats and trashing his opponents.
Harris sat in a VIP box that did not have the throne-like adornment that Trump’s did, likely tying into the Democrat’s populist push, but she would also shock the crowd by appearing onstage on the first night of the DNC on Monday. However, unlike Trump, on the convention’s first day, the vice president delivered a few remarks to the attendees.
“This is going to be a great week, and I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible President Joe Biden,” Harris said. “Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you will continue to do. We are forever grateful to you. I thank you.”
The next night, Harris would again appear at the convention, but this time, she and Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) were seen via video. The pair were campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the Fiserv Forum, where the RNC had been held. Harris thanked party members after they had concluded the ceremonial roll call nominating Harris and Walz as the Democratic ticket.
“We are so honored to be your nominees. This is a people-powered campaign, and together, we will chart a new way forward,” Harris said in brief remarks televised at the convention.
The Democratic ceremonial roll vote upstaged the RNC’s version, according to commentators across both political parties.
Members of all 57 delegations showcased their home-state pride during the roll-call vote, complete with several celebrity guest surprises as each state used snippets of popular music during their time. But it was Georgia that stole the show by bringing out rapper Lil Jon, who performed his hit single “Turn Down For What,” delighting the entire crowd.
In contrast, at the RNC, the roll call vote was a more formal affair that did not include celebrity surprises or the use of popular music.
“I’m sorry but this #DNC2024 roll call with DJ Cassidy, themed state music and party/club atmosphere is blowing the RNC’s roll call out of the water,” wrote Meghan McCain, the daughter of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, on X. “It looks like a giant party and celebration and everyone in that room looks like they’re having a blast.”
I’m sorry but this #DNC2024 roll call with DJ Cassidy, themed state music and party/club atmosphere is blowing the RNC’s roll call out of the water.
It looks like a giant party and celebration and everyone in that room looks like they’re having a blast.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) August 21, 2024
The RNC was, in essence, a Trump coronation as his version of the GOP took forth. Former primary rivals, including Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, took to the stage to urge the GOP and independent voters to support Trump in November.
“To me, the biggest difference between the Republican convention and the Democratic convention — at least thus far — is the DNC in Chicago is a real political party convention whereas the RNC in Milwaukee was a Trump convention,” Dennis Lennox, a GOP strategist, told the Washington Examiner.
One key point in the difference between the RNC and DNC was that Democratic Party leaders all flocked to speak on Harris’s behalf, including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, as did former 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and former first lady Michelle Obama.
“You have pretty much every Democrat grandee there; many are speaking,” Lennox added. “In Milwaukee, you had major Republican players not invited, particularly to speak, because they’ve been declared persona non grata by the titular head of the party.”
Craig Snyder, director of “Haley Voters for Harris,” echoed claims that Democrats were more united behind Harris than Republicans were united around Trump in an interview with the Washington Examiner during the DNC.
“Go back and look at the Republican Convention in Milwaukee; there is a living former president of the United States who’s Republican; he wasn’t there,” Snyder said, referring to former President George W. Bush. “There are a couple of living former Republican vice presidents of the United States and nominees.”
Former Vice President Mike Pence did not appear at the convention, nor did former Vice President Dick Cheney or former Vice President Dan Quayle. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) and former House Speaker Paul Ryan, the 2012 GOP presidential and vice presidential nominees, also did not attend the RNC.
“There are people who served in Donald Trump’s Cabinet at the highest levels, like dozens of them, who weren’t there,” Snyder added. “So this anti-Trump movement within the Republican Party is large, and it’s not the majority of base voters, not pretending it is, but it’s large, and it’s making its voice heard in this particular contest, in part by being here, in part by not being there.”
At the RNC, there was a more concentrated push to appeal to traditional forms of masculinity, with Trump even walking onstage to the song “This is a Man’s World.” In one of the most memorable moments, the legendary wrestler Hulk Hogan tore off his shirt while speaking on the final night of the GOP convention, revealing a Trump-Vance T-shirt.
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The DNC attempted to appeal more to women, particularly single women who were galvanized by the loss of abortion rights or infuriated by comments from Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Trump’s running mate, who, in 2021, referred to some women as “childless cat ladies.”
“I think it’s important more than ever, especially with the threat that we’re seeing on the other side and our reproductive rights being, you know, in jeopardy more so than ever, that we’ve had to come together,” said Katherine Hennigan, a California delegate from Los Angeles.