CHICAGO — Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention might have looked a bit like a concert as delegates wore flashing, light-up bracelets in the United Center during its ceremonial roll call for presidential nominee Kamala Harris . Later, former first lady Michelle Obama cemented her rockstar status with a rousing speech that had some delegates falling all over themselves. And a real musical artist even showed up on the convention floor — rapper Lil Jon strutted among delegates changing the words of his hit song “Get Low” to support Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov.
Tim Walz , doing so as the Georgia ceremonial roll call was announced. ALSO READ: Why Kamala Harris may get a big convention polling ‘bounce’ Still, Democratic delegates had no problem dreaming even bigger about potential musical guests for Wednesday and Thursday when asked by Raw Story who they hoped might surprise the thousands of people gathered at Chicago’s United Center. “John Legend,” said Robert Rios with the U.
S. Virgin Islands delegation, expressing love for his “Ordinary People” song. Robert Rios, U.
S. Virgin Islands delegate. (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story) “Madonna,” said Beth Davidson, a New York delegate and Rockland County legislator.
“Shows my age.” “Jennifer Hudson,” John Gumbs Jr., another delegate from the U.
S. Virgin Islands, said. But pop megastars Taylor Swift and Beyoncé got the most resounding votes — and their names have been circulating the rumor mill for surprise musical guests, even if reports indicate Swift won't be in Chicago this week.
(A top party official didn’t rule out the possibility of a Beyoncé appearance, Forbes reported , and remote video for either musician is always an option.) ALSO READ: Donald Trump deep in debt while foreign money keeps coming: disclosure “Oh, Beyoncé,” said Crystal Martinez, a delegate from California , saying her hopes for an appearance from the star were “the highest.” “Taylor Swift,” said Hannah Wroblewski with the Nebraska delegation, who considers herself a Swiftie and showed off a friendship bracelet that said “Vote.
” “Beyoncé” said Carol Blood, a Nebraska state senator. Hannah Wroblewski and Carol Blood of the Nebraska delegation. (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story) “A tie between Taylor Swift and Beyoncé,” said Keri Thompson, a Massachusetts delegate.
“How about together?” Raw Story asked. “That would be even better,” Thompson said. Keri Thompson and Leslie Templeton of the Massachusetts delegation.
(Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story) Thompson theorized a Swift appearance could be within reach. “We do have the wristbands that Taylor uses at her concerts. At least they’re using that idea,” Thompson said.
“Taylor's still in London, but she’s almost done.” Leslie Templeton, another Massachusetts delegate chimed in, “I would cry. I would cry for either, actually.
” If Madonna doesn’t show up, Davidson would be happy to see either Swift or Beyoncé. Beth Davidson, New York delegate. (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story) “They can't do a duet? I like them both for different reasons,” she said.
“My daughter's a Swiftie, but I’m with Queen Bey.” Gumbs would want to hear Beyoncé — specifically her song “Listen” — if given the choice between the two, as would Rios. John Gumbs, Jr.
of the U.S. Virgin Islands delegation.
(Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story) “It's a powerful song, especially what's going on and being able to have our own voice,” Gumbs said. “We as Americans need to have our own voice and speak up and fight for what's right.” Swift has not yet endorsed Harris although some experts predict it’s likely .
She endorsed President Joe Biden in 2020. Beyoncé has given a subtle endorsement to Harris by allowing her to use her song “Freedom” during her first visit to her campaign headquarters and in a campaign video. Musical performances have long been features of national political conventions, and the Democrats’ 2024 affair — the first in-person convention in eight years — is no exception.
But there have already been hitches. “Fire and Rain” singer-songwriter James Taylor was scheduled to perform Monday but got cut as speeches ran past midnight Eastern time. The Monday convention speeches started late in part due to pro-Palestine protesters tearing down security fencing, delaying buses carrying delegates.
Gumbs, for one, didn’t really care about Taylor — the older male one — getting scratched, but Martinez said she hoped the legendary performer would play on one of the convention’s final two days. “Maybe he'll have an opportunity to come back,” Martinez said. “I grew up with James Taylor, so it would be neat, but I understand.
” Crystal Martinez, California delegate (Photo by Alexandria Jacobson/Raw Story) Spokespeople for the Democratic National Convention did not immediately respond to questions from Raw Story about musical performances on Wednesday and Thursday. The panel on MSNBC's "Morning Joe' was wowed on Wednesday morning after sharing a supercut clip from Tuesday night's DNC roll call from Chicago that was run concurrently with a jam-packed rally hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris in Milwaukee. The clip contrasted the rowdy Harris reception with the grim roll call from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee weeks ago, which led co-host Joe Scarborough to blurt: "wow.
" Once that clip, along with a clip of comments made by Harris completed, MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski contributed "That was just the beginning." ALSO READ: Why Kamala Harris may get a big convention polling ‘bounce’ "Just wow, Willie," Scarborough added by addressing co-host Willie Geist. "I mean, you talk about a show of force, a show of power.
That was impressive, I don't think I've seen anything like that before. 15,000 in Milwaukee? Just packed! And then, you know, in Chicago also at the convention. Wow, that was crazy.
" "Yeah. 20,000 in Chicago and 15,000 in Milwaukee, perfect stage-craft as well," Geist agreed. Watch below or at the link.
- YouTube youtu.be The Democratic governor of Kentucky, Andy Beshear , slammed Senator J.D.
Vance (R-OH), saying he "makes himself the victim" in order to deflect from having to defend his views on abortion in the cases of familial rape. At issue was a comment that Vance made during a September 2021 interview. "Look, I think two wrongs don't make a right.
At the end of day, we are talking about an unborn baby. What kind of society do we want to have? A society that looks at unborn babies as inconveniences to be discarded?" Vance said in 2021. READ MORE: ‘My Wife Had This Baby’: J.
D. Vance Trounced for ‘Misogynistic’ Views on Women and Family "My view on this has been very clear and I think the question betrays a certain presumption that is wrong. It’s not whether a woman should be forced to bring a child to term, it’s whether a child should be allowed to live, even though the circumstances of that child’s birth are somehow inconvenient or a problem to the society.
The question really, to me, is about the baby. We want women to have opportunities, we want women to have choices, but, above all, we want women and young boys in the womb to have the right to life. Right now our society doesn’t afford that and I think it's a tragedy and I think we can do better," he continued .
Beshear appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe Tuesday. He was asked about how Vance and former President Donald Trump's abortion policy. Vance in particular has pushed for a federal abortion ban.
Beshear criticized Vance's choice of words in that original interview. “JD Vance calls pregnancy resulting from rape, ‘inconvenient.’ Inconvenience is traffic.
I mean, it is. Make him go through this,” Beshear said in the clip, adding that Republicans like Vance "don't have any empathy at all" when it comes to abortion. Vance took Beshear's comments to mean that he was hoping one of Vance's loved ones were assaulted.
"What the hell is this? Why is @AndyBeshearKY wishing that a member of my family would get raped?!? What a disgusting person," Vance wrote on X . Beshear told reporters later on Tuesday that not only was that not what he meant, but that Vance was just making "an attempt to deflect," according to the Courier Journal . He also clarified that he was not wishing harm.
He only wanted Vance to be able to "put himself in a different position and to understand why having exceptions, having reproductive freedom is so important in the first place." “I mean, J.D.
Vance knows that he and Donald Trump are so wrong on this issue. And so he’s trying to make himself the victim. Listen, Hadley Duvall was a victim, so were the women that were on the stage last night.
The couple that had to go through a non-viable pregnancy are victims,” Beshear said, according to Mediaite . Duvall appeared on stage at the Democratic National Convention Monday night, telling the crowd how she was impregnated by her stepfather at the age of 12. During her speech, she had harsh words directed to Trump, and his comments calling abortion bans "a beautiful thing.
" "What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent's child?" Duvall asked. The lightning rise of Kamala Harris in the race for the White House has energized Democrats across the United States -- but it is also delivering a boost to merchandise vendors. At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week, a cornucopia of swag themed around the internet-friendly vice president and her running mate Tim Walz is enticing delegates to part with their cash.
Vendors in the city's downtown area told AFP it had been looking like a depressingly slow summer. That is until Harris jumped into the race, aiming to become the first woman in the Oval Office, and only the second non-white president in US history after Barack Obama . "It's fair to say that the excitement and the enthusiasm that has surrounded Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, there's no comparison as far as Joe Biden or even Donald Trump , really," stallholder Brian Randolph told AFP outside McCormick Place, one of the main convention venues.
"This definitely has a Barack Obama feel to it, because it's an opportunity to make history. People are proud to make history." The 54-year-old Alabaman said his Pittsburgh-based apparel company hadn't even bothered trying to manufacture campaign merch until Harris threw her hat in the ring.
Now business is booming. - 'Momentum is growing' - Favorites include T-shirts emblazoned with Harris's face, as well as items bearing the slogans "We have the audacity to believe" or -- in a nod to the contrast Democrats see between former California attorney general Harris and Trump -- "Prosecutor vs. Felon.
" Experts say exciting merchandise, while unlikely to convert the other side, can drive small-dollar donations and turnout among those already on board with the cause. Randolph's firm, Wise Sayings, has been following Harris's campaign around the country and says enthusiasm and sales have been ticking up. "The momentum is growing," he told AFP with a grin.
"Sales are great...
Mostly, every customer is getting more than one item," he added. In the era of Trump rallies, it is Republicans who have been associated with campaign merchandise, with supporters showing up to campaign events wearing red hats and T-shirts bearing his campaign slogan "Make America Great Again." Inside the Democratic convention's "DemPalooza" expo, however, a cottage industry of Harris-themed products has sprung up, offering t-shirts, coffee-table books, posters, pens, mugs and jewelry.
- 'Cat Ladies for Kamala' - Swag-hungry Democrats snap up Harris-Walz camo hats and "Cat Ladies for Kamala" stickers mocking Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance , who once claimed that the Democratic Party was run by childless women who vest all their affection in their feline friends.
They rest tired feet at the Coconut Club, a relaxing space that nods to a viral quote from Harris about the tropical fruit, and snap selfies with cardboard cutouts of the VP and buy Harris-inspired friendship bracelets. Beside stalls selling the lighthearted wares are organizations such Voters of Tomorrow and the Progressive Turnout Project that are seeking to capitalize on the buzz around Harris to juice support for Democratic candidates across the country. Brite Blue Dot, a business that connects Democrats in deeply Republican areas, was offering Kamala car stickers.
The company sells merchandise displaying a blue dot denoting that the owner is progressive, allowing them to show their allegiance without attracting unwelcome attention. The symbol mostly goes under the radar but can pique curiosity, start conversations or connect like-minded voters without offending conservatives, says founder Joellyn Beckham. "It's just a symbol to say when you're in traffic, if you see one of these, you're not by yourself," Beckham told AFP.
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