CHICAGO — I sat down Wednesday to indulge in my morning ritual of an espresso; this time at the Gallery Café just a couple of miles from the United Center in Chicago – the site of the 2024 Democratic National Convention. As I checked the latest news on my laptop a white gentleman with a short gray beard, dressed in red sweatpants and a dark blue t-shirt approached me and pointed at my press passes hanging around my neck. “You here covering the Democrats?”
I made a mental note to once again try to remember to remove the passes until needed. “Yes,” I said.
“I’m a Republican,” he said evenly.
“Okay,” I answered, waiting to hear what came next.
“I f***ing love those guys,” he said with a big grin. He then shook my hand, turned to leave after telling me to enjoy my coffee and dropped a suggestion about Donald Trump indulging himself in a manner not recommended for those who are not contortionists.
I didn’t expect that. I also haven’t expected the “Happy Warrior” vibe nor the spontaneity of celebrations along with the well-choreographed celebrations at the DNC that have permeated Chicago during the convention. But make no mistake, none of it is about Kamala Harris. It’s all about President Joe Biden not being on the ticket and the hope that now “we can finally beat Trump.” Instead of the dour activities and boring speeches of past conventions that came replete with ridiculous, false claims and pedantic reflections on a reality little share, Democrats have been celebrating a generational change of leadership and have – for the moment – not shown publicly any of the infighting characteristic of the party’s infamous ability to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. And they’ve been doing it all with a sense of humor.
It is representative of a quote attributed to John Lennon: “The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor.”
Prior to the convention, many pundits pointed out the shallow similarities to the Chicago Convention of 1968. There was the threat of violence, an incumbent president not running for office, and the potential for disharmony inside the party. There has, thus far, been no violence, the incumbent president has spurred the party on and instead of a romperroom of juvenile discord, so far, the Democrats look like they’re holding a political Woodstock – complete with hippies and conservatives. I half expected to see Hunter S. Thompson on the convention floor dropping acid.
After eight years of Donald Trump’s rhetoric, perhaps the Democrats have found an answer to Trump’s gloom and doom declarations and prognosis for this country; his petulant whining and his narcissistic, nihilistic and honestly repugnant behavior. Instead of trusting one man to solve all of our problems, the Democrats have embraced the idea that “we won’t go back” and we’re “All Together." (Note; cue the Beatles song “All Together Now.”)
In fact, the Democrats have reached back into their own progressive past to plot a course for the future. Time after time, each speaker on stage has talked about grassroots, unions, the working man and how the rich are killing the American dream by not paying their fair share in taxes. They’ve apparently struck a chord with millions who are tired of divisive rhetoric and want a better future “for our children and grandchildren,” as many speakers have opined. It has touched a nerve.
No one knows this better than Trump. He’s been riding the tide of public opinion for so long that he can sniff out a change in the current before anyone sees it. A fellow White House correspondent told me Tuesday night that Trump is panicking and increasingly angry with the Democrats for switching candidates. But, his vengeance and anger tour is apparently even wearing him out. “His latest speech was low energy. He looked dour. He looked wooden, more so than I’ve ever seen him,” I was told. Those inside Trump’s camp say he’s convinced the Democrats staged the entire “coup” that didn’t occur against Biden, as a “way to derail” Trump’s campaign. Remember, it’s always about Donald. Sometimes it’s true. The Democrats do hope to derail Donald - for reasons the Democrats have been detailing daily during their convention.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former fixer, sat in the front seat of a Lyft he, former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn (who testified in Congress about the January 6 insurrection) and myself were sharing to get to a Tuesday night party hosted by Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin. Cohen heard my conversation with a colleague about Trump’s recent appearance. Since he arguably knows Trump better than anyone, Cohen was compelled to say after I hung up that he doesn’t think Trump’s manifested recent behavior is all about the election. However, he concedes it has something to do with it. After all, Trump has undoubtedly seen the events unwinding in Chicago.
“The gloves have come off,” Dunn said. “I’m so happy. Someone needs to metaphorically slap him in the face. I’ve been waiting for someone to do it.”
The Democrats have taken it to Trump in speech after speech the first two nights. “Banana Republicans,” Congressman Raskin called them. “It’s not just the heat, it’s the stupidity,” he said to laughs. Hillary Clinton relished her chance to lambast Trump and what’s left of the GOP with a Biblical reference, the “last, least and the lost.” The alliteration continued with appellations like “Vindictive, vile villain violates voters’ vision” – truly a gem from Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas. The host of night two, “The View’s” Anna Navarro, offered this description; “Donald Trump can only hold two things; a grudge and a golf club.”
The Democrats obviously hired some decent writers, but beyond the one-liners and sarcastic zingers, the Democrats have also redefined who they are – and recaptured buzz words like “family values” and “patriotism” that Republicans co-opted years ago. The result is a Democratic convention that is celebrating its diversity in a manner I’ve never seen in 40 years of covering presidential politics — and in a manner that truly frightens Trump.
But Cohen, for his part, remains convinced Trump’s wooden demeanor and his consequential meltdowns of late are not entirely because of the Democrats. “I’m a life-long Democrat,” Cohen said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never seen anything like this. The energy is overwhelming, but there’s something else bothering Donald Trump,” he declared.
On September 18, Judge Juan Merchan is scheduled to sentence Trump on his 34 convicted felonies in Manhattan court. While there is speculation the sentencing could once again be delayed, Cohen is skeptical that will happen and believes Trump may be sentenced to prison, though he also believes Trump won’t be remanded until after the November general election.
“The way Trump thinks, is if it’s 60 or 90 days out, it’s not anything to worry about. But once he gets it on his calendar, once it gets close then he doesn’t stop thinking about it. He obsesses about it.” Cohen explained. “And if he is sentenced to prison, he knows that a significant number of Republicans will not vote for him. He’s afraid of all of that.”
Cohen believes Trump’s fueled rage and despair could eventually cause him to implode.
Former President Barack Obama pointed out Trump’s fear even as he made a joke about Trump’s strange obsession with, ahem, “crowd size” Tuesday night. He “hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator. It’s been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that’s actually gotten worse now that he’s afraid of losing to Kamala,” Obama said – echoing Cohen’s thoughts.
The former president appeared on a night that contained a roll call vote on the floor hosted by DJ Cassidy, with appearances by rapper Lil’ Jon and “Rudy” actor Sean Astin. Floor nominating votes are sometimes punctuated by energetic proclamations from individual state delegation leaders, but have never looked like a musical block party. The Democrats changed that. I haven’t seen this much spontaneous dancing since Al Gore at the 1996 convention in Chicago encouraged the entire arena to do the Macarena. Apparently, the Democrats have become better dancers in the last 28 years.
While that was historic, the masterstroke was including Republican Mayor John Giles from Mesa, AZ, as a speaker Tuesday night. He admitted on stage that he didn’t know if he would feel comfortable appearing before the Democratic Convention, which produced a litany of cheers before Giles issued a coffin-like closure statement on Donald Trump’s MAGA party. “The John McCain GOP is gone and we don’t owe a damn thing to what’s left behind,” Giles said to raucous applause. More than 20,000 people in the arena cheered wildly.
Hell, even Chuck Schumer, who rarely has the energy to do more than babble incoherently while sounding like a cicada, was semi-energetic on stage. After his speech, he huddled with reporters and told us he was as giddy as a school child about energy.
“It’s the contagious power of hope” that propels the Democrats, Michelle Obama said, proving to be a formidable speaker who was much beloved by the Democrats.
But it cannot be forgotten that none of this would have been possible without Joe Biden. Former President Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton and others have mentioned Biden, but once again his party and this country owe him a debt of gratitude.
He isn’t feeble. He isn’t angry at the world, though he probably harbors some lingering anger with certain of his “friends”. The truth is as former President Obama stated in his closing address Tuesday night; “History will remember Joe Biden as a president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger. I am proud to call him president, but even prouder to call him my friend.”
Monday night, Biden said he was once too young to be a senator and now he’s too old to be president - a moment that was not scripted. On that night he cemented his legacy as a bridge to the next generation and he embodied the spirit of Cincinnatus who saved the Roman Republic. “Now the torch has been passed,” Former President Obama said.
Joe Biden provided the spark that ignited the energy in the Democratic Party and spawned groups like “Republicans for Harris.” He gave his vice president his unconditional support. Biden spoke stridently and passionately. (On a side note, several Democrats said that had Hillary Clinton spoken as well in 2016 or if Biden had spoken as well during the debate, we would never have had to face the specter of Donald Trump in public office).
Yes, the Democratic energy is real, though even the party faithful acknowledge there is still a long road ahead and a close election at hand. “But, look what we’ve done in the last month,” Dunn said with a smile as we rolled into a Raskin party that was complete with hippies and conservatives.
Now the challenge is to convert the energy thus far seen in Chicago into votes, and then to secure an election Donald Trump and his minions will try to disrupt. The election process will include voter suppression tactics similar to what we saw in the last election. These are high hurdles, the Democrats admit it, but there’s no denying the sense of hope and elation in Chicago.
“We won’t go back,” the cheering multitudes proclaimed. The Democrats, for once, appear to be united behind a single issue: Defeat Donald Trump. Who knows how long the unity will last.
But never forget that all of that was made possible by the modern-day Cincinnatus, President Joe Biden.
“Thank you Joe,” the cheering multitudes proclaimed.
After the dust settles, should the Republic for which we all stand continue to do so, Biden will long be remembered for emphasizing and displaying true patriotism and leadership by putting the country’s interest above his own. And that folks is something Donald Trump could never do.
Trump’s destiny lies elsewhere as long as the Democrats don’t blow it:
“Nameless here for evermore. . . Darkness there and nothing more. . . Merely this and nothing more. . . Quoth the Raven ‘Nevermore.’”
