Live coverage: Democratic convention will feature Jill Biden, Bill Clinton and nominating roll call
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Former second lady Jill Biden and former President Bill Clinton will be among the headliners Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention.
But the keynote speaker for the convention that will nominate former Vice President Joe Biden to challenge President Donald Trump on Nov. 3 will be delivered by a group of 17 rising stars in the party, including Stacey Abrams and Reps. Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania and Colin Allred of Texas.
Abrams is a former Georgia lawmaker who was the first Black woman nominated by a major party to run for governor, in a race she lost narrowly. Lamb and Allred are Democrats in districts Trump won in 2016.
Jill Biden will take from her time as a teacher
Jill Biden is expected to speak about being a teacher during the pandemic from the Delaware high school classroom where she taught while Joe Biden was a senator.
“You can hear the anxiety that echoes down empty hallways,” she said in prepared remarks. “There’s no scent of new notebooks or freshly waxed floors. The rooms are dark and the bright young faces that should fill them are confined to boxes on a computer screen.”
Clinton expected to go after Trump
Clinton is expected to criticize Trump over the high unemployment rate at a time when he should be leading the world.
“At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center,” Clinton said in prepared remarks. “Instead, it’s a storm center. There’s only chaos. Just one thing never changes—his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. The buck never stops there.”
A theme of leadership
The theme of the night is: “Leadership Matters,” John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee and former secretary of state, is among the speakers. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, a vocal critic of Trump, will also be speaking.
Kerry is expected to criticize Trump for pretending that Russia didn’t try to influence the 2016 election and for failing to act against bounties that Russia allegedly put on U.S. troops.
“So he won’t defend our country,” Kerry said in a prepared remarks. “He doesn’t know how to defend our troops. The only person he’s interested in defending is himself.”
