Is Thursday night’s Democratic convention slate of speakers designed to make sure no speaker upstages Joe Biden?
After three nights with some much-discussed speeches from former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the former vice president has some big acts to follow as he accepts the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination on Thursday via a remote address from Wilmington, Delaware.
Appearances by Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and former President Bill Clinton received buzz due to more to their political personalities rather than the content of their speeches.
The pressure is even higher for Biden considering that a recurring point of criticism about his 2020 presidential candidacy revolves around how he speaks: His tendency to stumble over words and phrases, lack of energy in some speeches, and rambling for long periods of time. Those occurrences give the Trump campaign fuel to argue that Biden is in cognitive decline. And due to the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no large crowd of party faithful cheering on their only hope to defeat President Trump, potentially damaging how Biden’s delivery lands with viewers.
Those speaking ahead of Biden’s acceptance speech include former presidential candidate and businessman Andrew Yang, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg — all politicians capable of giving strong and engaging speeches, but none of whom have political personalities or backgrounds so large that they are likely to become more of a star of the night than Biden.
Michael Bloomberg, the mega-billionaire and former New York mayor more known for a crotchety style than his capacity as an orator, is the last political figure slated to speak before Biden’s family introduces the Democratic presidential nominee.
Some political observers mused that the former president spoke on the third night of the convention rather than the last night because he would have upstaged the former vice president on the night Biden has been waiting for after three presidential bids over more than three decades.
you’re hitting on the reason BO went on night 3 and not night 4
— Alex Roarty (@Alex_Roarty) August 20, 2020
It appears to be normal to space out major speakers at the Democratic National Convention both in order to drive viewership and attention over multiple days but also to ensure that the newly official nominee is not overshadowed. Former presidents generally do not speak on the night a nominee makes an acceptance speech.
Commentators at the Hill suggested in 2016 that Hillary Clinton risked being upstaged by the convention’s all-star lineup that included the Obamas, Sanders, Biden, and her husband, the former president.
But the night of her acceptance did not include those big names. Gold Star father Khizr Khan was a surprise breakout star but not highly anticipated. She followed speeches from Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and California Rep. Xavier Becerra, while House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke earlier in the night.
The biggest names on the night John Kerry accepted the party’s presidential nomination in 2004 included former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Pelosi, and 2000 vice-presidential nominee Joe Lieberman. (Biden, then a Delaware senator, also spoke that night.)
The schedule was a bit more star-studded for Obama, who is known for his punch-packing speeches.
Former vice president and 2000 presidential nominee Al Gore spoke on the last night of the 2008 convention before Obama’s acceptance speech, arguably the highest-profile official that night. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin spoke just before Obama, his fellow then-Illinois senator.
Biden and 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry both spoke near the end of the convention night in 2012 when Obama was re-nominated.
