Jill Biden will try to stride out from behind former first lady Michelle Obama’s shadow as she delivers Tuesday’s keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.
The former second lady is headlining the second night of programming that will end in the nomination acceptance of her husband, two-term Vice President Joe Biden, as the Democratic standard-bearer.
Jill Biden’s turn in the political spotlight comes after Obama was lauded Monday for her first campaign appearance of this year’s election cycle. Biden’s set to make her remarks live from Brandywine High School in Wilmington, Delaware, where she taught English in the 1990s, reintroducing herself to the country as its potential first lady.
Teaching is not what I do. It’s who I am.
I’ll be giving my convention speech tonight from my former classroom.
Brandywine High School. Room 232. pic.twitter.com/NXx1EkqVGq
— Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) August 18, 2020
Biden will share the convention’s virtual stage with previous nominees, former President Bill Clinton and ex-Secretary of State John Kerry. Sticking to the theme “Leadership Matters” on a night hosted by actress Tracee Ellis Ross, they’ll advocate for her husband and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, as they prepare to take on President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on Election Day.
The party elders will be joined by political up-and-comers, including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former acting Attorney General Sally Yates. The lack of focus on Ocasio-Cortez and other far-left Democrats on the digital gathering’s schedule angered fellow liberal ideologues on Monday. They were frustrated by the attention that centrists and Republicans voting for Biden received on the opening day.
Ocasio-Cortez’s team fundraised off of former Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s role at the confab after he said the first-term lawmaker didn’t represent the Democratic Party despite her “outsized publicity.”
“An anti-choice, anti-worker Republican does not get to decide who represents the Democratic Party. Period. And he absolutely does not get to compare Alexandria to ‘far-right’ figures that define the Republican Party,” the team wrote.
Biden campaign co-chair Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond told reporters Monday morning that all speakers had “abbreviated” slots during the “concise” convention. He added that independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was allotted eight minutes, one of the longer spots.
“We are making sure that every segment of the country that supports the Biden-Harris ticket has a chance to express why they’re supporting it. That includes GOP members, GOP people,” Richmond said.
On Monday night, Obama offered glowing character testimony for Joe Biden, as well as a highly political takedown of Trump.
“Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is,” she said.
