The 2024 Democratic National Convention will feature speeches from President Joe Biden and two former living Democratic presidents.
A new report from NBC News revealed Biden, ex-Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and former secretary of state and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will speak at the event. The DNC will take place next week in Chicago from Aug. 19 to Aug. 22.
Those familiar with the DNC’s plan also said that former President Jimmy Carter’s grandson would speak on behalf of his grandfather. This means the families of all living Democratic presidents will be in attendance at the event. George W. Bush, the only living Republican former president besides Trump, did not attend this year’s Republican National Convention.
It is unclear the order in which these big-name Democrats will speak throughout the week. Biden is reportedly expected to speak on the first night of the convention as the programming of the convention that night will focus on Biden’s political legacy and his administration’s accomplishments.
“Monday night is Joe’s night, and then he’ll turn the keys over,” a source familiar with the planning of the DNC told CNN.
Despite being the president, Biden’s speech will be the first time he has addressed the convention as the leader of the party since the 2020 Democratic National Convention was moved to a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New York City Councilman Yusef Salaam, one of the “Central Park Five,” was also invited to speak at the convention, according to Semafor. It was not made known whether he accepted the offer.
Salaam was arrested and convicted in 1989, along with four others, for the rape and murder of a solo jogger in Central Park. All five were exonerated in 2002 after DNA evidence proved their innocence.
Salaam has been a longtime critic of former President Donald Trump after he took out full-page advertisements calling for the return of the death penalty amid public outcry over the case. Though Trump didn’t mention Salaam or the other four, Salaam has directly blamed him for the public outcry over the case.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg reportedly landed a prime-time speaking slot on Wednesday, two people familiar with the matter told Politico.
Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL), and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson are also expected to take the stage. Johnson is slated to speak Monday and Pritzker Tuesday, according to NBC5. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was the first to report Warnock is expected to speak.
Pritzker is the chief executive of the Democratic stronghold hosting the convention next week. The Illinois governor was once floated as a replacement for Biden to head the Democratic ticket, and then as a possible running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris before she ended up tapping Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) for the job.
Democrats are also holding out hope that singers Beyonce and Taylor Swift will appear, the New York Times reported, potentially performing on the final night of the convention. Beyonce is a more realistic prospect, having been vocal in her support of Democrats in the past. She has also given permission to the Harris campaign to use one of her songs at rallies.
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Swift entered a brief political foray in 2020, endorsing Biden, before backing away from politics after the election. She hasn’t commented on the current election.
Harris will accept the party’s nomination on Thursday night. Walz is expected to address the convention on Wednesday. Harris’s husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, is also expected to address the convention.
