After enduring four days of obstinate support for their presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, the Democratic National Convention is set to conclude tonight. The last few nights have been marked by predictable appearances and rhetoric from known Democrats like former presidents, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Notably, even figures like Michelle Obama and basketball coach Steve Kerr decided to be part of the monotonous hoopla.
On the concluding day of this convention, Harris is slated to take the stage when the evening draws to a close, presumably to voice acceptance of her nomination. Though this approach marks a customary end to the convention, one can’t help but question what new perspective or message she will possibly bring.
The Democratic National Convention’s broadcasts were disseminated across various platforms which included DemConvention.com/watch and major news channels like C-SPAN, CBS News, and ABC News. In an age filled with round the clock news, it seems the incessant talks on these channels only served to prolong the Democrats’ ongoing dialogue.
CBS News slotted its prime-time coverage for the event from 8 to 11 p.m. ET. As expected, the coverage, anchored by ‘CBS Evening News’ anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell, did little more than parrot the aready well-echoed sentiments of Democrats.
ABC News also jumped on the bandwagon, airing two hours of prime-time coverage from 9 to 11 p.m. ET. However, it was not just ABC’s conventional channel; ABC News Live, their streaming news channel, took the repetitive dialogues a step further with streaming prime-time coverage all the way from 7 p.m. to midnight.
Competitor Fox News also took the chance to air an ‘hour-long special’ dubbed ‘Fox News Democracy 2024: The Democratic National Convention.’ Co-anchored by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, the show attempted to gain audience attention at 10 p.m. ET.
Amongst the ever busy news scene, CNN was no exception. Providing near 24/7 coverage of the Democratic National Convention, CNN decided to regard this event with a degree of importance that might not have been warranted. Their onesided coverage seemed endless, with ‘CNN Democratic National Convention’ taking center stage from 8 p.m. to midnight ET.
NewsNation didn’t trail behind either, providing special prime-time coverage titled ‘Decision Desk 2024: The Democratic National Convention,’ from 8 p.m. to midnight ET. The segment could’ve been interesting, if not for the co-anchors Chris Cuomo, Elizabeth Vargas and Leland Vittert, who did nothing more than rehash tired talking points.
Even NBC News and MSNBC were part of this sprawling news coverage. Regardless of the platform, whether their streaming service NBC News Now or their YouTube channel, they continued the trend of biased, four-day coverage of this convention with little to offer in terms of novel narratives or fresh insights.
The speaker lineup for the final day of the DNC had not been officially announced beforehand. However, the likelihood of speeches from Kamala Harris, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper was all but confirmed. It was no surprise that these figures were chosen to speak. After all, don’t they always choose the predictable voices?
Former Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger was also expected to take the stage, presumably to balance the night with a seemingly bipartisan flair. However, given the overall tenor of the event, it is not clear what sort of difference his participation might elicit.
A perhaps faintly interesting feature of the night was the appearance of the Tennessee Three, comprised of State Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones, and Justin Pearson. This group gained some national attention after battling expulsion votes from Republicans last year over their radical gun control stances in the General Assembly. However, their inclusion only served to consolidate the Democrats’ existing narratives, offering little promise of anything new.
To wrap up the night and close the convention, pop star Pink was expected to perform before Kamala Harris’s acceptance speech. One can only expect that her performance will be as lackluster as the rest of this event, whose primary aim seemed to be solidifying the existing divides in American politics rather than bridging them.