Jill Biden had nine minutes, Bill Clinton had about five, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a minute and half. Here’s how air time at the virtual convention played out.
Jill Biden had nine minutes, Bill Clinton had about five, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a minute and half. Here’s how air time at the virtual convention played out.
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Who Spoke Most on Night 2 of the Democratic National Convention?
ByWeiyi CaiandReid J. EpsteinAug. 19, 2020
Democratic politician
Republican politician
Jill Biden, the would-be first lady, took the most air time during thesecond night of the virtual Democratic National Convention, with progressives getting far less spotlight than party moderates.
Once again the night’s emcee — this time, the actress Tracee Ellis Ross — had the second-most speaking time, followed by former President Bill Clinton. But with less than five minutes of air time, Mr. Clinton, who has been a fixture of Democratic conventions since the 1980s, had a much briefer speaking slot than in the past. In the 2012 convention, hespoke for 48 minutes.
The night also featured the convention debut of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York — one of the most prominent members of the party’s progressive wing. She spoke for approximately 90 seconds to nominate Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a fellow democratic socialist. Herspeaking role was relatively small, compared with the time given to lesser-known Democratic state officials and even Republicans like Colin Powell, the former secretary of state.
A Different Approach
Rather than with a single keynote speaker, the evening began with a17-person keynote montage, reflecting the difficulty of elevating one person as the face of the party’s future as it undergoes an ideological and generational transition. Still, the montage did not include any officials who endorsed Mr. Sanders during the primary.
Stacey Abrams
Raumesh Akbari
Colin Allred
Brendan Boyle
Yvanna Cancela
Kathleen Clyde
Nikki Fried
Robert Garcia
Malcolm Kenyatta
Marlon Kimpson
Conor Lamb
Mari Manoogian
Victoria Neave
Jonathan Nez
Sam Park
Denny Ruprecht
Randall Woodfin
Over all the convention’s second night reflected the status of Joseph R. Biden Jr. as the leader of the party and his center-left positioning, something that was not at all clear during the 16-month primary. Anarray of White House hopefulshad battled to prove their progressive bona fides while Mr. Biden represented Democrats’ moderate wing.
Tuesday’s program was a shift from Monday night, when the partysought to displaythe breadth of Mr. Biden’s support, ranging from the party’s left wing to a number of Republican politicians. Mr. Sanders spoke for more than eight minutes on Monday.
How long each person spoke
The amount of airtime for each speaker has been among the most closely guarded secrets of the convention, with politicos lobbying Democrats in charge of the program for more time or even to get a slot at all during the eight hours of programming this week.
Party officials have said the average speaking time for all convention participants aside from the five major speakers — the Bidens, the Obamas and Senator Kamala Harris, Mr. Biden’s vice president pick — will be about two minutes.
In addition to the big speeches, the party devoted about a half-hour to the roll call of state officials announcing their votes for Mr. Biden.
Here’s a list of the main speakers on Tuesday night:
Tracee Ellis Ross
Actress; Convention host
Sally Yates
Former acting attorney general
Chuck Schumer
Senator of New York
Caroline Kennedy and Jack Schlossberg
Daughter and grandson of former President Kennedy
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter
Former president and former first lady
Bill Clinton
Former president
Tom Perez
Chair of the Democratic National Committee
Bob King
Former president of the United Auto Workers
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
U.S. representative of New York
Jacquelyn
Security guardwho met Joe Biden in an elevator
Chris Coons
U.S. senator of Delaware
Lisa Blunt Rochester
U.S. representative of Delaware
Ady Barkan
Progressive activist
John Kerry
Former secretary of state; 2004 Democratic presidential nominee
Colin Powell
Former secretary of state
Jill Biden
Former second lady; Joe Biden’s wife
Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Democratic presidential nominee; former vice president