Day two of the Democratic National Convention kicks off today with Chuck Schumer and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among the undercard of speakers warming up for headliners Bill Clinton and Joe Biden's wife, Jill Biden.
They follow Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders, who headlined the first night of a virtual zoom meeting that some observers felt sounded flat and muted, even if the production was executed relatively smoothly.
While presidential candidates usually keep a low profile during their opponent's party convention, Donald Trump is expected to continue his own campaigning to counter the anti-Trump message the Democrats have so far leaned heavily into.
Follow live updates
Trump claims he has 'never heard of' ex-Homeland Security chief who called him 'terrifying' and endorsed Biden
Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that he has "never heard of" the former senior administration official who endorsed Joe Biden and called the president "terrifying".
Miles Taylor, former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief of staff under Kirstjen Nielsen, became one of the highest-ranking former administration officials to endorse the president's rival on Monday, featuring in a scathing attack ad.
Mr Trump hit back against the comments following the first night of the Democratic National Convention, calling Mr Taylor a "disgruntled employee" and insisting that he had never heard of him.
Mr Trump hit back against the comments following the first night of the Democratic National Convention, calling Mr Taylor a "disgruntled employee" and insisting that he had never heard of him.
"Many thousands of people work for our government," the president wrote on Twitter.
Mr Taylor claimed that the president wanted to "restart" the practice of separating children from their families at the US-Mexico border following the termination of the widely-denounced strategy in 2018, among a number of allegations.
Kanye West qualifies as presidential candidate in Utah
Kanye West has qualified as a presidential candidate in Utah after receiving 1,000 signatures from registered voters.
The rapper will appear on the state's ballot in November as an unaffiliated presidential candidate, an election official said on Monday.
Utah State Elections also confirmed the presidential bid on Twitter, announcing Mr West on the list of candidates filed with the office.
State Elections Director, Justin Lee, said that Mr West's campaign received the necessary 1,000 signatures from registered voters required to appear on the Utah ballot.
Louise Hall reports.
ICYMI: 'Trump has no idea how to run a business': Billionaire Meg Whitman leads Republicans speaking out against president at DNC
Billionaire Meg Whitman was among four Republicans to endorse Joe Biden for president on the opening day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
The DNC is taking place online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and in a pre-recorded segment on Monday Ms Whitman shared her support for the presumptive Democratic nominee.
The 64-year-old businesswoman said: "I'm a longtime Republican and a longtime CEO. And let me tell you, Donald Trump has no clue how to run a business, let alone an economy.
"Joe Biden, on the other hand, has a plan that will strengthen our economy for working people and small-business owners. For me, the choice is simple. I'm with Joe."
The current CEO of short-form streaming platform Quibi was one of four Republicans who spoke at the convention on Monday in support of Mr Biden and against president Donald Trump, according to the Los Angeles Times.
James Crump reports.
Billionaire Meg Whitman was among four Republicans to endorse Joe Biden for president on the opening day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
The DNC is taking place online this year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and in a pre-recorded segment on Monday Ms Whitman shared her support for the presumptive Democratic nominee.
The 64-year-old businesswoman said: "I'm a longtime Republican and a longtime CEO. And let me tell you, Donald Trump has no clue how to run a business, let alone an economy.
"Joe Biden, on the other hand, has a plan that will strengthen our economy for working people and small-business owners. For me, the choice is simple. I'm with Joe."
The current CEO of short-form streaming platform Quibi was one of four Republicans who spoke at the convention on Monday in support of Mr Biden and against president Donald Trump, according to the Los Angeles Times.
James Crump reports.
UNITY 2020 -- the other, other, other party contesting the US election
After the first night of the Democratic convention drew mixed reviews from a seemingly underwhelming virtual audience, another party has stepped in to rustle up some enthusiasm for the polling booths in November.
Nope, it's not the Kanye West-Michelle Tidball ticket. Or the Libertarian Party.
It's the radical Unity party, which is running on the basic premise of "Not Trump, Not Biden". The plan is to reclaim the middle by drafting one candidate from the centre-left, and one from the centre-right, and have them govern together as a team.
They've been eyeing Andrew Yang on the left and retired Admiral William McRaven on the right, though they're quickly running out of time to get on the ballot. The top of the ticket would be decided by a coin toss, and then after four years the president and vice president would switch roles for a re-election campaign.
And, yes, they know it sounds crazy, as admitted in this new campaign video that dropped just hours ahead of the second night of the Democratic convention.
After the first night of the Democratic convention drew mixed reviews from a seemingly underwhelming virtual audience, another party has stepped in to rustle up some enthusiasm for the polling booths in November.
Nope, it's not the Kanye West-Michelle Tidball ticket. Or the Libertarian Party.
It's the radical Unity party, which is running on the basic premise of "Not Trump, Not Biden". The plan is to reclaim the middle by drafting one candidate from the centre-left, and one from the centre-right, and have them govern together as a team.
They've been eyeing Andrew Yang on the left and retired Admiral William McRaven on the right, though they're quickly running out of time to get on the ballot. The top of the ticket would be decided by a coin toss, and then after four years the president and vice president would switch roles for a re-election campaign.
And, yes, they know it sounds crazy, as admitted in this new campaign video that dropped just hours ahead of the second night of the Democratic convention.
"Is it crazy? Yeah, but it's the right kind of crazy," they say. "If this stupid year has taught us anything, it's that we have no idea what is possible."
Meanwhile, at the Republican convention: Kentucky student Nick Sandmann is expected to speak next week
A Kentucky teenager seen in a viral video last year wearing a red "Make America Great Again" hat during a reported incident with a Native American elder will speak at the upcoming Republican National Convention.
Nicholas Sandmann confirmed he would speak at the four-day event next week in a tweet, writing: "I can't tell you all enough about how excited I am to be apart [sic] of this years RNC!"
He became part of a national news cycle after a viral video showed him standing close to Nathan Phillips, a 66-year-old Native American activist, as he sang a chant near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.
Chris Riotta reports.
Secret weapon: Why Jill Biden is such an effective campaigner for her husband Joe
From The Independent's Andrew Buncombe in Davenport.
She says she knows the candidate better than anyone else. He likes to say he "married up".
Jill and Joe Biden have been married for 43 years, and during his time as both a senator and vice president, she continued to work, most recently as a professor of English at a community college. It provided a real-world, outside of the White House bubble perspective, people say was invaluable.
So when the 77-year-old Mr Biden called a raft of ex-senators, members of the House, and others, to head to both Iowa and New Hampshire to campaign for him and act as "surrogates", nobody's dispatch was important than that of his wife.
She has acted as an energetic, morale-boosting visitor to remote campaign offices, far from the state capitals. And because of who she is, she has said things about him and his campaign, other surrogates might not feel so free to express.
Last year in New Hampshire, she told told supporters of others candidates, to "swallow a little bit" and vote for her husband, because he had a better chance of defeating Donald Trump.
Read the full story.
From The Independent's Andrew Buncombe in Davenport.
She says she knows the candidate better than anyone else. He likes to say he "married up".
Jill and Joe Biden have been married for 43 years, and during his time as both a senator and vice president, she continued to work, most recently as a professor of English at a community college. It provided a real-world, outside of the White House bubble perspective, people say was invaluable.
So when the 77-year-old Mr Biden called a raft of ex-senators, members of the House, and others, to head to both Iowa and New Hampshire to campaign for him and act as "surrogates", nobody's dispatch was important than that of his wife.
She has acted as an energetic, morale-boosting visitor to remote campaign offices, far from the state capitals. And because of who she is, she has said things about him and his campaign, other surrogates might not feel so free to express.
Last year in New Hampshire, she told told supporters of others candidates, to "swallow a little bit" and vote for her husband, because he had a better chance of defeating Donald Trump.
Read the full story.
FACT CHECK: "They watch in horror as children are torn from their families and thrown into cages" -- Michelle Obama
FALSE: "The reference to cages is misleading and a matter that Democrats have persistently distorted."
At his campaign rally in Arizona today Trump hit back against the "children in cages" story that Michelle Obama used in her speech during the Democratic convention on Monday night.
"We never built the cages, they were built by Obama and the fake news is constantly saying I built the cages for children, I didn't build them, they were built in 2014," Trump said moments ago.
The former first lady used her speech to make a moral case against Donald Trump, repeating the line "that children are torn from their families and thrown in cages".
At his campaign rally in Arizona today Trump hit back against the "children in cages" story that Michelle Obama used in her speech during the Democratic convention on Monday night.
"We never built the cages, they were built by Obama and the fake news is constantly saying I built the cages for children, I didn't build them, they were built in 2014," Trump said moments ago.
The former first lady used her speech to make a moral case against Donald Trump, repeating the line "that children are torn from their families and thrown in cages".
The Associated Press, whose wire photos instigated the original "kids in cages" outrage, fact-checked Ms Obama on this after her speech, saying prominent Democrats have continued to cite cages for children as distinctive cruelty of Trump.
In fact, they said, the "cages" were built by her husband's administration for the same purposes of temporarily holding migrant children.
"Trump used facilities that were built during the Obama-Biden administration to house children at the border. They are chain-link enclosures inside border facilities where migrants were temporarily housed, separated by sex and age," AP wrote.
"At the height of the controversy over Trump's zero-tolerance policy at the border, photos that circulated online of children in the enclosures generated great anger. But those photos -- by The Associated Press -- were taken in 2014 and depicted some of the thousands of unaccompanied children held by President Barack Obama."
"When that fact came to light, some Democrats and activists who had tweeted the photos deleted their tweets. But prominent Democrats have continued to cite cages for children as a distinctive cruelty of Trump."
Cindy McCain video on Joe Biden to air at DNC
Cindy McCain is going to bat for Joe Biden, lending her voice to a video set to air during Tuesday night's Democratic National Convention programming focused on Biden's close friendship with her late husband, Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
She's just the latest Republican to join in the convention, after a number of notable GOP former elected officials -- including former Ohio Gov. John Kasich -- endorsed the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee on Monday night. It's a continuation of a major theme that Democrats have pushed through the first night of the convention -- an effort to broaden the party's appeal to occasional Republicans and disaffected Trump voters.
In an advance clip from the video shared with The Associated Press, Cindy McCain talks about how Biden, then a Delaware senator, met her husband when John McCain was assigned to be a military aide for him on a trip overseas. The two became friends, and the families would gather for picnics in the Bidens' backyard.
"They would just sit and joke. It was like a comedy show, sometimes, to watch the two of them," she says in the clip.
Associated Press
Called it - Trump references ratings in first few minutes of his campaign stop in Arizona
In a surprise to no one, Trump kicked off his campaign speech in Arizona referencing the ratings flop of last night's convention.
"At last night's Democrat convention, which by the way got very bad ratings I have to tell you," Trump said.
"Unity, they talk about unity, they want to bring unity and then you listen to Michelle Obama's speech, which was obsolete by the time it got there, she taped it."
Trump's Democratic convention counter-programming to begin soon
As we just heard from Indy Voices contributor, Andrew Feinberg, Donald Trump is in the midst of his counter-programming. After his stops in Minneapolis and Wisconsin, Trump is continuing today in Yuma, Arizona and Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The Arizona stop is about to kick-off, and you can follow along below.
As we just heard from Indy Voices contributor, Andrew Feinberg, Donald Trump is in the midst of his counter-programming. After his stops in Minneapolis and Wisconsin, Trump is continuing today in Yuma, Arizona and Scranton, Pennsylvania.
The Arizona stop is about to kick-off, and you can follow along below.
'It's like binge watching a Marriott commercial' -- Marianne Williamson on day one of DNC
2020 Democratic presidential candidate, Marianne Williamson, has some insight into why the ratings for the first night of the Democratic convention may have flopped n the ratings.
2020 Democratic presidential candidate, Marianne Williamson, has some insight into why the ratings for the first night of the Democratic convention may have flopped n the ratings.
Day 1 of DNC convention was a ratings failure
About 27 per cent fewer people tuned in to the first night of the Democratic convention than in 2016, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research.
The convention drew about 18.7 million viewers across six networks during the prime time speeches of Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders, according to the figures released by Fox News and CNN and reported by multiplemediaoutlets.
That compares to the 25.7 million who watched in 2016 across ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN.
The figures do not include viewers on other networks or on streaming and social media platforms, as the Democratic National Committee made a push to draw viewers to other feeds.
About 27 per cent fewer people tuned in to the first night of the Democratic convention than in 2016, according to figures from Nielsen Media Research.
The convention drew about 18.7 million viewers across six networks during the prime time speeches of Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders, according to the figures released by Fox News and CNN and reported by multiplemediaoutlets.
That compares to the 25.7 million who watched in 2016 across ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News, MSNBC and CNN.
The figures do not include viewers on other networks or on streaming and social media platforms, as the Democratic National Committee made a push to draw viewers to other feeds.
Odds are on Donald Trump bringing up these figures the first chance he gets.
OPINION: Trump has a strategy for dealing with the Democratic Convention. It's probably going to backfire
For Indy Voices, contributor Andrew Feinberg writes the fundamental problem with Trump is he's over-exposed, and he needs to make this race about anything other than Donald Trump, and he's just incapable.
Read the full column.
For Indy Voices, contributor Andrew Feinberg writes the fundamental problem with Trump is he's over-exposed, and he needs to make this race about anything other than Donald Trump, and he's just incapable.
Read the full column.
Democratic National Convention Keynote Teaser
Day 2 focus: Trump's global leadership deficit
A day after Michelle Obama's passion wowed Democrats, Joe Biden is drawing on a collection of his party's most experienced leaders at the Democratic National Convention to underscore what he calls a global leadership deficit that threatens U.S. national security.
Jill Biden will also introduce herself to the nation for the first time as the prospective first lady. A longtime teacher, she'll speak from her former classroom at Brandywine High School near the family home in Wilmington, Delaware.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State John Kerry are among the headliners on a night that organizers emphasize a simple theme: Leadership matters. Former President Jimmy Carter, now 95 years old, will also make an appearance.
"Donald Trump is just not equipped, not capable of doing what we need to do in the world today," Kerry said during a briefing ahead of the convention's second night. "What Donald Trump inherited, which was a growing economy and a world of respect, he's turned into a world of chaos, literally."
Associated Press
A day after Michelle Obama's passion wowed Democrats, Joe Biden is drawing on a collection of his party's most experienced leaders at the Democratic National Convention to underscore what he calls a global leadership deficit that threatens U.S. national security.
Jill Biden will also introduce herself to the nation for the first time as the prospective first lady. A longtime teacher, she'll speak from her former classroom at Brandywine High School near the family home in Wilmington, Delaware.
Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State John Kerry are among the headliners on a night that organizers emphasize a simple theme: Leadership matters. Former President Jimmy Carter, now 95 years old, will also make an appearance.
"Donald Trump is just not equipped, not capable of doing what we need to do in the world today," Kerry said during a briefing ahead of the convention's second night. "What Donald Trump inherited, which was a growing economy and a world of respect, he's turned into a world of chaos, literally."
Associated Press
Former president Jimmy Carter to appear at DNC convention on Tuesday
Former President Jimmy Carter will appear on day two of the Democratic National Convention, the first time the 39th president has appeared at a party convention in eight years.
DNC organizers confirmed that Carter, 95, and his wife Rosalynn would address attendees during the Zoom convention, according to the Associated Press.
The last time Carter appeared at a convention was in 2012, when a pre-recorded speech was broadcast on the convention's second night.
Former President Jimmy Carter will appear on day two of the Democratic National Convention, the first time the 39th president has appeared at a party convention in eight years.
DNC organizers confirmed that Carter, 95, and his wife Rosalynn would address attendees during the Zoom convention, according to the Associated Press.
The last time Carter appeared at a convention was in 2012, when a pre-recorded speech was broadcast on the convention's second night.
ANALYSIS: Slick, solid and easily digested but will Democrats' low energy live-stream convention help Joe Biden beat Donald Trump?
Perhaps, writes Andrew Buncombe, the party needs to emulate professional soccer and use canned applause
Four years ago, on the opening night of the Democratic national convention, Bernie Sanders delivered a soaring piece of rhetoric in which he urged his supporters to vote for the candidate who had defeated him.
The audience packed into Wells Fargo Centre in Philadelphia leapt to their feet, emotions running high, as the senator declared: "We have begun a political revolution to transform America and that revolution -- our revolution -- continues."
Four years on, admittedly barely looking any older, Sanders again had to urge his fans to back a candidate other than himself, albeit Joe Biden rather than Hillary Clinton, whom many of his supporters detested.
"This election is the most important in the modern history of this country," he said. "The future of our democracy is at stake."
Yet this time it sounded flat, muted. And it was not just Bernie Sanders. Michelle Obama, Monday evening's keynote speaker, who we were told would deliver the most rousing address of her life, felt equally low-key.
Of course, it was not their fault. Forced by the coronavirus pandemic to deliver live-streamed speeches from the safety of their homes to Americans sitting in theirs, rather than in a noisy arena, the addresses lacked the input of live applause and emotion.
They were slick, solid and easily digested, but they lacked the back of and forth of speaking to a live audience, the interactions and smiles and shouts and screams. In short, they lacked an actual convention.
Read the full column.
Day 2: Speakers and how to watch the Democratic National Convention
The second day of the Democratic National Convention begins at 9pm EST tonight, with Bill Clinton and Jill Biden headlining after Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders kicked off proceedings last night.
Who to watch
On Tuesday, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will speak at the convention, providing young and progressive voters with a voice among more mainstream speakers and Mr Biden, who is sometimes at odds with younger Democrats.
The second day of the Democratic National Convention begins at 9pm EST tonight, with Bill Clinton and Jill Biden headlining after Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders kicked off proceedings last night.
Who to watch
On Tuesday, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will speak at the convention, providing young and progressive voters with a voice among more mainstream speakers and Mr Biden, who is sometimes at odds with younger Democrats.
- Minority leader Chuck Schumer
- Former secretary of state John Kerry
- Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
- Former president Bill Clinton
- Dr Jill Biden
How to watch
The convention's programming takes place between 9 - 11pm EDT ( 1 -- 3am GMT the next day) Monday to Thursday this week, and can be watched online here.
Graig Graziosi reports on how to follow the convention for the rest of the week, up until Joe Biden's acceptance speech on Thursday 20 August.
Hello and welcome to The Independent's rolling coverage of the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
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