The Democratic National Convention has learned its lesson from Joe Biden—and that's cutting it short.
The DNC is moving its programming blocks on Tuesday up earlier after President Biden’s longwinded speech Monday night dragged on past midnight ET, forcing convention producers nix speakers like ex-DNC chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) and a musical performance by James Taylor from the stage.
Biden’s nearly 50-minute speech acknowledging his legacy and passing the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris finished around 12:20 a.m. ET, long after the networks’ primetime hours. Convention officials blamed “raucous applause interrupting speaker after speaker” for the delay and highlighted the “electric atmosphere” of the night‘s events, which saw speakers like a “Fight Song”-soundtracked Hillary Clinton and a monotonous New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
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“We made some real-time adjustments,” convention executive director Alex Hornbrook said at a Tuesday briefing, according to CNN. He said the convention moved its start time up to 5:30 p.m. CT “to make sure that we stay on track tonight.”
Former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, are the featured headline speakers Tuesday night. They are expected to be joined by Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer—assuming that the Obamas and Emhoff don't pull a surprise filibuster.
