The DNC has had a party atmosphere in Chicago this week, but the once-every-four-years pep rally is set to hear serious testimony about gun violence on its final night.
That will include a speech from former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who narrowly survived being shot in the head at an event in Arizona in 2011.
Giffords, who’s married to the former veepstakes finalist Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), is slated to be the penultimate speaker before Kamala Harris takes the stage around 10 p.m. EST—assuming the event’s final day actually runs on time.
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Former Rep. Gabby Giffords and her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), campaigned alongside Kamala Harris and Tim Walz at a rally in Arizona earlier this month.
Elizabeth Frantz/ReutersOther Thursday speakers include Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA), whose son was shot dead in 2012, and a group of state lawmakers known as the “Tennessee Three,” who were expelled by Republicans after they advocated for gun control legislation in the wake of the deadly Covenant School shooting.
McBath will reportedly moderate a panel with activists and gun violence survivors from across the country. That panel will include Abbey Clements, a second-grade teacher who survived the Sandy Hook shooting; Melody McFadden, a gun violence survivor from South Carolina whose mother was fatally gunned down when she was 17; Edgar Vilchez, a gun safety advocate from Chicago; and Kimberly Rubio, whose daughter was killed inside Robb Elementary School in 2022.
“We’re not numbers and statistics,” McBath said this week. “We’re real, live human beings having such traumatic experiences that do not have to happen.”
Lucy McBath hit the campaign trail hard for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in Georgia in 2020. She’s expected to lead a panel with gun violence victims on Thursday night.
ReutersAlso expected to attend Thursday are the mothers of Black victims who died at the hands of police and vigilantes, including Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown, Axios reported.
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) told CNN that he plans to speak about the “awkward, uneasy coalition between the sane right, center, and the left.” He added that he he’ll make an argument to Republicans that they need to quit following “a man off the cliff” if they want their party to survive.
“You don’t have to agree with the politics,” he said, “but this is really [about] common decency—like the future of democracy.”
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said he hopes to appeal to the “sane right” and make the case for why Donald Trump is dangerous for democracy.
ReutersParty officials announced Thursday’s theme was “For Our Future.”
The DNC will kick off its main programming Thursday at 6:30 p.m. EST, with The Chicks performing the national anthem. The group, which has taken home 13 Grammy Awards, also performed an a cappella version of the song at Democrats’ virtual convention in 2020.
Amos Brown, a pastor and longtime friend of Kamala Harris, is expected to say a prayer ahead of the night’s speeches. MCNBC reports the speaker order will then go on as follows:
- Hon. Deb Haaland, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
- Marcia Fudge, Ex-U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA)
- Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)
- Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
- Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ)
- Gov. Maura Healey, of Massachusetts
- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, of Michigan
- Gov. Roy Cooper, of North Carolina
- Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA)
- Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL)
- Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA)
- Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO)
- Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL)
- Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI)
- Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX)
- Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ)
- Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson (“Tennessee Three”)
- Former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ)
- Vice President Kamala Harris
Donald Trump said Thursday he’ll be watching Harris’ speech in full, giving his followers on Truth Social a “LIVE PLAY BY PLAY.”
