DNC’s First Day: Sarah Silverman Busts Bernie Diehards, Sanders Electrifies, Paul Simon Performs & More
The 2016 Democratic National Convention kicked off Monday night (July 25) in Philadelphia’s Convention Hall.
Mirroring the chaotic Republican National Convention in Cleveland, the DNC wasn’t a vision of complete unity on its first day. For the first few hours, jilted Bernie Sanders supporters booed whenever Hillary Clinton’s name was mentioned, and even attempted to drown out some speeches with pro-Sanders chants.
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The DNC opened quietly enough, with Boyz II Men singing “Motownphilly” early in the day and Demi Lovato taking the stage as the evening’s first musical performer. Prior to singing “Confident,” Lovato urged politicians to break the stigma around mental illness and to pass laws providing better access to healthcare that encompasses mental health.
As one of the night’s early speakers, Minnesota Senator Al Franken took the stage to huge applause and a lot of laughs. Franken called back to his Saturday Night Live days with a speech that found him pretending to be an alumnus of Trump University extolling the virtues of the lawsuit-beleaguered university.
“Sure, he’s scammed a lot of people. But did you know that Trump’s School of Ripping People Off is ranked second in the nation, right behind Bernie Madoff University?” Franken joked. “And if you believe that, I have some delicious Trump steaks to sell you.”
Sarah Silverman to Bernie or Busts People: ‘You’re Being Ridiculous’
Later in the night, Sarah Silverman — a Bernie Sanders supporter — took the stage to urge other Sanders supporters to rally behind Hillary in order to defeat Trump and continue Sanders’ causes, such as overturning Citizens United.
“Hillary heard the people with the passion behind Bernie and brought those passions into the party’s platform. And that is the process of democracy at its very best,” Silverman said. “Hillary is our Democratic nominee and I will proudly vote for her.” She also tossed in one joke: “It’s so inspiring. Just a few years ago she was a secretary, now she’s going to be president.”
After Silverman’s comments, many cheered, but some of Sanders’ supporters kept chanting his name. Facing a divided crowd, Silverman and Al Franken returned to the stage to address the unrest.
“Can I just say to the Bernie or Bust people — you’re being ridiculous,” Silverman said to massive cheers and some boos. “Thank God they can fix this in post [production],” she joked.
Demi Lovato Speaks, Performs at DNC
After a few awkward moments, Franken and Silverman ceded the spotlight to Paul Simon, who performed “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” certainly a fitting choice given the raucous convention.
Following Simon, speeches from Cory Booker, Michelle Obama and Elizabeth Warren began to legitimately unite the crowd.
When Sanders himself finally took the stage, he wasn’t met with any of the boos that greeted his last public endorsement of Hillary Clinton.
“Any objective observer will conclude that based on her ideas and leadership, Hillary Clinton must become the next president of the United States,” Sanders said. “This election is about overturning Citizens United. Citizens United is one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in the history of our country. That decision allows the wealthiest people in America, like the billionaire Koch Brothers, to spend hundreds of millions of dollars buying elections and in the process undermine American democracy. Hillary Clinton will nominate justices to the Supreme Court who are prepared to overturn Citizens United…and end the movement toward oligarchy we are seeing in this country.”
Speaking directly to Democrats who have threatened to abstain from the election if Clinton is the party’s nominee, Sanders said, “If you don’t think this election is important, if you think you can sit it out, take a moment to think about the Supreme Court justices Donald Trump would nominate and what that would mean to civil liberties and equal rights and the future of our country.”
The DNC runs through Thursday, July 28.
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