The Latest: Obama to speak from American Revolution Museum
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 4 years, 5 months AGO
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Democratic National Convention (all times local):
3:10 p.m.
Former President Barack Obama will deliver his live address to the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday from the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia.
Obama is among the headliners on the convention’s third night and is expected to speak ahead of Kamala Harris, Joe Biden’s running mate. Harris and Obama are both barrier-breaking figures, he as the nation’s first Black president and Harris as the first Black woman on a major party ticket.
Obama is expected to make the case that the cornerstone of American democracy is at stake in the election as he implores voters to back Biden and Harris.
Obama is also expected to make a personal appeal on behalf of his former vice president. The two men forged a close personal relationship during their eight years together in the White House.
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2:30 p.m.
Democratic party officials are characterizing as an “oversight” the appearance of uniformed military officers in a roll call as part of this year’s national convention.
In a video segment shown during Tuesday night’s virtual convention, people from U.S. states and territories participated in a roll call of the delegates allocated to the presidential candidates, culminating in the nomination of Vice President Joe Biden.
During American Samoa’s segment, two uniformed Army soldiers were seen on either side of the territory’s delegates. Personnel serving in the U.S. military are allowed to support candidates and attend political events but are not supposed to do so while in uniform.
Asked about the video during a call with reporters on Wednesday, Democratic Party spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said “the production of that was just an oversight.”
Hinojosa also said each state and territory chose how to set up its segment to reflect its area, “and that is one that the American Samoa delegation wanted to highlight.”
1 p.m.
The White House says Melania Trump will address the Republican National Convention next week.
Spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham says Melania Trump will speak live Tuesday night from the Rose Garden, which has been undergoing a weeks-long renovation at the first lady’s direction.
Mrs. Trump sought to introduce herself to voters with a speech at the Republicans’ 2016 national convention. But the address was later found to have included lines similar to what Michelle Obama said in her speech at the 2008 Democratic national convention.
A speechwriter for the Trump Organization – President Donald Trump’s company – ended up taking the blame.
President Trump is set to formally accept his party’s nomination for reelection in a speech from the White House lawn a week from Thursday.
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9:28 a.m.
Kamala Harris’ husband is taking a leave of absence from his entertainment law firm as the California senator officially becomes Democrats’ nominee for vice president.
DLA Piper says on its website Wednesday that Douglas Emhoff “is currently on a leave of absence from the firm,” but specified no date when his leave began. A spokeswoman for Harris did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
According to the firm, Emhoff has practiced for more than 25 years “aggressively litigating high-stakes cases in the public glare or acting as a trusted advisor behind the scenes” and representing “large domestic and international corporations and some of today’s highest profile individuals and influencers.” He is licensed to practice in California and Washington, D.C.
During Harris’ presidential primary bid, Emhoff was the unofficial leader of a band of Harris supporters known as the #Khive. The couple married in 2014, and Emhoff’s two adult children call Harris “Momala,” a play on her name and the Yiddish word for “little mother.”
Harris will formally accept her nomination as former Vice President Joe Biden’s running mate during Democrats’ virtual convention on Wednesday, the first Black woman to join a major party ticket.
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8:30 a.m.
Jill Biden is pushing back against President Donald Trump's claims her husband, Joe Biden, lacks the stamina to serve as president and is calling a Trump campaign ad questioning his mental fitness “ridiculous.”
Speaking on NBC’s “Today" show on Wednesday, Jill Biden defended the Democratic presidential nominee against Trump's allegations. She says Joe Biden is “on the phone every single minute of the day” talking to governors.
Jill Biden says her husband spends time on Zoom chats and doing fundraisers and briefings and "he doesn’t stop from 9 in the morning till 11 at night.”
Jill Biden taught at a northern Virginia community college while her husband served as Barack Obama's vice president. She also said Wednesday she intends to return to teaching in 2021 should he win the White House.
She told CBS she'll definitely continue teaching, saying, “Yes, yes. I’m a teacher — that’s who I am.”
Democrats formally nominated Joe Biden as their presidential candidate on Tuesday night. His vice presidential pick, Kamala Harris, speaks at their virtual convention on Wednesday night.