The 2020 Democratic National Convention (DNC) saw its first virtual four-day event in which the Democratic Party formally nominated Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as their presidential and vice presidential candidates. The Aug. 17 to Aug. 20 event also structured a platform for the political base and brought in well-known politicians to endorse the Biden campaign. 

Forced to reconstruct the event into a digital format to abide by social distancing regulations, this year’s DNC lacked it’s usual luster of flashy decorations and frenetic energy, instead focusing its efforts on creating a curated, multimedia experience for viewers.

“The traditional idea is that you’re going to get a ton of people in a room, you’re going to televise the energy, you’re going to try to capture the moment, you’re going to drop all these balloons and all that stuff,” said Andrew Manson, a political science professor at Chapman. “So from a traditional mindset, rightfully, there might be some concern that it won’t connect with voters; the experience might feel drier or more abstract.”

In some capacities, the virtual forum allowed further opportunities for polished delivery. Prominent keynote speakers like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, former First Lady of the U.S. Michelle Obama and former Second Lady of the U.S. Jill Biden all positively addressed their personal experiences with nominee Biden and denounced the Donald Trump administration. In part, these speakers served as credibility for Biden’s campaign, attempting to evoke empathy in viewers by relaying anecdotes that paint his character in a positive light. But this agenda was furthered by a call to action for American voters to rally against Trump as “the wrong president for our country,” in the words of Michelle Obama.

In a surprising turn of events, feelings of dissatisfaction iterated among Biden endorsers were not restricted to Democratic Party speakers at the convention. Cindy McCain revealed the extent of her former husband and Arizona Sen. John McCain’s working professional relationship with Biden, backed by videos submitted of registered Republicans who voted for Trump in the 2016 election cycle and are now detached from the contemporary Republican Party. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell under the George W. Bush administration also announced his endorsement for Biden – and Powell isn’t alone in his change of party preference this presidential election as hundreds of other Republican officials from the Bush administration pledge to vote for Biden.

“The Republican strategy has been to stay with their same voter base and just emphasize it as much as possible,” said Joy Joukhadar, a member of the Chapman Democrats and a sophomore sociology and journalism double major. “Even though it might be detrimental to progressives or leftists, the best (Democratic) strategy would be to get as many Republicans on board.”

Joukhadar also commented on the efforts of the Democratic Party to “rebrand” Biden as a relatable American to connect deeper with progressives who criticize Biden as being another remnant of white male history in governmental politics. The DNC was truly a balancing act of appealing to more ambivalent Republican voters, Manson said, as well as progressive Democrats that are dubious to Biden’s more centrist values.

“In a way, the idea of bringing in a centrist candidate was absolutely integral to the Democratic strategy,” he said. “They didn’t want to fight fire with fire in the sense of bringing in someone who is going to be very far on the left, maybe too outside of the Democratic establishment or the mainstream to try to fight this fight.”

Additionally, Biden is currently overwhelmingly favored by voters in marginalized communities, with 89% of Black voters and 66% of Hispanic voters pledging their vote to him this November. His strong influence in communities of color was exemplified through the virtual roll call event, in which Biden was officially nominated by state delegates as the Democratic Party’s newest presidential nominee, allowing viewers to instantaneously travel to a variety of cultures and walks of life. With Biden’s nomination secured, Harris took to the screen on the third night of the convention, again reiterating Trump’s “failure of leadership.” Her speech was followed by former President Barack Obama, who weaved a thematic thread of unity in the face of hardship and blatant criticism of Trump’s presidential effectiveness. 

Capping off the convention with Biden’s acceptance speech, the new Democratic presidential nominee elaborated on his campaign promises in regards to supporting more lower and middle-class families on an economic level, social security for all seniors and accessible education for all.

“Sometimes you need the ally who is in the middle who can really make change, and that is an underappreciated aspect of all of this,” Manson said. “That is to say, rather than bring in the anti-establishment person, you package the anti-establishment message and the bundle of policies and you add someone in the middle. It may not be Obama that creates universal healthcare, but it may be the much more conservative or perhaps less appreciably progressive figure like Biden who does that – and that’s one of the weird things about American politics.”