Fox News Democracy 2020: Convention Kickoff
Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum co-anchor a kickoff as COVID-19 forces candidates to get creative.
Monday marks the start of the 2020 Democratic National Convention as the presidential campaign, which has been upended by a pandemic in unprecedented fashion, enters its final stages.
The Democrats' convention, based with a production center in Milwaukee, will be held almost exclusively remotely, with delegates, officials and speakers participating in a socially-distant manner thanks to the coronavirus. To kick off the four-day event on Monday, Democrats will get the results of some important votes, hold meetings for a variety of caucuses and councils and see several high-profile speakers during the 9 p.m. ET to 11 p.m. ET primetime event.
Here's what to watch for on Monday at the Democratic National Convention.
THE 2020 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION: WHAT TO KNOW
Speakers
The main draw of the primetime broadcast is the slate of speakers, which Monday will include some of the women who were considered for the running mate slot that eventually went to Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., governors who have coordinated the responses of their states during the coronavirus pandemic and the Democratic presidential primary's runner-up behind Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
The lineup will include: Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; Gov. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y.; Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich.; Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C.; Convention Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.; Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La.; Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Wis.; Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala.; former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio; Sanders and former first lady Michelle Obama.
ABC also reported that Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser will speak Monday. And three Republicans in addition to Kasich will speak Monday night. The group will include former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, Quibi CEO and former Mitt Romney advisor Meg Whitman, and former New York Rep. Susan Molinari. Molinari gave the keynote speech at the GOP's 1996 convention. The Daily Beast reported that there could also be surprise speakers at the convention.
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Besides speakers, Monday will also feature musical performances by Maggie Rogers and Leon Bridges.
Theme
Each night of the convention will include a theme, and Monday's will be called "We the People," focusing on uniting the country amid the three major crises the U.S. is facing right now -- the coronavirus pandemic, the resulting economic struggles and the unrest over racial inequality.
Cuomo and Whitmer are likely to speak on the pandemic given their roles in their states' responses, while Bowser, according to ABC, will discuss the ongoing protests which put her city in the national spotlight earlier this year.
Meetings
Ahead of the main event each day, a smattering of caucuses and councils will hold meetings for delegates and others. For Monday, the DNC's Labor Council, Black Caucus, Women's Caucus, Youth Council and Ethnic Council, among others, will hold meetings between noon and 7 p.m. ET.
Trump response
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The Trump campaign will be introducing its own counter-programming beginning at 11 p.m. when the convention ends each night, which it says will highlight the “radical socialism” of the left, Fox News reported Sunday.
A Trump campaign official told Fox News on Sunday that the campaign, in response to nightly Democratic Convention programming, will launch “The Real Joe Biden,” a recap of the Democrats’ nightly events.
Trump himself will also be on the road speaking in swing states during the Democratic convention, stopping in Minnesota and Wisconsin on Monday. Trump will also be in Arizona on Tuesday.
Fox News' Brooke Singman, Morgan Phillips and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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