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DNC Night 1: Michelle Obama Earns Praise, but Will the Party Unify?

July 26, 2016

  • Ever since Hillary Clinton locked up the nomination after the California primary — an event that sparked thousands of resigned tweets — the question on everybody’s lips has been, “Will Bernie supporters come around to her candidacy?” And the answer is… “We’ll see.” With general election polls at a dead heat before the Democratic National Convention and FiveThirtyEight’s prediction model giving both candidates a near-equal chance to win, it’s clear that the blue team needs a strong convention showing to push back against Trump’s recent surge. But with a mixed reaction to the first day’s proceedings, it’s not yet apparent whether the party will be able to recover from the the damaging email leaks that have dominated the news cycle of late. The one thing everyone in the commentariat is agreeing on is that Michelle Obama’s speech to close the night stole the show. Here’s the speech in full, via CNN:

  • Source: www.youtube.com / Via: www.youtube.com

  • Not everything went so smoothly, however. When longtime Bernie Sanders supporter Sarah Silverman appeared onstage with Clinton booster Sen. Al Franken, she chastised members of the “Bernie-or-bust” movement to both applause and jeers:

  • Source: www.youtube.com / Via: www.youtube.com

  • In addition to a horrific amount of sexism and anti-Semitism, the comments on this video called Silverman a “sell out” and a “plant.” The video of Sanders’ speech, in which he called for the party to unify behind Clinton to defeat Trump, got a similar treatment, albeit usually less cruel. Commenters on YouTube videos are not an accurate picture of the voting populace, but their views — no matter how hateful and conspiratorial — do help to indicate what the internet’s collective id is thinking. If they are any guide, it appears that the Democratic Party still has a lot of work to do to overcome the email scandal. Will they get there? We’ll see in November. What do you think? Was night one of the Democratic National Convention a success or a failure? Let us know in the comments below or @WhatsTrending on Twitter.