Anderson Cooper laughed off the excuse from Democratic National Committee organizers that the delay in starting Joe Biden’s speech was because of all the “raucous applause.”
It looked for a while that the president’s speech on Monday evening could be pushed past midnight on the East Coast, but a DNC statement saying the “electric atmosphere” in the convention hall was partly to blame caused some mirth among the CNN panel kept waiting to deliver their verdicts on the opening night highlight.
“By the way,” said CNN anchor Cooper, chuckling, “I see a report that convention officials are saying that the reason went it long is because of all the ‘raucous applause.’
“Uh, that’s the sort of thing you build into this. We have had conventions before, you sort of know.”
CNN’s Audie Cornish added: “That’s amazing spin.”
A 30-minute delay meant Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Grace Meng lost their slots, as well as musical guest James Taylor.
Wisconsin’s former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes, told Politico: “It’s hard to believe that some people got cut because that thing went on forever.”
After his disastrous performance in a televised debate with Donald Trump in late June, Biden reportedly told Democratic donors he would no longer schedule events after 8 p.m.
But his bedtime deadline was forgotten in Chicago, with Biden going on stage at about 10.30 p.m. CT (11.30 Eastern) and finishing at 11.20 p.m. CT, prompting this statement from the organizers who clearly understood the impatience from some delegates to move the agenda along.
“Because of the raucous applause interrupting speaker after speaker, we ultimately skipped elements of our program to ensure we could get to President Biden as quickly as possible so that he could speak directly to the American people,” it said.
“We are proud of the electric atmosphere in our convention hall and proud that our convention is showcasing the broad and diverse coalition behind the Harris-Walz ticket throughout the week on and off the stage.”
There was no mention in the statement of delays caused by protesters outside the hall causing delays with security screenings and the arrival of buses carrying delegates.
Some empty seats could be seen at the start of the program as police dealt with a group of about 100 demonstrators marching against the Gaza conflict who broke through a fence. Police said they did not make it into the inner perimeter.
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