CHICAGO, Illinois—The Kamala Harris campaign’s embrace of Charli XCX’s Brat has been all the rage at the DNC, from Tuesday’s brat-centric “Hotties for Harris” soundtrack to the Brat-green “Kamala” pin adorning many an attendee’s chest.
Surprisingly (OK, shockingly) no one perhaps is feeling more brat than Chuck Schumer, the 73-year-old Senate majority leader. Asked if he was having a “brat summer,” as so many of his fellow Democrats have called it, Schumer didn’t skip a beat: “Yes.”
“F—kin’ A,” he added, with a touch of Brooklyn brat, at the CNN-Politico Grill on Wednesday.
Never Too Late to Rock
After Gov. Tim Walz’s tear-jerking speech, guests rocked up ready to rock out at the Ramova Theater, where the Drive-By Truckers and—eventually—I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll punk legends Joan Jett & the Blackhearts—were due for the Creative Coalition’s after-party.
While waiting, and waiting, and waiting for the show guests worked their way through a menu that included a “confetti negroni” and szechuan peppercorn margarita. (Daily Beast Rating: Margarita, 1/10, Negroni, skipped.) While colorful cups of liquor were married to people’s hands across the theater, the food options of “classic sliders” and “golden fries” left much to be desired. But not to worry—the nearest McDonald’s was just a three-minute drive away and open till midnight.
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy took selfies by the main bar during the long wait while a DJ made some outre transitions (Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” straight into the Despicable Me soundtrack, anyone?) before the Drive-By Truckers opened. “We’re getting followed up by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts,” the Truckers yelled. “Holy f–k!”
Jett eventually graced the stage at 1:15 a.m. She was introduced by the Creative Coalition’s male contingent, including Breaking Bad’s Dean Norris and Young Sheldon’s Iain Armitage, who belted a few lines from Queen’s “We Will Rock You” into a mic on stage before giving way to Jett herself.
The Sopranos actor Tim Daly, the non-partisan coalition’s president, went distinctly partisan to say he was a “Joe Biden lover” who was “very glad he left the race.” “There’s been a lot of negative, fearful, hateful rhetoric, and this has sort of changed the narrative,” he told The Daily Beast. “And here’s Kamala, who brings this joy and this laughter and this energy to the whole process that is really exciting for folks.”
Only Two and a Half Men Show Up
The rock party was the second event for the Creative Coalition (motto: “right to bear arts”) after a $500-a-seat lunch calling for D.C. statehood. A distinctly B-list group of stars at the Palmer House Hotel included comedians Anthony Anderson and Busy Philipps; Norris and Armitage; and ex-sitcom stars Yvette Nicole Brown, Jon Cryer, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. A video that played during the luncheon featured Patricia Arquette and Giancarlo Esposito.
They munched on baked cavatappi, mesquite rotisserie chicken, and BBQ brisket—but faced a cash bar. (Beast rating: 0/10. Gauche)
Ferguson has already told The Daily Beast how he feels Taylor Swift is inching closer to a Harris endorsement, but he’s also impatient about another Swift decision: the release of Reputation (Taylor’s Version), the re-recorded version of her sixth album, which he’s getting antsy over.
“Are you kidding me?” he seemingly asked himself. “Always.”
Spotted …
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (who was not given a speaking slot at the DNC), fresh off a conversation with reporters outside the CNN-Politico Grill, getting into a black SUV even before convention programming started Wednesday afternoon.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood, walking the blue carpet to mingle on camera with social media influencers.
New York’s Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who wore a rhinestone Harris-Walz pin, to ask about her favorite moment of the convention so far. “I was particularly in tears during Hillary Clinton’s speech,” she said. “I loved the way she passed the torch.” (Gillibrand was one of many failed presidential candidates on the floor.)
Impossible not to spot: Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist who is 6-foot-8. He towered over CNN’s Van Jones—as the two men bro-ed down, with Jones calling Gilchrist “a real one.”
Not spotted…
Actress Cheryl Hines, a Creative Coalition board member who just so happens to be married to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Multiple reports indicted Kennedy would drop out of the race on Friday and endorse Donald Trump.
“She’s not here right now,” the Creative Coalition’s Daly said. “I don’t know what Cheryl is doing or going through right now, but I adore her and I’m a supporter of hers.” Hmmm…
Keep on Veeping On
JD Vance isn’t just running against Tim Walz, he’s facing opposition from Selina Meyer, or more accurately from Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who played the fictional vice president. Louis-Dreyfus chaired a session of female Democratic governors and started with a drive-by against the Jonah Ryan of the Republican Party by saying, “We are very honored to have eight highly intelligent, highly capable women leaders for the 21st century with us, or what JD Vance might call a coven of semi-menstruating witches.”
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