Democratic delay: Why Biden’s DNC speech happened in the middle of the night

The first night of the Democratic National Convention ran significantly behind, with President Joe Biden‘s address to delegates ending after midnight Eastern time.

Biden’s speech had been billed as the keynote speech for Monday, but instead of beginning in the 10 p.m. Eastern hour, he took the stage at 11:25 p.m. Eastern and finished his speech at 12:18 a.m. Convention officials said the delays had to do with the applause several of the speakers received.

“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,” a convention official said.

One of the acts cut to get to Biden’s speech was a performance by James Taylor, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Taylor was seen on Monday rehearsing for a performance that was reportedly set to go between first lady Jill Biden’s speech and Ashley Biden’s introduction of her father.

The schedule began to run behind early in the night, with Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan taking the stage at 8:23 p.m. Eastern rather than during the 7 p.m. Eastern hour when she was scheduled. The convention got closer to the schedule when Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr took the stage at 9:18 p.m. Eastern, making his scheduled time of the 9 p.m. hour, but would eventually slip back after speeches appeared to go beyond their allotted time.

The 12:18 a.m. Eastern ending for Biden’s speech was later than former President Donald Trump’s lengthy acceptance speech on the final night of the Republican National Convention last month. Trump’s speech, which began roughly on time in the 10 p.m. Eastern hour, at 10:32 p.m., ended at 12:05 a.m.

While Democratic officials argue the delayed start for Biden’s speech was due to the program running long, some speculated the delays pushing the president out of network prime-time coverage of the convention were intentional.

The media is very East Coast focused though, you’ve gotta be pretty naive to think the prolonged DNC tonight is for any reason other than diminishing Biden’s visibility. https://t.co/LSd5DJzrON

— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) August 20, 2024

“The media is very East Coast focused though, you’ve gotta be pretty naive to think the prolonged DNC tonight is for any reason other than diminishing Biden’s visibility,” pollster Nate Silver said in a post on X, with his theory on the delay.

The delay did not go unnoticed, with Axios’s Alex Thompson reporting that a longtime Biden aide texted him, calling the delayed start “awful.”

One longtime Biden aide texts: “This is awful. He literally set up a campaign and handed it over to them—do they have to cut him out of prime time?”

— Alex Thompson (@AlexThomp) August 20, 2024

“One longtime Biden aide texts: ‘This is awful. He literally set up a campaign and handed it over to them — do they have to cut him out of prime time?’” Thompson posted on X.

The speech was widely viewed as Biden’s farewell after the president dropped out of the race less than a month ago. Biden’s decision to drop out came after a reported pressure campaign by top Democratic officials after the president’s disastrous June debate performance, which caused him to tank in polls against Trump.

Tuesday’s key speakers at the DNC include second gentleman Doug Emhoff, former President Barack Obama, and former first lady Michelle Obama. Vice President Kamala Harris’s running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), will address the convention on Wednesday, while Harris will accept the Democratic Party nomination for president on Thursday.