Democratic National Convention 2020: Day 3

Former President Barack Obama is still editing his convention speech at this hour, putting the finishing touches on the most confrontational and blistering address he has given against President Trump.

A person close to Obama tells me that he has spent the last few weeks thinking and conceiving of what he wants to say tonight, but most of the writing happened after the eulogy he delivered for John Lewis.

In those remarks, he did not mention Trump by name. Tonight, he will — and he will not hold back, a person close to Obama said, as he decided this moment was urgent enough to break with protocol in going after a sitting president.

He will deliver his remarks without audience or fanfare from the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. The choice was designed to underscore how “our very democracy is at a stake,” a Democratic official tells me.

One other major change tonight — that CNN has learned Obama suggested himself.

Initially, the convention originally had Obama speaking after the running mate tonight. But once Kamala Harris was selected, Obama suggested switching the order so he could speak first, followed by her.

“It felt like an opportunity to symbolically pass the torch, give her her moment and spotlight,” a person close to Obama said.

CNN has learned that since being chosen as Joe Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris has personally spoken with several of the other VP candidates, including some of the finalists:

All of these women have publicly supported Biden’s decision to choose Harris, and we’ve seen some of them speak at this week’s convention.

And as Harris makes history tonight as the first woman of color to be nominated as VP, it is not a coincidence that this evening will also feature several other high-profile Democratic women who will speak in support of her. We expect that gender will be one of the themes tonight.

In a mark of the historic nature of her candidacy, Harris will be officially nominated by three women close to her: Her sister, niece, stepdaughter. But as a reminder of how unusual this convention is, all three women will be speaking virtually.

The third night of the Democratic National Convention is tonight, and it will take place from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET.

The two history-making figures who are linked together by Joe Biden are set to headline Wednesday's lineup. Sen. Kamala Harris will accept the Democratic vice presidential nomination, and former President Barack Obama will make remarks.

Here are some key things to watch for tonight:

Read more about the nights' events here.

Night three of the Democratic National Convention will feature Joe Biden’s former 2020 rival, Sen. Elizabeth Warren. 

Warren and Biden have stayed in touch since Warren dropped out of the race in March and the former vice president has publicly endorsed and touted some of Warren’s policy ideas.

A source familiar with Warren’s remarks tonight tells CNN she will be speaking live from a pre-K and kindergarten facility in Springfield, Massachusetts, the Springfield Early Childhood Education Center. The Education Center is run by the city and was forced to close in March because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is in front of this backdrop that Warren will discuss what she sees as the “failed federal response to the pandemic” and the Biden-Harris ticket’s economic vision, the source told CNN. 

It’s also worth noting that universal childcare was one of the key pillars of Warren’s presidential campaign and a plan she spoke about with frequency. 

Former vice presidential candidate Tim Kaine dished some advice to his Senate colleague Kamala Harris this afternoon, as she prepared to accept the Democratic VP nomination later in the evening.

Kaine went on to outline some of the challenges his 2016 running mate, Hillary Clinton, faced running for President, saying that Harris may face similar, if not worse opposition as a woman of color.

"The biggest pain was seeing the tremendous misogyny and double standards applied against women candidates," he said of running alongside Clinton. "And then when you have a woman of color, it gets even more intense... she has to face off against deep misogyny or subtle double standards that have held women back, and she has to face-off against the President who's not afraid to use racist lies to try to trash her."

But Kaine said no matter how Harris' speech goes, she is bound to make history.

"She is going to make history," Kaine told Blitzer. "That was not the case with my candidacy. I wasn't breaking a glass ceiling. But Kamala Harris is."

The Democratic National Convention has released text excerpts of remarks coming tonight from former President Barack Obama.

In his remarks, Obama takes direct shots at President Trump, who he says has "shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves."

Read more excerpts from Obama's speech tonight:

In live remarks from Wilmington, Delaware, set to take place later this evening, presumptive vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris will sharply criticize President Trump, saying his administration has turned "our tragedies into political weapons," according to excerpts released by convention organizers.

"Joe will be a president who turns our challenges into purpose," Harris adds.

The California senator will also use her speech to paint a picture of the country she and Biden hope to build together if they are elected in November.

"[I am] committed to the values she [my mother] taught me, to the word that teaches me to walk by faith, and not by sight, and to a vision passed on through generations of Americans—one that Joe Biden shares," Harris will say. "A vision of our nation as a beloved community – where all are welcome, no matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we love."

"A country where we may not agree on every detail, but we are united by the fundamental belief that every human being is of infinite worth, deserving of compassion, dignity and respect. A country where we look out for one another, where we rise and fall as one, where we face our challenges, and celebrate our triumphs. Together," Harris continues.

Read more excerpts from her speech:

"We’re at an inflection point. The constant chaos leaves us adrift. The incompetence makes us feel afraid. The callousness makes us feel alone. It’s a lot.

And here’s the thing: We can do better and deserve so much more.

We must elect a president who will bring something different, something better, and do the important work. A president who will bring all of us together—Black, White, Latino, Asian, Indigenous—to achieve the future we collectively want.

We must elect Joe Biden."

Here is a portion of the video that will introduce Harris:

Since Donald Trump’s election, young activists have led the charge in a number of protest movements. They walked out of school in protest of gun violence, striked from school to save the climate and took to the streets with calls for racial justice this summer. 

One in 10 eligible voters will be between the ages of 18 and 23 this November, according to the Pew Research Center. Tonight, young leaders from both the gun violence prevention movement and the climate justice movement will take the virtual stage at the Democratic National Convention.

Emma Gonzalez, 20-years-old and a survivor of the 2018 Parkland school shooting, will introduce a section of tonight’s program focused on ending gun violence. The section will feature other gun violence prevention advocates including Gabrielle Giffords, the former congresswoman from Arizona who was shot and wounded in a 2011 mass shooting.

Gonzalez is one of the co-founders of March For Our Lives, the youth-led gun violence prevention organization founded in the wake of the Parkland school shooting. Gonzalez, who was a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School at the time, famously called “BS” in an address to lawmakers and gun advocates at a 2018 gun control rally just days after the shooting. Gonzalez's intro during the convention is expected to include audio from this 2018 speech.

Since then, Gonzalez and her peers at March For Our Lives have lobbied for gun control legislation, called out the National Rifle Association, and registered new voters with a cross-country bus tour in the summer of 2018.

Earlier this month, March For Our Lives put out an ad narrated by Gonzales, titled “Our Power,” which chronicles the rise of gun sales throughout the pandemic, and the way that Covid-19 has disproportionately impacted communities of color.

“Our power means we refuse to fear for our lives. We refuse to live without justice. It’s our power, and we will use it," Gonzalez says in the ad.

Tonight’s convention line-up will also feature a group of young climate activists. During the evening’s segment on climate change, these organizers are expected to talk about what’s at stake when it comes to their future, and what they want from Biden when it comes to climate action.

President Trump was asked today to react to excerpts released ahead of former President Barack Obama's speech tonight at the Democratic National Convention. 

Here's what Trump said:

Trump took aim at the former president, telling reporters at an afternoon briefing, “when I look at what we have, and I look at how bad he was, how ineffective a president he was, he was so ineffective, so terrible, slowest growing recovery in the history, I guess since 1929, on the economy.”