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Walz's speech came after warm-up acts including Bill Clinton and Oprah.
Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention was marked by a series of powerful speeches from some of the nation’s most influential voices, each emphasizing themes of unity, freedom, and the urgent need to fight for America’s future by electing Vice President Kamala Harris in November. With the convention in full swing, former President Bill Clinton, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, and vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz delivered stirring addresses about U.S. values.
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Former President Bill Clinton took the stage with his signature charisma, reminding the audience of the stakes in the upcoming election. Reflecting on his own legacy and President Joe Biden’s leadership, Clinton highlighted the importance of choosing leaders who prioritize the collective good over personal gain.
“Kamala Harris will work to solve our problems, seize our opportunities, ease our fears, and make sure every single American, however they vote, has a chance to chase their dreams,” Clinton said. He contrasted Harris’s vision with that of former President Donald Trump, whom he accused of fostering division and chaos. “Donald Trump has been a paragon of consistency. He’s still dividing, he’s still blaming, he’s still belittling other people. He creates chaos and then curates it as if it were precious art.”
Clinton’s speech was a mix of nostalgia and a rallying cry for the future. He urged Americans to recognize the critical importance of the upcoming election. “We’ve got something better to offer the American people,” he said.
Oprah Winfrey, one of the nation’s most beloved public figures, took the stage to thunderous applause. Known for her powerful oratory, Winfrey focused her speech on freedom, challenging the audience to reject the divisive tactics of those who seek to sow fear and distrust.
“There are people who want you to see our country as a nation of us against them,” Winfrey warned. “People who want to scare you, who want to rule you. People who’d have you believe that books are dangerous and assault rifles are safe, that there’s a white way to worship and a wrong way to love.”
Winfrey’s speech was filled with vivid imagery and poignant anecdotes, as well as jokes.
“When a house is on fire, we don’t ask about the homeowner’s race or religion. We don’t wonder who their partner is or how they voted. No. We just try to do the best we can to save them. And if the place happens to belong to a childless cat lady, well, we try to get that cat out too,” she said, mocking a comment JD Vance once maid about "childless cat ladies".
Her message was clear: the best of America comes from standing together, embracing a shared humanity, and rejecting the forces of division. “Let us choose inclusion over retribution. Let us choose common sense over nonsense,” she urged, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.
Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president, delivered a speech that was as fiery as it was personal. Reflecting on his humble beginnings and his career as a teacher, coach, and public servant, Walz emphasized the importance of community, responsibility, and freedom.
Growing up in a small town in Nebraska, Walz shared how those experiences shaped his belief in looking out for one another, even when neighbors might not share the same views. “That family down the road, they may not think like you do, they may not pray like you do, they may not love like you do, but they’re your neighbors, and you look out for them and they look out for you,” he said.
Walz addressed the issues that divide Americans today, particularly the Republican Party’s approach to personal freedoms.
“While other states were banning books from their schools, we were banishing hunger from ours,” he declared, receiving enthusiastic applause.
In one of the most quoted lines of the night, Walz delivered a sharp rebuke of the Republican Party’s intrusion into personal lives. “We’ve got a golden rule: Mind your own damn business,” he said, drawing cheers from the audience.
Walz also took aim at the Project 2025 agenda being promoted by Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, despite their feigned ignorance of the plan, calling it “weird” and dangerous. “It’s an agenda nobody asked for. It’s an agenda that serves nobody except the richest and the most extreme amongst us,” he warned. Walz underscored the seriousness of the threat, saying, “When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re going to use it. And we know if these guys get back in the White House, they’ll start jacking up the costs on the middle class. They’ll repeal the Affordable Care Act, they’ll gut Social Security and Medicare, and they will ban abortion across this country with or without Congress.”
He concluded his speech with a rallying cry for unity and action. “It’s the fourth quarter. We’re down a field goal, but we’re on offense and we’ve got the ball,” he said, using a football metaphor to energize the crowd. “We’re going to leave it on the field. That’s how we’ll keep moving forward. That’s how we’ll turn the page on Donald Trump.”
