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Disunity In The DNC: Democratic Convention Marred By Protests, Party Rifts

2024 Democratic National Convention: Day 2

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Robert McGreevy Reporter
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Pundits framed the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois as a festival of joy, yet the event has been marred by protests, disorganization and a growing rift within the Democratic party.

Convention speakers and media pundits have been quick to highlight joy, energy and unity as convention themes after President Biden bowed out of the race, but a darker cloud looms over the event.

Pro-Palestinian protests, which the media casted as “mostly peaceful,” broke out on day one. Footage the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) captured showed they were anything but mellow.

The protests, a development party and city officials widely anticipated as they poured over $75 million into security for the event, turned ugly on day one as demonstrators wrestled with cops and threw bottles and signs at the police, according to the DCNF.


The protesters broke through barriers, forcing cops to arrest at least four of them, Chicago police said, CNN reported.

One protester could be seen holding a sign labelling Hamas, the terrorist organization responsible for the October 7th terror attack in Israel, as “counter terrorist” and casting Kamala Harris as a “terrorist.”

Officials appeared to have added additional fencing to the areas that were breached Monday, as a video from independent journalist Brendan Gutenschwager shows bolstered barriers surrounding the perimeter.

In fact, despite the pundit class touting the joyous convention, the heightened tensions appeared to prompt officials to barricade parts of the city miles from the convention’s center.

The Gold Coast is one of Chicago’s most affluent neighborhoods. It’s a few miles from the main convention areas. The neighborhood, which is typically bustling with patrons of its luxury shopping outlets, is now littered with metal barriers, according to a video from commentator Jimmy Dore.

“We are nowhere near the United Center or the McCormick Place — we are miles away,” Dore said as he displayed an endless sea of blockades. “This is the richest neighborhood in Chicago. This is the Gold Coast.”

“They’re making the whole city a prison,” Dore noted.

Protests continued on day two, as police arrested multiple pro-Palestinian demonstrators outside of the Israeli consulate Tuesday night. (RELATED: ‘We’re A Live Show So We Have To Go’: Pelosi’s Interview Goes Off The Rails As Protesters Shout, Late-Night Host Gives In)

Police arrested at least 72, the National Lawyers Guild Chicago said, according to ABC Chicago. From 55 to 60 individuals were reportedly taken into custody, according to Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling. The protestors became increasingly violent, crashing through police lines and clashing with officers, according to the DCNF.


The outside protesters’ demands corresponded with party insiders’ requests for the Harris campaign to be more open and direct about her stance on Israel.

The Uncommitted National Movement, a movement that says they “feel deeply hurt and betrayed by the President’s decisions to continue funding war crimes and the mass killing of Palestinians,” has 36 delegates within the party, according to NewsNation.

The delegates all abstained from voting for Harris in the party’s ceremonial roll call, choosing instead to cast their votes as “present” in protest of Harris’ role in supplying Israel with weapons.

The movement wants Harris to endorse an arms embargo to Israel and a ‘permanent’ ceasefire on their war in Gaza, NewsNation reported.

Beyond the Uncommitted delegates, others who are supporting Harris are pushing her to be tougher on Israel, much to the chagrin of some party members.

One delegate who voted for Harris reportedly claims she was assaulted by party members for displaying a banner which read “Stop Arming Israel.”

“They hit us on the head with ‘We Love Joe’ signs,” Florida delegate Nadia Ahmad told The Intercept. “JB Pritzker was close by and they did nothing. Even the ushers did nothing. They just let other people hit us and grab the sign away from us.”

All of the open dissent, though, was undernoted by an apparent rift between the party’s two latest Presidents.

President Joe Biden kicked off the convention with an opening night speech. His speech, however, was pushed well past prime time viewing as delays kept his address from starting until around 10:30 p.m. local time, 11:30 p.m. on the east coast.

On a night that was supposed to be all about thanking Biden, his swan song was pushed back in favor of elongated speeches from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and salvos from New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

DNC organizers blamed the delay on “raucous applause” in a statement to Politico.

The following night, former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama were the keynote speakers. Though Barack spent a portion of his time thanking his “friend” Joe, he and Michelle cast a wistful tone as they layered veiled criticisms at the Biden era.

Michelle contrasted the energy of the convention with that of the past, celebrating the “exhilaration of once again being on the cusp of a brighter day.” She described the magic in the air as “a familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for far too long.”

Barack, for his part, told the crowd “America is ready for a new chapter. America’s ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris.”

Those lines, a White House aide told Politico, were “an implicit rebuke of the Biden era.”

The Obamas delivered the lines as Biden, who jetted off to California after his speech for a vacation, was absent.

Another conspicuous absence was that of the candidate. Kamala Harris was around ninety miles away at a separate rally at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Some may speculate her truancy was simply the shrewd political calculus of a campaign looking to maximize its efficiency by campaigning in two swing states at once. But there may have been a deeper reason.

“That choice was made out of sensitivity and respect to Joe Biden,” a source told Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich.

“Obamas are still not on the White House good side. It would not be helpful to their relationships,” a source told Heinrich. “We are in tricky territory,” the source said.

The discord is likely to continue on day three as protesters are already amassing.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is expected to highlight Wednesday’s speakers as he will officially accept the Democratic nomination for Vice President.

Nancy Pelosi, who was instrumental in applying pressure on Biden to drop out, will also speak.

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