The Real Stars of the DNC

Greetings, Meteor readers,

I hope you’ve recovered and hydrated and are ready to take on night two of the Democratic National Convention (I am neither of those things, be better than me). Obviously, we are digging into night one in today’s letter, but as usual, we are asking the real question other outlets seem to be ignoring: What time is Beyoncé getting there? 

Also in today’s newsletter, the world outside the DNC, including some head-scratching sports news and a moment of trans joy in Colombia.

I hope she plays Single (cat) Ladies,

Shannon Melero

WHAT’S GOING ON

VIA GETTY IMAGES

WHAT’S GOING ON

The Real Stars of the DNC: It was opening night in Chicago last night, with celebrities, advocates, and politicians coming together to rally behind Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris herself spoke briefly at the top (and then beamed and hugged for the rest of the evening), but we found ourselves perhaps uncharacteristically choked up by the touching sunrise/sunset moment between President Biden and the woman he may soon be calling Madame President. Biden’s speech was an important and much-needed unifying moment for the Democrats, who still have their work cut out for them in swaying the uncommitted vote and inspiring voter turnout, especially in swing states. But if we’re being entirely frank, it was just kind of nice to see a white guy admit to being not quite perfect for the job anymore. “I made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you for 50 years,” he said. We love a vulnerable moment.

But it wasn’t all Joe and Kamala; the night was made truly special by the extent to which abortion was unapologetically front and center (even Biden himself said it). Most significantly, Amanda Zurawski, Katilyn Joshua, and Hadley Duvall all shared their stories: Zurawski and Joshua of being denied abortion care under Dobbs, and Duvall of her own pre-Dobbs abortion after having been raped by her stepfather at age 12 (an abortion, she notes, that young victims today might be denied). As our friends at The 19th note, this is the first post-Roe DNC and abortion is no longer a hush-hush issue. It’s an election winner, and the DNC programmed it as such.

There was another interesting thing happening last night: Perhaps inspired bythe Republican party’s attempt to be the party of the working man, Democrats embraced working-family policies and people, and put them on the stage. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the poster child of working-class Democrats, gave a rousing speech about Harris’ dedication to workers, as compared to Trump’s love of union-busting. (Before her, UAW president Shawn Fain had the whole crowd chanting “Trump’s a scab!”) AOC was her usual electrifying self and even made mention of Harris’s work towards solidifying a ceasefire.

All in all, as they say in job reviews, it feels as if the Democrats have heard the feedback and taken some productive and necessary steps. They’re operating with an invigorated sense of urgency and what at least looks like a real embrace of what changes Americans want to see. Let’s hope they keep their foot on the gas.

And in case you forgot, The Meteor is at the DNC this week, at the Power Lounge at McCormick Place, in partnership with Emerge. You can get all the details and find out how to watch the livestream starting tomorrow morning here.

AND:

• We’ve all seen the misleading AI-generated images of Kamala Harris and Taylor Swift that Donald Trump has been sharing from his Truth Social account, but here’s an interesting insight: Maybe they’re not meant to actually fool anyone. As The Washington Post hypothesizes: “The images seem to function more like memes, meant to provoke and amuse. They’re visual parallels to the nasty nicknames Trump calls his opponents and the evidence-free claims he often makes on the campaign trail. For a politician whose favored rhetorical mode is the unconfirmed anecdote — ‘Many people are saying …’ — generative AI offers a handy new way to illustrate his stories.” So, how do you beat this tactic? First, read this, and second, don’t let him back anywhere near the presidency.

• Landon Donovan, one of the most iconic American soccer players ever, just landed a job coaching in the National Women’s Soccer League despite never having coached a women’s team at any level in his entire career. Donovan is now the interim head coach of the much embattled San Diego Wave. For those keeping count at home, there are now only two women head coaches in the NWSL. Interesting!

• Former NY Representative turned meme queen turned Cameo star George Santos has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft. He could face up to two years in prison, where he will surely be a hit at the inmate talent shows.

• A new study has found that we actually are on a path to slowing down the rate of global warming. But we can’t pat ourselves on the back; the study authors say their results “emphasize even more strongly the efficacy of the actions taken to date and the urgency of more.”

• At the end of July, a historic moment quietly unfolded in Bogota, Colombia. As reported by Atmos, after years of “researching, organizing, and listening to each other,” a grassroots coalition of trans and nonbinary Colombians presented a landmark bill, the Ley Integral Trans, to their congress, which seeks to “protect and guarantee human rights and a dignified life for people with diverse gender identities.” The bill still has a long way to go before reaching the president’s desk, but as one organizer told Atmos, “As trans people, we are tired of being tired…We are tired of violence, but we haven’t let that stop us. We have sought creative ways to imagine a different world. And whatever happens with the Ley Integral Trans, we’ve already won.”

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