Trolling Trump and the triumph of the DNC

The DNC looks like America today, while the RNC reminds us of a time gone by.

Last night, Democrats spent the evening trolling Donald Trump. They mocked the man obsessed with crowd size by filling up two arenas at the same time. While Michelle and Barack Obama were firing up the faithful at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz were exciting voters in the same packed arena in Milwaukee where Trump accepted his nomination last month. Through the miracle of modern technology, she addressed both arenas at once, not to mention the millions watching on television or YouTube or wherever.

Trump, in contrast, held another rambling press conference in a parking garage, this time in Michigan. If anybody missed the point, Barack Obama made a well-timed joke about Trump’s crowd size fixation. I’m sure Mar-a-Lago was a fun place to be last night.

The DNC, so far, has been a masterclass in campaigning and entertainment. They opened the convention with an evening-long tribute to Joe Biden. Hillary Clinton gave an inspiring speech that set the stage for passing the torch from the Democratic Party of past to the one now being led by Harris. Biden spent forty-five minutes basking in the appreciation of the party faithful, reminding them of his successes and commanding them to rally behind Harris to protect his legacy. The night reached the balance between celebrating Biden’s service and commitment while moving into a new era.

Tuesday night, speakers, especially Barack Obama, thanked Biden for what he’s done as president, but the focus was clearly on the new ticket. When Geoff Bennett of PBS asked Nancy Pelosi about her role in Biden’s decision to step down, she explained that campaigns are not about accomplishments. They are about visions for the future. Harris is offering hope to move beyond our divisions, even if the details are sketchy.

I am struck by the crowd in the arena. It looks like America. Black, white, Asian, Hispanic, people of all races and ethnicities and sexual orientations in one huge room, cheering for a common goal. The contrast to the crowd shots of the RNC is stark. The Republican convention could have been held 75 or 100 years ago, almost all white, a reflection of a time gone by.

The Democratic Party is trying to build a country that’s never existed in the history of mankind, a place where people of diverse origin can live in freedom and relative harmony. The slogan “We’re not going back!” refers to the American vision of the modern GOP, monolithic where white culture is dominant and domineering. Republicans are looking backwards through rose-colored glasses to a country that never existed for too many Americans. Democrats are looking forward to an inclusive country where everybody is welcome and has a chance to succeed. No, we’re not going back.

Republicans, for their part, are melting down. They’ve called the convention boring, accused the Obamas of “playing the race card,” and generally whined about speakers ridiculing their ethically challenged nominee. Just a month ago, they left their convention, claiming it to be one of the most successful events ever, and believing they were cruising to victory. Today, they can’t figure out how to mute the enthusiasm emanating from the DNC.

If Democrats have a problem with the convention, it’s how to continue building excitement after the Obamas fired up the base. They’ll need more show-stoppers tonight as the focus shifts to Tim Walz while making sure that the excitement reaches a crescendo tomorrow night when Harris takes the stage as the official Democratic nominee. In the words of campaigns, they don’t want to peak too early.

While the convention has been a success so far, Democrats still have a lot of work to do, as Michelle Obama made clear. The country is still evenly divided and the election is still eleven weeks away, a lifetime in modern politics. The goal of the convention is not to win the election, but to fire up the base, sending them out with the enthusiasm and marching orders to get the job done. The party ends Thursday. The work begins Friday.