Photos show the biggest moments of the Democratic National Convention (2024)

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Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on the first night of the convention.

"Looking out at everyone tonight, I see the beauty of our great nation, people from every corner of our country and every walk of life are here, united by our shared vision for the future of our country," she said.

She ended her brief remarks with one of her signature lines: "When we fight, we win."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered a fiery speech in support of Harris and Tim Walz.

"I, for one, am tired of hearing about how a two-bit union buster thinks of himself as more of a patriot than the woman who fights every single day to lift working people out from under the boots of greed, trampling on our way of life," Ocasio-Cortez said.

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Hillary Clinton spoke about her vision for what lies beyond that "hardest, highest glass ceiling."

"On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris raising her hand and taking the oath of office as the 47th president," Clinton said.

Clinton's speech also included a nod to "Suffs," the Broadway show she co-produced about the women's suffrage movement, with a line from one of its songs: "Progress is possible, not guaranteed."

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Kentucky resident Hadley Duvall introduced Gov. Andy Beshear with her powerful testimony in support of reproductive freedom.

Duvall shared her story of being impregnated by her stepfather at age 12.

"I can't imagine not having a choice, but today, that's the reality for many women and girls across the country because of Donald Trump's abortion bans," Duvall said." "He calls it a beautiful thing. What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent's child?"

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Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia quoted the Bible in his address and said Donald Trump should "try reading it."

"A vote is a kind of prayer for the kind of world we desire for ourselves and for our children, and we are stronger when we pray together," Warnock, a Baptist pastor, said.

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First lady Jill Biden paid tribute to her husband's legacy.

"With faith in each other, hope for a brighter future, and love for our country. We will fight, and we will win together," Jill Biden said.

She also spoke about how her late son, Beau Biden, knew Harris while they both served as attorneys general of their respective states.

"He told me at the dinner table one night, 'Mom, she's a special someone to keep your eye on,'" she said Beau Biden told her. "And he was right. Joe and I know Kamala. We have seen her courage, her determination, and her leadership up close."

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President Joe Biden wiped away tears after his daughter Ashley's introduction.

Ashley Biden described her father as "the OG girl dad."

"Dad, you always tell us, but we don't tell you enough, that you are the love of our lives and the life of our love," she said.

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In his speech, President Joe Biden touted his administration's accomplishments while passing the torch to Harris and the next generation.

"I've made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you," he said in his DNC speech.

Biden also spoke highly of Harris, saying that choosing her as his vice president was "the best decision" he's made in his career.

"Like many of our best presidents, she was also vice president," he quipped.

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Stephanie Grisham, Trump's former White House press secretary, disavowed her former boss on the second night of the convention.

Grisham shared a screenshot of a text exchange with Melania Trump from January 6, 2021, in which she asked "Do you want to tweet that peaceful protests are the right of every American, but there is no place for lawlessness & violence?"

The screenshot showed that the then-first lady replied "No."

The roll call became a high-energy party complete with a DJ.

DJ Cassidy introduced the delegation with a song connected to each state.

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Harris and Walz joined remotely from a rally in Milwaukee once the roll call was complete.

Harris and Walz joined via video feed from Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum, where the Republican National Convention was held.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, who ran for president in 2016 and 2020, spoke on day two.

Speaking in front of a screen reading "Strong middle class, strong America," Sanders told the crowd, "We need an economy that works for all of us, not just the billionaire class."

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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker leveraged his billionaire status to rip into Trump.

"Donald Trump thinks that we should trust him on the economy because he claims to be very rich," he said. "But take it from an actual billionaire. Trump is rich in only one thing — stupidity."

Pritzker is worth an estimated $3.5 billion, according to Forbes. Forbes reports that Trump is worth around $4.5 billion.

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Michelle Obama stole the show with a speech in which she urged voters to "do something."

Her speech also included fierce criticisms of Trump, including "Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those 'Black jobs'?" and "If we see a mountain in front of us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top," referencing Trump Tower's escalator.

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In his speech, former President Barack Obama threw his support behind Harris.

"Kamala Harris is ready for the job," Obama said in his speech. "This is a person who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a champion."

He also made a suggestive hand gesture while joking about Trump's "weird obsession with crowd sizes."

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On the convention's third night, the parents of an Israeli-American hostage held in Gaza, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, delivered an emotional speech.

Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, said that returning the hostages is "not a political issue" but a "humanitarian issue."

"In an inflamed Middle East, we know the one thing that can most immediately release pressure and bring calm to the entire region: a deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza," Polin said.

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Former President Bill Clinton veered from his prepared remarks, speaking about the economy and reflecting on his presidency.

"Two days ago I turned 78, the oldest man in my family for a generation," Clinton said. "And the only personal vanity I want to assert is I am still younger than Donald Trump."

He added of Trump: "He mostly talks about himself, so the next time you hear him, don't count the lies, count the I's."

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Amanda Gorman recited a new poem, "This Sacred Scene."

"We gather at this hallowed place because we believe in the American dream," Gorman said. "We face a race that tests if this country we cherish shall perish from the Earth and if our Earth shall perish from this country. It falls to us to ensure that we do not fall, for a people that cannot stand together cannot stand at all."

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg introduced himself by saying that viewers "might recognize me from Fox News."

Buttigieg, a frequent Fox News guest, spoke about his family and military service and summed up Trump's campaign in one word: "darkness."

"I believe in a better politics — one that finds us at our most decent, and open, and brave — the kind of politics that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are offering," he said. "As you've felt in the last couple of days, that kind of politics just feels good to be a part of. There is joy in it, as well as power."

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Oprah Winfrey made a surprise appearance.

"Let us choose truth, let us choose honor, let us choose joy," Winfrey said. "Because that is the best of America."

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted the vice-presidential nomination, hearkening back to his days as a football coach with an election pep talk.

"You know, you might not know it, but I haven't given a lot of big speeches like this. But I have given a lot of pep talks," he said. "So let me finish with this, team. It's the fourth quarter. We're down a field goal. But we're on offense and we've got the ball. We're driving down the field. And boy, do we have the right team."

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Elizabeth Warren received a loud round of applause as she took the stage on the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention.

"Trust Donald Trump and JD Vance to look out for your family? Shoot, I wouldn't let these guys, I wouldn't trust them to move my couch," Warren said in an apparent reference to a viral joke on X about JD Vance having sex with a couch.

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Rev. Al Sharpton brought out four members of the "Central Park Five" who were falsely convicted of rape and assault in 1989.

"He called us animals. He spent $85,000 on a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for our execution," Korey Wise said of Trump. "We were innocent kids, but we served a total of 41 years in prison."

Trump has refused to apologize for the ad.

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer praised Harris as "tough, tested and a total badass."

Whitmer hit back at Trump's nickname for her, "that woman from Michigan," by referring to him as "that man from Mar-a-Lago."

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Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican, said he was endorsing Harris to "defend truth" and "defend democracy and decency.”

Kinzinger said that the Republican Party is "no longer conservative," and that Trump has "suffocated the soul of the Republican Party."

"How can a party claim to be patriotic if it idolizes a man who tried to overthrow a free and fair election?" he said.

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Harris accepted the Democratic nomination, saying in her speech that she would serve as "a president for all Americans."

Harris spoke about her mother, her upbringing, and her vision for America's future.

"I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations," she said in her speech accepting the nomination. "A president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical, and has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life's work."

The convention ended with 100,000 balloons falling from the ceiling of the United Center.

Harris' and Walz's families joined them onstage to celebrate their nomination.