Admittedly, 2020 was an unusual year, to say the least. It was an election year with a particularly polarizing incumbent, the COVID-19 pandemic turned life in America upside down, and the murder of George Floyd sparked a massive protest movement across the United States.
Perhaps it was all these factors and more that made the Democratic Party a special breed. Its messages were so serious they were downright solemn, and there was little room to forget for a moment the official party line: that President Donald Trump’s reelection posed an existential threat; that the only way to end hundreds of years of racial injustice was to remove him from office; and that, in the face of Covid-19, it was literally a matter of life and death.
This time, the change in mood at the DNC was clear and obvious.
While there were images from January 6, 2021, and speakers – including Vice President Harris in her keynote address – expressed concerns about protecting democracy, the mood was far less gloomy than it had been four years ago.
Take, for example, the most popular accusation currently leveled at Trump and his allies: that they are simply “weird” and “small” – a far cry from the moral outrage of 2020 or even President Joe Biden’s message for 2024.
The speakers at the convention beamed with joy – a word the speakers used to describe what kind of president Harris would be.
Although the 2020 DNC was held virtually, its tone was markedly different. Then-candidate Joe Biden’s speech was described by NPR at the time as “sober and urgent” and “a speech of light against darkness.”
Four years ago, after choosing Biden, the party seemed to be at least trying to accommodate its most progressive and left-leaning voices, if only in terms of messaging and demeanor.
Politico reported in 2020 that the DNC’s focus on racial injustice was an “earth-shattering” shift for the party, as one former Democratic staffer put it. The party has “fully acknowledged” systemic racism and its impact on society, the outlet said.
In 2024, progressives like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren spoke, along with racial justice advocates like the acquitted Central Park Five.
At the same time, pro-Palestinian activists protested outside the DNC all week. The DNC did not allow a Palestinian speaker at the convention because it feared it would not show party unity. But it was also another sign that the party was no longer trying as hard to include liberal activists as it did in 2020.
The convention often focused on appealing to people with different views – both former President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton spoke out in favor of it – and appealed to moderates, independents and Republicans. A long list of Republican speakers, from former elected officials to people who served in the White House under Trump, delivered speeches aimed directly at Republicans and independents.
This year’s speakers focused even more on issues that could win over moderates, such as immigration (Javier Salazar, sheriff of Bexar County, Texas, was one of the speakers) and the economy. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a moderate Democrat, specifically called for investments in “the police and in the community.”
In 2020, the New York Times reported that Democrats disagreed on the importance of bipartisanship, but the 2024 Democratic Party seems far more certain about it. The party appeared to be trying to hold together the coalition that helped elect Biden in 2020, but which Democrats struggled to recreate with Biden as the 2024 nominee.
There is one key factor that will allow the Democratic Party to repeat the 2020 midterms – or even 2018 – and that is Election Day turnout, speakers reminded DNC attendees. Regardless of the mood at the 2024 convention, Harris and Democrats still have 74 days to present comprehensive policies and energize voters before the votes are counted on Nov. 5.
