By its ratings, it’s safe to say that the first night of the virtual Democratic National Convention was a complete failure.
The event drew in 19.7 million viewers on 10 U.S TV networks, down from the 26 million who watched the opening night of the convention in 2016. It was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic, having speakers appear live from locations across the country in pre-recorded videos.
This isn’t the first time polls have shown a notable lack of enthusiasm among Democrats. Back in 2016, fewer people tuned in to watch Clinton’s speech on the final night of the Democratic National Convention than Trump’s speech to close the Republican National Convention. 33.3 million viewers tuned in to watch Clinton while 34.9 million viewers watched Trump.
Polling has indicated that the supporters of Biden’s main rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, were far more fired up about voting than Biden’s backers.
Dems, of course, have disagreed on the severity of the enthusiasm gap between Biden and Sanders, arguing that their intense dislike of Trump should be enough to defeat them. CNN’s recent polling has shown the Democrats’ enthusiasm decreasing, while Republicans remained stable.
The virtual convention was hosted by Hispanic actress and activist Eva Longoria, which included speeches from former first lady Michelle Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
The speakers anchored their support through reiterating civility in politics while attacking the President. They spoke of “torch-bearing white supremacists” and “revolutionaries against racism” nationwide, as if communities weren’t being torched and small businesses weren’t being looted due to their political agendas.
“Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment,” Obama continued. “He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is,” Michelle Obama said.
Former first lady criticized Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, even though 75% of coronavirus cases and deaths came from Democrat-controlled states. She also accused the President of having no empathy, then cited a reference of children being thrown into cages, even though the Obama Administration had built the “cages” there in the first place.
The Democratic Convention just talked about “beating Trump” as a form of stress relief to the voters. It’s the only thing liberals can argue since they are basing their votes purely on emotion to gain more power and status within the White House. It’s a shame they didn’t use this platform to expand on plans and policies for Biden’s campaign, but it’s probably because they don’t really have any.