Democratic National Convention: Start time, speakers, how to watch and stream night two

The 2024 Democratic National Convention continues Tuesday, with Vice President Kamala Harris welcoming two popular Democrats onto the stage.

Headlining Tuesday’s program is former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, who will both deliver primetime speeches tonight in Chicago. The couple endorsed Harris in a joint phone call last month, and Obama’s friendship with the vice president dates back nearly two decades, when she was an early backer of his 2008 presidential campaign.

» READ MORE: DNC night two: live updates

Michelle Obama, who remains one of the most popular people in American politics, has spoken at every DNC since her husband’s nomination in 2008. In 2016, it was the former first lady, known for saying “when they go low, we go high,” who delivered a searing speech warning of the dangers of reelecting then-President Donald Trump.

“If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can,” she warned, “and they will if we don’t make a change in this election.”

Also expected to speak Tuesday night is second gentleman Doug Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of a vice president or president in American history. An entertainment lawyer, Emhoff has focused his efforts on gender equity and combating antisemitism.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who was also reportedly under consideration as a potential running mate for Harris, will introduce Democrats’ second night of programing, while Republican strategist and The View cohost Anna Navarro will host the evening’s events.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the second night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention:

Primetime programming at the Democratic National Convention is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Eastern and last four hours, though most broadcast networks won’t begin their live coverage until 10 p.m.

The convention will stream live on the DNC’s official website and across all their social media channels. You can also stream it live on Inquirer.com, courtesy of the DNC:

In Philadelphia, live coverage will begin at 8 p.m. on WHYY. ABC, NBC, and CBS are broadcasting live beginning at 10 p.m., while Fox won’t air live coverage of the DNC. All are offering broader streaming coverage on their respective platforms.

CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and NewsNation will also offer live coverage starting hours before the event begins, each offering analysis.

C-SPAN will broadcast every minute of the DNC, something the network has done for both party’s conventions since 1984. It will also stream coverage on C-SPAN.org and on the C-SPAN Now mobile app.

Comcast Xfinity X1 subscribers can watch all the programming by simply saying “DNC” into their remote.

» READ MORE: Joe Biden says he loved being president ‘but I love my country more’ in 45-minute DNC speech

Democrats on Tuesday released a list of more than two dozen speakers expected to take the stage tonight. The evening is slated to kick off with a call to order at 6:30 p.m. Eastern, and run past 10 p.m.

Among those giving remarks are:

The Democratic National Convention will take place over four nights this week, from Monday to Thursday. Convention programming is scheduled to air live each night from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern.

Here are some of the notable speakers for the remaining nights of the convention, including local lawmakers, according to Democrats and media reports:

One prominent Democrat you won’t see at this week’s DNC is Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman.

Fetterman, whose outspoken support of Israel has led to criticism from progressives within the Democratic Party (and Carrie Adams, his communications director), told The Free Press he opted to skip the DNC in order to spend time with his family.

“I’ve got three young kids, and they’re out of school,” Fetterman said. “That’s four days I can spend with my children.”

Fetterman defended Biden as many Democrats called for him to drop out of the race, but quickly endorsed Harris and spoke at the rally in Philadelphia where she introduced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

» READ MORE: John Fetterman is skipping the DNC

While political conventions have largely grown into television events designed to promote political parties and their leaders, the business of the convention includes formalizing a party platform. Democrats adopted their party platform in a vote Monday despite not updating its language to reflect that Biden dropped out of the race and is no longer running for reelection.

There is also usually a formal vote of delegates to officially nominate the party’s presidential candidate, but Harris entered the week as the official nominee, thanks to a virtual vote of delegates taken earlier this month. Instead, Democrats held a ceremonial roll call Monday naming her the party’s presidential nominee, which still felt important to those backing Harris.

“To put the first Black woman at the top of the ticket and only the second time to have a woman there, there’s shared enthusiasm across the country from all sorts of groups and demographics seeing themselves, feeling represented,” Monica Taylor, a delegate who is the first Black woman to serve as chair of the Delaware County Council, told The Inquirer.

Harris and Trump have agreed to at least one presidential debate. It will take place Sept. 10 in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center at 9 p.m., hosted by ABC News. Here’s what we know about tickets to the event.

It’s not the first time Philadelphia has hosted a presidential debate. Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford debated at the Walnut Street Theatre in 1976, the first televised debate since Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy famously faced-off in 1960. The city also hosted a vice presidential debate between George H.W. Bush and Geraldine Ferraro at the Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center in 1984.

Trump proposed two more debates in September, but the Harris campaign rejected those. Instead, the Harris campaign said it would be open to a second debate with Trump in October if he shows up on Sept. 10.