It’s been a little over a month since President Joe Biden announced he would no longer be seeking reelection, and now Vice President Kamala Harris is accepting Thursday night the Democratic nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
WKAR's Sophia Saliby spoke with Russ McNamara, WDET’s All Things Considered host in Detroit, who has been at the DNC all week talking to Michigan Democrats about how they plan to keep the White House in November.
Interview Highlights
On the energy at the DNC
These people are fired up. They are raucous. I can't think of maybe a bigger political flex than having two rallies going on at once. You've got all the events here at the DNC where everything is packed and then selling out Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, where we had the Republican National Convention a month ago, filled with Harris-Walz supporters. So, that energy is definitely there in a way that was not there prior to the debate with Joe Biden, and especially after that disastrous debate between Biden and Donald Trump.
On protests outside the DNC calling for a ceasefire in Gaza
There's two different things that work here. We do have, like, 10,000 protesters that have shown up, another big protest planned for today. They want a ceasefire. The Uncommitted National Movement, which has its roots in Michigan, they also want a ceasefire, but they're working within confines of the Democratic Party. They want a speaker at the DNC, and they were denied.
On what's next for both parties
The general sense that each team thinks their guy is going to win, or in this case, the Democrats, think their vice president, a woman, is going to win, and the excitement level is there. The Republicans coming out of their convention weren't able to sustain that success after Joe Biden quit, and now the Democrats have the momentum, but can they sustain it? Because, you know, we still got two and a half months until the November election.
Interview Transcript
Sophia Saliby: It’s been a little over a month since President Joe Biden announced he would no longer be seeking reelection, and tonight, Vice President Kamala Harris will accept the Democratic nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Russ McNamara is WDET’s All Things Considered host in Detroit, and he’s been at the DNC all week talking to Michigan Democrats about how they plan to keep the White House in November. He’s here with me now. Thanks for joining us.
McNamara: Hi, Sophia. Happy to be here.
Saliby: A lot has happened since we last spoke when you were at the RNC in Milwaukee a month ago, and it seems like Vice President Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have really reinvigorated the Democratic Party ahead of the election? Have you felt that energy there?
McNamara: So much energy. These people are fired up. They are raucous. I can't think of maybe a bigger political flex than having two rallies going on at once. You've got all the events here at the DNC where everything is packed and then selling out Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, where we had the Republican National Convention a month ago, filled with Harris-Walz supporters.
So, that energy is definitely there in a way that was not there prior to the debate with Joe Biden, and especially after that disastrous debate between Biden and Donald Trump.
Saliby: Like the RNC, Michigan has seen some main stage presence at the DNC. Who have you been able to catch up with during the convention?
McNamara: State Senator Mallory McMorrow talked Project 2025. She took kind of a boring subject and made it somewhat interesting on Monday night. That's a high profile for a Michigan State Senator to get that kind of look.
Also Senator Gary Peters, he brought the teamsters on stage, which was a pretty good shot at Teamsters President Sean O'Brien, who talked to the Republican National [Convention.] Earlier today. I talked with Elissa Slotkin. She is speaking tonight.
And, of course, Governor Gretchen Whitmer, I talked with her, and she is a bit of a rock star here in Democratic circles. She's mobbed wherever she goes. So, I had to ask her what she plans to do in two years when her term as governor ended.
I don't know. We'll see what happens. You know, I've got three generations of my family in the state of Michigan. I never planned to leave. What public service, or what service looks like in the future, I cannot conceive of at the moment, but I do think it would be good to take a little bit of time. I've always wanted to go out west and see and see the national parks, just on a trip, not moving, but that's something that is on my list of things to do in 2027.Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
McNamara: We also kind of touched on policy during our conversation, and she knew that members of the Michigan State House will be out campaigning a lot. Kind of hinted that maybe not a lot would get done, although that could change if Republicans get control of the House following the November election, we could see a very busy lame-duck period.
Saliby: Another high-profile speech was made Monday night by United Auto Workers President Sean Fain to kind of contrast with the Teamsters president who spoke at the RNC. You were able to catch up with him at a roundtable this week.
McNamara: Yeah, and he was ever present. Basically, he's been showing up in so many different places. It's been kind of funny. He's achieved his own level of rock star status.
With a lot of talk from Republicans about the border crisis, border security, I asked him if he is concerned about migrants coming across the border into the U.S. and taking jobs.
They're not taking nobody's jobs. They're being exploited. They're destitute and desperate people trying to find a better life. And when I see those people, I don't see him as an enemy. I don't see him as a threat to my job. The threat to our jobs is corporate greed.Sean Fain, UAW President
Saliby: There have also been protests outside the convention calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Have these protesters felt like their concerns were being heard by the greater party?
McNamara: There's two different things that work here. We do have, like, 10,000 protesters that have shown up, another big protest planned for today. They want a ceasefire.
The Uncommitted National Movement, which has its roots in Michigan, they also want a ceasefire, but they're working within confines of the Democratic Party. They want a speaker at the DNC, and they were denied.
Abbas Alawieh a co-founder of the movement and an uncommitted delegate. He says their cause is aligned with the Democratic base.
The overwhelming majority of Democratic voters, that the base of our party is clear on where we stand on this. We are going to have to force our elected officials to align with where the base of our party is. It's unfortunate that our elected officials aren't there yet. We're going to keep pushing.Abbas Alawieh, Uncommitted National Movement
McNamara: Alawieh started a sit-in last night. They are still hoping that the DNC will give them a spot to talk this evening at the convention. Also, the UAW, several other organizations, have come out and said that a Palestinian American should speak at the convention. We'll see if that plays out.
Saliby: These are your first presidential nominating conventions you're covering as a reporter. What's this experience been like at both the RNC and DNC?
McNamara: You know, mostly looking at these from afar, they're pretty boring, just a lot of the same talking points, a lot of the same sounding speeches throughout all of it, and the general sense that each team thinks their guy is going to win, or in this case, the Democrats, think their vice president, a woman, is going to win, and the excitement level is there.
The Republicans coming out of their convention weren't able to sustain that success after Joe Biden quit, and now the Democrats have the momentum, but can they sustain it? Because, you know, we still got two and a half months until the November election.
Saliby: Russ McNamara hosts All Things Considered for WDET in Detroit. He's been talking to me from the DNC in Chicago. Thank you for joining us.
McNamara: Thanks, Sophia.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
