2020 Milwaukee DNC Day 2: 'These Are Not Conventional Times'

MILWAUKEE, WI — Ten minutes before day two of the Democratic National Convention, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett mounted the stage and stood behind the podium at the Wisconsin Center in Downtown Milwaukee as the cameras prepared their shots.

He then walked offstage, put on a Milwaukee Brewers face mask, placed his hands in his pocket and gently rocked from side to side. As he waited, the convention’s taped pre-program was broadcast on monitors.

Barrett walked back onto the stage, and flanked by two American flags, two Wisconsin flags and a backdrop showing the city’s skyline, Barrett began his remarks.

"I would love to be welcoming you to my home city right now. The good people of Milwaukee and I were so excited when we learned that our resilient city was chosen to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention. It was the first time a major political party chose Wisconsin to hold its convention, but these are not conventional times," he began.

In the unconventional times marked by the coronavirus pandemic, a total of 23 people were in the room for his remarks, including Barrett, the convention staff, the crew and journalists.

Trump To Blame, Barrett Says

After his appearance, Barrett told the pool in a Wisconsin Center hallway that he thought the convention likely would have been more like what was intended if President Donald Trump had responded to the coronavirus pandemic sooner.

“I think if the president had taken it seriously the first moment that he was told that this was a serious problem, I think the chances would have been much greater that we could have had an in-person convention, no doubt about that, no doubt about that,” he said. “But when you have the denial that he had for so long and didn’t take the steps that other leaders around the world took It made it much more difficult.”

Barrett said he believed Milwaukee may have another shot at getting a major party convention in 2024.

“I think one of the things that we demonstrated here is first of all that we can hit major league pitching, that we can be very competitive with other cities and that we’re very nimble because we had to make a lot of changes,” Barrett said. “And I think Wisconsin is going to continue to be a purple state so it made sense for them to choose us and it would make sense of them or the Republicans for that matter to choose us in 2024.”

Biden Quickly, Quietly Nominated

At 8:39 p.m., Democratic National Committee Secretary Jason Rae took the stage. He gripped the sides of the podium and looked into the camera as he waited for his segment to begin. He went live at 8:45 p.m. to recognize Alabama, the first state to deliver its votes.

From there, the feed cut to other states and territories. Rae remained at the podium.

Rae attended his first Democratic National Convention in 2004 in Boston at age 17. Then a high schooler from Rice Lake in northwestern Wisconsin, he drew attention at the time for getting elected to the Democratic National Committee at such a young age.

Rae, 33, now lives in Glendale, a Milwaukee suburb. He was elected as secretary in 2017.

Because the convention was mostly virtual, the nominating votes were conducted differently than they usually are. Remote voting was held from Aug. 3 through Saturday. Normally, the votes would have been delivered from the convention floor.

Afterward, Rae told the pool the roll call was unlike any other.

“I think this roll call was a really powerful one,” he said. “We got to hear from Americans all across this country about how Donald Trump has impacted their lives and got to hear about Joe Biden’s powerful vision for America. I think it was unlike any roll call we’ve seen before but I think it was one of the best things we could have done at this convention.”

At 9:13 p.m., Rae donned a blue face mask and walked off the stage. A crew brought a “Wisconsin” state marker onto the stage and cleaned the area. Barnes removed his mask and took Rae’s place behind the podium.

He gave his remarks at 9:16 p.m., saying Wisconsin was delivering 30 votes for Sanders and 67 for Biden.

Afterward, he told the pool he will always cherish the opportunity to announce the votes for Wisconsin but was disappointed Milwaukee didn’t get to have the convention it had expected. But the unusual event did match the unusual times the country faces, he said.

“The celebrations are great, but at this point in time, it’s not even a happy time in America, right?” he said. “People are dealing with COVID outbreaks still all across the country. We still have large-scale movements against racial injustice. And I think that it fits the time, the sort of convention that we’re having. And it’s given an opportunity for more people to share more stories.”

Pool coverage provided by the DNC