Massachusetts delegates ‘emotional’ following the DNC’s first night

It’s on to day two of the Democratic National Convention. That first day was packed with speakers — former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and, of course, President Joe Biden, who didn’t finish his speech until after midnight.

GBH’s Adam Reilly is in Chicago all week to report and speak with members of the Massachusetts delegation. He joined GBH’s All Things Considered with guest host Craig LeMoult to discuss the overall feeling as the convention gets underway. What follows is a lightly edited transcript.

Craig LeMoult: Adam, what kind of reaction did Massachusetts delegates have to their speeches last night?

Adam Reilly: I think for a lot of people, it was a pretty emotional evening — which makes sense when you think about the contours of those particular speakers.

Hillary Clinton was supposed to be, according to her supporters, the first woman elected president. She was supposed to break this glass ceiling, and she didn’t in 2016. Her supporters, I think, are almost still in disbelief that she lost to Donald Trump in 2016.

And of course, Joe Biden was thwarted in his desire to be a two-term president earlier this year after all this public pressure was applied to get him out of the race. So I think for a lot of people watching this, they found it uplifting but also sad at the same time.

Let’s listen to reaction from two delegates. The first one is Nicole LaChapelle. She’s the mayor of Easthampton.

Nicole LaChapelle, prerecorded: Yeah. I mean, I’m emotional just thinking about last night. Seeing Secretary of State Clinton walk on that stage and just crush it — every single word — and lift up that whole convention center, just brought me back to 2016.

Reilly: So as you can hear, Nicole LaChapelle actually teared up when she was talking about Hillary Clinton’s speech. Here is another delegate, Jessica Tang. She’s a union leader, the head of the American Federation of Teachers, Massachusetts.

Jessica Tang, prerecorded: Emotional in, like, a positive way. Just full of hope and joy and possibility. But even the moments where President Biden said, “I gave you my best” — I teared up. It was really powerful and moving, because even if you disagree with some of the things he’s done, you can’t deny that he really meant it.

LeMoult: Adam, just quickly, I have to ask, why does this all have to happen so late? I mean, Biden finished at 12:19 a.m. most people probably aren’t staying up for that in a Monday night. And those of us who did are exhausted.

Reilly: You are speaking my language, Craig. We’re both men of a certain age — I’ve got a few years on you.

But I was ready for an earlier bedtime, and it’s worth noting. And I say this not to be gratuitous, but there were a lot of delegates who were ready to wrap up. They’d been, holding up their I Love Joe or We Love Joe signs in the convention just a few minutes earlier. And Biden just kept on speaking. And they were trickling out in large numbers, more than a trickle, I would say.

Now, the word is that there were a bunch of delays last night, and the tonight is supposed to proceed a little more smoothly, which I would welcome.

LeMoult: Do you expect tonight to be as emotional as last night was?

Reilly: I don’t think it’s going to be, quite as emotional in terms of the pathos of it. I think that it’s going to pack a punch, though. I mean, you have both the Obamas speaking. They are arguably still the biggest stars in the Democratic firmament. Then you throw in Bernie Sanders.

Last night’s lineup was star studded. I think you can make the case that tonight is going to compare in terms of sheer star power. So should be an interesting evening to watch.

LeMoult: And, you know, we talked yesterday but some Democrats being worried the party might be getting a little overconfident. Are you hearing any other concerns over there?

Reilly: I have been talking to people today about whether they are concerned, on the heels of Clinton’s loss in 2016 and on the heels of some of the things Donald Trump has said about Kamala Harris — calling her a DEI hire, for example — if they’re concerned that, misogyny and racism are going to play a role in this campaign.

And I think it is fair to say that a lot of people are. A lot of people, I would even say, are assuming that it’s going to, that it already is.

But I would say at the same time that there seems to be a sense, among at least the Mass. delegates, that: Hillary Clinton running her race in 2016, coming close but not winning; Elizabeth Warren making a very strong bid for presidency herself; and even Nikki Haley running in this current election cycle. That people are maybe desensitized to the idea of a female president in a way that they weren’t when Hillary Clinton ran. And I actually think that Hillary Clinton’s speech last night, which was a pretty powerful speech, I think she increased confidence among people who are eager to see the first woman elected president, that it actually is something that is possible — despite what happened to her a few years ago.