DNC day 3: Tim Walz formally accepts vice presidential nomination

CHICAGO - Minnesota Governor Tim Walz officially accepted his nomination as Kamala Harris' running mate Wednesday on day three of the Democratic National Convention. 

The night featured speeches from top political heavyweights, including former President Bill Clinton, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. 

The theme for the evening will be "A Fight for Our Freedoms." The focus will then shift to the protection of American freedoms. Harris’s long-standing dedication to defending individual rights will be highlighted, along with Walz’s support for working families and fundamental freedoms.

Here's what we know so far (estimated times are in Eastern Standard Time):

11:23 p.m. ET

Walz started off his remarks on Wednesday evening by thanking Harris and Biden for his "strong" and "historic leadership." 

The delegates that filled the convention center waved hundreds of "Coach Walz" signs as "Small Town" by John Mellencamp played in the background.

"It's the honor of my life to accept your nomination as Vice President of the United States," Walz said. 

Walz's family watched on with tears in their eyes as Walz gave them a shutout, telling them he loved them.

Harris’ campaign posted a video to her X account showing her calling Walz earlier Wednesday ahead of his speech. "Just feel the love in the room," Harris told her running mate, encouraging him to "enjoy the moment."

Walz gave Democrats a "pep talk" in his remarks, saying, "Let me finish with this, team. It’s the fourth quarter. We’re down a field goal. But we’re on offense and we’ve got the ball."

He said they have to do the "blocking and tackling," making phone calls and knocking on doors over the next 76 days. "There will be time to sleep when you’re dead," he said.

11:18 p.m. ET

Benjamin Ingman, a former student of Walz, brought out the state championship football team that Walz coached on the DNC stage while the Marine’s Hymn played in the background, minutes before the Minnesota governor accepted the vice presidential nomination. 

10:56 p.m. ET

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg started off his remarks with a joking tone, "I'm Pete Buttigieg and you might recognize me from Fox News." 

Buttigieg took shots at Trump's running mate, JD Vance, saying, "At least Mike Pence was polite." 

"JD Vance is one of those guys who thinks if you don't live the life he has in mind for you, then you don't count," Buttigieg continued. 

Buttigieg said Trump’s selection of Vance shows he’s "doubling down on negativity and grievance. A concept of campaigning best summed up in one word: darkness. Darkness is what they are selling."

10:31 p.m. ET

Famed television host Oprah Winfrey was welcomed to the DNC stage with cheers as she greeted the crowd in her familiar booming voice, "Good evening everybody!" 

"What we’re going to do is elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States," she said.

Winfrey delivered a famous endorsement to then-Sen. Barack Obama, her fellow Chicagoan, during his 2008 presidential campaign.

"Who says you can’t go home again?" she said Wednesday night.

Winfrey paid tribute to Tessie Prevost Williams, one of the "New Orleans Four," who died last month. Prevost Williams was one of four Black girls who helped integrate the city’s public schools in 1960.

Just like other speakers before her, Winfrey urged constituents to vote for Harris and Walz this November and endorsed the current vice president in her famous cheering tone, "Let us choose Kamala Harris!"

10:23 p.m. ET

American poet Amanda Gorman gave an impassioned reading during the DNC. 

"A people that cannot stand together cannot stand at all," Gorman declared from the Democratic convention stage as she recited an original piece of verse penned for the occasion, "This Sacred Scene."

"While we all love freedom, it is love that frees us all," Gorman’s poem said. "Empathy emancipates, making us greater than hate or vanity, that is the American promise powerful and pure."

The 26-year-old earned rare national fame for a modern poet when she read another poem she wrote, "The Hill We Climb," at the inauguration of Biden 3 ½ years ago.

10:16 p.m. ET

After veering a tad off schedule following Clinton's remarks, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was a potential running mate pick for Harris, gave his remarks at the DNC. 

Shapiro said, "We are the party of real freedom," criticizing Republicans for trying to undermine elections and roll back abortion access.

9:58 p.m. ET

Alexander Hudlin, Jasper Emhoff and Arden Emhoff, all family members of Harris, sang their praises for their "auntie." 

9:51 p.m. ET

Former speaker of the house Nancy Pelosi started off her remarks by thanking Biden for his service during his presidency before showering her praise on Harris and Walz. 

The rest of Pelosi’s time on stage has focused on the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, where many rioters were targeting the then-speaker and, when they couldn’t find her, ended up trashing her congressional office.

"The parable of January 6 reminds us that our democracy is only as strong as the courage and commitment of those entrusted with its care," she said, adding that America must choose leaders who believe in free and fair elections. "The choice couldn’t be clearer. Those leaders are Vice President Harris and Governor Walz."

9:21 p.m. ET

Former President Bill Clinton said Biden has, like George Washington, enhanced his legacy by deciding to leave office. Praising Biden at the start of his Democratic National Convention speech, Clinton says of Biden, "He healed our sick and put the rest of us back to work."

Clinton, who left office more than 23 years ago, cracked jokes about Trump’s age — and his own.

"I actually turned 78 two days ago," Clinton said. "The only personal vanity I want to assert is that I’m still younger than Donald Trump."

He did not mention that Biden, 81, is older than both of them.

He told the Democratic convention, "The next time you hear him, don’t count the lies — count the I’s." Adding some corny humor, Clinton said, "He’s like one of those tenors opening up before he walks out on stage trying to get his lungs open by saying: me, me, me, me. When Kamala Harris is president, every day will begin with you, you, you."

Clinton, who was memorably introduced to the Democratic convention in 1992 as "the man from hope," referencing his upbringing in Hope, Arkansas, is harking back to that moment as he seeks to boost Harris.

"Take it from the man who once had the honor to be called at this convention as the ‘man from hope,’ Kamala Harris will be "the president of joy."

9:15 p.m. ET

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries began his speech Wednesday night with a nod to President Biden, saying he would go down as one of the "most consequential presidents of all time." But Jeffries, who if Democrats win back the House in November would become the first Black speaker, quickly pivoted to the new nominee, saying Harris is a "courageous leader, a compassionate leader and common-sense leader."

Jeffries then spoke on Trump, saying the former president is like "an old boyfriend who you broke up with, but he just won’t go away."

"He has spent the last four years spinning around the block, trying to get back into a relationship with the American people," the New York Democrat said. "Bro, we broke up with you for a reason."

9:08 p.m. ET

Comedian Kenan Thompson brought back the huge "Project 2025" tome as he introduced a bit talking to various Americans who would be impacted by the book’s policies. "You ever see a document that can kill a small animal and democracy at the same time?" he said.

But as he began, tech issues prevented Thompson from going through with the bit with a Nevada delegate named Matt. After several seconds of trying to fix the problem, Thompson moved on to the next delegate, saying, "Sorry, Matt!" and the bit continued.

8:30 p.m. ET

Former Trump administration White House official Olivia Troye said she made the right decision when she quit her job.

She told the audience that being in Trump’s White House was "terrifying" but what truly keeps her up at night is the possibility of the former president reclaiming the office.

Troye said the traditional values that she says made her a Republican growing up are the same values that have led her to support Harris for president.

Turning to her fellow Republicans, she said a vote for Harris is not a vote for a Democrat but rather a vote for democracy.

7:45 p.m. ET

Sen. Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, introduced his constituents, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who has been held hostage in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023.

They were among the family members of six American hostages in attendance in Chicago to raise awareness about their family members’ plight.

Polin and Goldberg-Polin, wearing a notation that it’s been 320 days since their son was taken captive, received a standing ovation from conventiongoers, who chanted "Bring them home."

While the Polins spoke, the camera cut to the various people in the room who were shedding tears for the parents.

7:00 p.m. ET

There were more videos played of former Trump supporters no longer backing the GOP nominee.

It’s a theme to which convention programming has been returning throughout the week, perhaps aimed at other former Trump backers now looking for a new political home.

6:45 p.m. ET

Many famous faces will appear on the third night of the DNC. 

Country music star Maren Morris and poet Amanda Gorman will be performing.

Comedian Kenan Thompson will be joined by "guests," the convention said, as he discusses the conservative Project 2025 on stage during the program. Other famous faces include musician John Legend and actor Mindy Kaling.

Talk show legend Oprah Winfrey will appear at the DNC on Wednesday night, according to a person familiar with the schedule who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans.

Winfrey delivered a famous endorsement to then-Sen. Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign. It’s not yet clear whether she will endorse Harris, who is vying to become the first Black woman elected president.

6:30 p.m. ET

The third night of the DNC is underway. 

Harris, Walz on individual rights 

Both Harris and Walz have championed and campaigned for women's rights, particularly on key issues such as abortion. 

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Already, Walz has captivated crowds in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan with the story of his daughter’s birth, made possible through in vitro fertilization treatments. The procedure involves retrieving a woman’s eggs and combining them in a lab dish with sperm to create a fertilized embryo that is transferred into the woman’s uterus in hopes of creating a pregnancy.

Harishas called on Congress to pass legislation guaranteeing in federal law abortion access, a right that stood for nearly 50 years before being overturned by the Supreme Court. Like Biden, Harris has criticized bans on abortion in Republican-controlled states and promised as president to block any potential nationwide ban should one clear a future GOP-run Congress. 

Harris was the Democrats’ most visible champion of abortion rights even while Biden was still in the race. She has promoted the administration’s efforts short of federal law — including steps to protect women who travel to obtain abortions and limit how law enforcement collects medical records.

RELATED: Chicago DNC protest: Additional fencing installed on Day Two following breach, police announce more arrests

Obama DNC speech 2024, other day 2 highlights

• The second night of the DNC included speeches from both of the Obamas. Barack Obama, for his part, reached back to his own 2004 convention speech to tie Harris to his legacy. "I am feeling hopeful -- because this convention has always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe in a country where everything is possible," he said.
• In another address, second gentleman Doug Emhoff focused on he and Harris' love story and offered a personal glimpse meant to pull in voters, too. He dished on the deets of their first phone call, after he left her a rambling voicemail that she still makes him listen to every year on their anniversary. "I love that laugh," he said adoringly, a rebuttal to Trump’s criticism of Harris’ laughter.
• Meanwhile, there was a dance party. DJ Cassidy strode on stage in a bright blue double-breasted suit and spun tunes for every state as they nominated Harris and Walz. Minnesota got "1999" by native son Prince, Kansas got "Carry on Wayward Son" by, well, Kansas. "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen played as New Jersey weighed in. The roll call highlight was when Atlanta rapper Lil Jon strode through the United Center to the beats of "Turn Down for What," his song with DJ Snake, and rapped his support for Harris and Walz.

What happened on day 1 of DNC?

• Hillary Clinton spoke hopefully of finally breaking the "glass ceiling" to elect a female president. Joe Biden laced into Trump and directly acknowledged the concerns of protesters against the war in Gazawho demonstrated a few blocks from the convention hall.
• President Joe Biden wrapped up the convention’s opening night by beginning his long political farewell with an address that both framed his own legacy and signaled he was ready to start ceding control of the party to Harris.
• Harris made an unscheduled appearance onstage to pay tribute to Biden ahead of his own address to the convention. She told the president, "Thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you’ll continue to do."