By Maggie Astor in the NYT.
We have never, it is safe to say, had a convention like this before.
With the coronavirus pandemic still raging, it will be almost entirely virtual. Delegates will not be in Milwaukee. The stars of the week, Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Kamala Harris, will deliver their speeches from Wilmington, Del., nearly 700 miles away.
But the important business of the convention — the speeches from Democratic leaders past and present, the adoption of the official Democratic policy platform and, of course, the votes that will turn Mr. Biden from presumptive to official nominee — is still happening, and you can watch it from your couch.
Michelle Obama, the former first lady, and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the runner-up in the Democratic primary, will headline the first night on Monday. Scroll down for a full list of speakers.
How to watch
The convention will air from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time every day, Monday through Thursday. There are several ways to watch:
- The Times will stream the full convention every day, accompanied by chat-based live analysis from our reporters and real-time highlights from the speeches.
- The official livestream will be here. It will also be available on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Twitch.
- ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News will carry the convention from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. each night. C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC and PBS will cover the full two hours each night.
- Streams will be available on Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV by searching “Democratic National Convention” or “2020 DNC,” and on Amazon Prime Video by searching “DNC.”
- The convention will air on AT&T U-verse (channels 212 and 1212) and AT&T DirectTV (channel 201). It will also air on Comcast Xfinity Flex and Comcast X1 (say “DNC” into your voice remote).
- You can watch on a PlayStation 4 or PSVR through the Littlstar app.
- If you have an Alexa device, you can say “Alexa, play the Democratic National Convention.”
Who’s speaking
- Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina. He is the highest-ranking Black member of Congress and a hugely influential figure in South Carolina politics, and his endorsement helped lift Mr. Biden to a dominant victory there after losses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
- Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada. She is the first Latina to serve in the Senate and was an early contender to be Mr. Biden’s running mate, but she chose to withdraw from consideration in May.
- Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York. The leader of one of the country’s biggest blue states, he gained national attention this past spring for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, although his response has also drawn criticism.
- Senator Doug Jones of Alabama. His victory in a 2017 special election in one of the nation’s most conservative states was a huge upset, and he is now the most vulnerable Senate Democrat up for re-election.
- Former Gov. John Kasich of Ohio. He was a Republican presidential candidate in 2016 and opposes President Trump, and his presence is meant to demonstrate bipartisan support for Mr. Biden. Some voters are upset, though, that he is getting more speaking time than progressives like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
- Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. She surged to finish third in the New Hampshire primary, then dropped out and endorsed Mr. Biden before Super Tuesday. She was briefly under vice-presidential consideration but urged Mr. Biden to choose a woman of color after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
- Representative Gwen Moore of Wisconsin. She is a co-chairwoman of the convention host committee and has represented Milwaukee in Congress for 15 years, including as a former whip of the Congressional Black Caucus.
- Michelle Obama, the former first lady. She delivered one of the most memorable speeches of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, famously declaring, “When they go low, we go high.”
- Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. The runner-up in the Democratic primary and the leader of the party’s progressive wing, he has a loyal base that Mr. Biden needs to win — and while Mr. Sanders has endorsed Mr. Biden, some of his supporters are reluctant.
- Representative Bennie Thompson of Mississippi. He is the convention chairman and leads the House Committee on Homeland Security, and has represented Mississippi’s Second Congressional District for more than 25 years.
- Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. A rising figure in the Democratic Party, she has grown further in prominence for her response to the coronavirus pandemic and was a finalist to be Mr. Biden’s running mate.