A meta-reckoning

The 2024 Democratic National Convention logo still bears the wavy red insignia of the president’s now-defunct campaign logo. Delegates sport aviators. Speakers pay tribute to his legacy and life story. And throughout the United Center, delegates, influencers, and elected officials who had previously used their platforms and sway to fight efforts to force the president from the race are now basking in the enthusiasm and momentum unleashed by those efforts’ success.

Even as the DNC’s programming has shifted from Biden tributes to Harris hagiography, the party has not completely closed the door on the bitter month of infighting that preceded the president’s retirement. Each night has featured speakers who not only backed the president’s candidacy until the end but made a point of disparaging those calling for his withdrawal. Rep. Grace Meng, who blasted those calling for the president to step aside as “bullies,” was given a prime Monday speaking slot (though she ended up being one of a handful of speakers bumped off the schedule after programming went over). Olivia Julianna, an activist who professed herself “disgusted” with efforts to force Biden from the race in July, is scheduled to speak tonight.

The party’s unprecedented effort to reach online audiences underscored the awkwardness. Over 200 online content creators received credentialed access this year, part of a broad push to shape conversation about the convention on platforms like TikTok. A convention official acknowledged the influencers’ presence and ubiquity — it’s hard to walk anywhere without seeing young people toting selfie lights and — had been fueled by the candidate switch, saying there had been a “flood of interest [from creators] since Kamala became the nominee.” But many of those brought to Chicago as part of that program had just recently been among the most ardent opponents of the very decision that has fueled the convention’s renewed sense of energy.

Two major Democratic social media personalities present, who both tirelessly defended the president’s candidacy after his disastrous debate performance, declined to comment on the record. Others express no regret. Harry Sisson, a Democratic influencer who amassed a huge online following in part with relentlessly upbeat takes on Biden’s campaign, spoke of Harris’s campaign in similarly glowing terms, praising the “huge boost in youth excitement, youth support” brought by her candidacy. Still, he stood by his previous calls for Biden to stay in the race. “Biden has been an amazing president,” Sisson said. “And I will never, ever regret or apologize for standing by that achievement.”

But even some of the president’s staunchest allies admit that the momentum behind the Harris-Walz ticket has vindicated the other side of intra-party debate. “I think Joe Biden would be the first to admit that over the last couple weeks, the energy that we’ve seen has validated the decision Joe Biden made,” said Sarah McBride, a Delaware state senator and congressional candidate who has been a family friend of the Bidens for years.

That energy shift is tangible even outside of the Windy City. The vice president is polling better than the president did for the entirety of the 2024 race, the share of Democrats expressing enthusiasm about their standard bearer in polls has doubled in most polls, and on Tuesday, the Harris campaign announced it had raised over $500 million since she entered the race less than a month ago — an unprecedented sum for such a short period of time.

No one in Chicago is more aware of the changed landscape than Rep. Dean Phillips, the Minnesota congressman whose primary challenge to Biden drew mockery, dismissal, and vicious criticism within his own party. “The mission has been vindicated,” Phillips said Tuesday while rushing between media appearances, suddenly in demand after nearly a year as a pariah. But he argues the party needs a reckoning on the process that brought it to the brink of a decision nearly Democratic leader now tacitly acknowledges would have been a mistake. “I think that’s a national conversation we need to have because we shouldn’t be suppressing competition, we shouldn’t be diminishing speech, or canceling,” Phillips said. Still, the congressman insisted he has no lingering animosity, even towards colleagues who denigrated his motivations and character. “I hold no animus and no resentment because that only rewards those who knew better.”

Rep. Hillary Scholten, who represents a swingy suburban Michigan district and was part of the early wave of calls for the president to end his candidacy, agreed with the need for reflection. “There should be an acknowledgment here that that’s not who we are,” Scholten said, noting the backlash she received after releasing her statement. “We’ve done a really powerful thing and should be paying attention to the impact on our voters and the enthusiasm.”

For now, the story of Chicago is a story of that enthusiasm — particularly after an electrifying pair of speeches from Michelle and Barack Obama Tuesday night that brought the house down. If the party’s jubilation fades between now and Election Day, it’s likely to be replaced only by ruthless determination. “There’s always time to reflect and figure out the best path forward after the election,” said Mo Elleithee, a former spokesman for the Democratic National Committee. But, he noted, the ultimate verdict on how the party handled the Biden saga will likely be determined by the outcome of Harris’ effort in November.

“If she wins,” Elleithee added, “I don’t think you’re going to see a huge hunger to look back on this process.”

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