stacey abrams and music from chloe and halle. "nightline" is next. goodnight. oh, oh, that's terrible. now, that's terrible. tonight, unconventional convention. kicking off the first ever virtual dnc, first lady michelle obama. >> i know joe, he was a terrific vice president. he will tell the truth. >> and senator bernie sanders. an opponent turned ally. rallying behind their party as presidential ticket. >> we need joe biden as our next president. >> and spotlighting three national crisis, the pandemic, the economic fall-out and the renewed racial reckoning. >> george should be alive today. breonna taylor should be alive today, ahmad arbery should be

alive today. >> our political power house team standing by to break it all down. >> this special edition of "nightline," your voice, your vote, starts right now. good evening and thanks for joining us. tonight the unprecedented move by the democratic party, launching the political tradition held every four years and going virtual in the pandemic. the coronavirus and other tough issues taking center stage on the first night of the dnc, wrapping up moments ago and for the latest we go straight to mary bruce reporting from our nation's capitol. mary? >> juju, the democrats kicked off a convention like none other. no packed floor or cheering or applause, instead, a series of speeches and videos, from across the country and party. the goal was to show that joe biden can speak to all americans, not just democrats. tonight was a chance for the

democratic party to show they were united so we heard from biden's rivals, senator bernie sanders and while we briefly heard from the candidate himself in a conversation with racial justice leaders, his big acceptance speech will not come until thursday. his challenge over the next three days is to not just make the case against president trump, but to also convince voters that he, joe biden is the right person to carry the country forward. >> thank you, -- >> tonight it's the star powers lending their support to the dnc. >> if you take one thing from my words tonight, it is this. if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can and they will if we don't make a change in this election. >> michelle obama, delivering an impassioned keynote speech on the first night of the democratic national convention. >> if we have any hope of ending

the chaos, we have to vote for joe biden like our lives depend on it. >> the former first lady and the former two-time presidential contender and rabble-rouser, senator bernie sanders making the case for joe biden. >> i say to you for those that supported other candidates in the primary and those that may have voted for donald trump in the last election. the future of our democracy is at stake. >> virtual speaker after speaker -- >> the joe i know is exactly the leader our country needs right now. >> joe biden and kamala heirs will lead by example. >> so we will need a president, who sees unifying people as a requirement of the job. >> drawing a sharp contrast from the former vice president and the current president. donald trump. >> continuing to follow that path, will have terrible consequences for america's soul. >> bernie once again urging those that backed his progressive presidential bid to

rally behind the moderate front-runner in november. >> our campaign ended several months ago, but our movement continues and it's getting stronger every day. >> tonight's message, set aside differences, in the name of unity. a call to departments after a primary season that saw 28 candidates coming down to one. >> he ises the kind of leader that brings other leaders in. >> tonight's taped speeches are a far cry from the fan fair and the chanting of the 2016 convention. >> hillary clinton must become the next president of the united states. >> michelle obama, owning the stage. coining that now familiar slogan. >> when someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don't stoop to their level. no, our motto is when theylo we

in the dnc, a first virtual convention, taking places in milwaukee's wisconsin center. the theme of the night, "we the people," with video testimonies from every day americans. >> my dad was a healthy 65-year-old, his only pre-existing condition was trusting donald trump and for that, he paid with his life. >> but it was a star studded affair from actress eva longoria. >> every four years we come together to reaffirm our democracy, this year we have come to save it. >> to leon bridges. ♪ ♪ but it's just another day >> and performances by billy porter and stephen stills. ♪ got to stop, children, what's that sound ♪ ♪ everybody look what's going down ♪ >> how are you? thanks for doing this. >> the candidate himself joe biden making an appearance in a video. speaking about racial justice. >> we cannot have 18,000 police departments and in 2020 have

police departments still allowing the use of a knee on a pan's ne -- of a man's neck. >> the call for a moment of silence to honor their brother and all those whose lives were lost due to racial injustice. >> our actions must be their legacies. we must find ourselves in what john lewis called good trouble. >> today played out over the backdrop of a global pandemic, over 170,000 people is have died from the global pandemic. a central part of tonight as theme. new york's governor cuomo, delivering one of his trademark presentations, calling out president trump. >> only a strong body can fight off the virus. and america's divisions weakened it. donald trump did not create the initial division. the division created trump. he only made it worse.

>> in wisconsin, president trump hitting the campaign trails speaking to a crowd of several hundred. criticizing joe biden and his virtual convention. >> but these are people that are seriously radical left, joe biden is nothing but their puppet. he has no clue what is happening. and they are making speeches that are taped. who wants to listen to michelle obama do a taped speech. >> the counter programming coming as the president find himself at the moment fighting from behind. >> yes, trump definitely still has a shot at re-election. >> 538 launched the first forecast. showing biden with a 72% chance of securing the white house come november. trump's chances only slightly lower on election night 2016. >> the bottom line, it's simply too soon for a model or anybody else to be too confident about what is going on happen.

>> a number of republican politicians entering enemy territory. >> crossing party line wills to oppose their own parties incumbent. uniting against a common foe with a goal, defeat donald trump. >> i'm meg whitman, a long time republican and ceo. >> i'm a former republican member of congress from new york city and i have known donald trump for most of my political career. so disappointing and lately so disturbing. >> then introducing ohio governor john kasich. >> i'm a life-long republican. but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country. that's why i have chosen to appear at this convention. >> tonight, he endorsed the former vice president. >> we can do better. and what we have been seeing today for sure and i know that joe biden with his experience and his wisdom and his decency can bring us together to help us

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the dnc has lift off with their four-night event, no applause to move the audience, laying bare the pressure on speakers to create the momentum needed from now until election day, how did they do? lindsay davis broke it down with our powerhouse political team. >> i'm joined by chris christie, the former governor of new jersey, and republican strategist sarah fagan, so we just heard from the big headliner, michelle obama, curious to get your take on it, rahm emanuel, bernie sandered talked about policy for the first time but she was a character witness, was she

effective? >> she came with something to say and she probably has a stature given what she said up front, when was a powerful point, you know i don't like politics. she came and did a most effective take down of this president and the consequences to all of us and then a build up to what joe biden can be as a president and the country we all know we all remember, and restore that country. so, she did it on the character side. but i think she, you know, we were joking earlier, she has been holding this in for three and a half years and came with something to say and did it in a way that i don't think that, i think was quite effective. because it was very personal. there was an authenticity that came with her voice that was not just a political speech from another person. she is not, some people introduced her as a politician. she is not a politician, she is clear about that. and i think there was an authenticity of the frustration and anger of what we have seen from the oval office and what has impacted people's lives and

she knows it and joe biden has the judgment and character and empathy, you will hear that constantly that can drive us toward a better america. the america we know and all know is waiting to be awakened again. >> we heard from bernie sanders, basically giving his full support to joe biden. is that enough to try to unify progressives. >> i think bernie carries a lot of weight and what he did well, one, he put it out there right up front. authoritarianism, do you want that as a president? he puts it right out there like nobody else and he said, we don't agree, but guess what i'm putting my support behind him because it's that important. i think bernie sandering can do it like no one else and i think a lot of progressives that follow him will do it and he did it before in 2016 and he went out and campaigned on behalf of hillary clinton. this time, progressives are looking to him to say, these are

the policies that we don't necessarily agree on them, and i will work with joe to make sure we get there once he is elected. >> govern er, your response to kasich basically saying country over party. there were three other republicans that did the same. does that sway anybody, or bring them over? >> no. list, i have great respect for governor whitman and meg whitman, nobody knows who they are and nobody cares. as for jon kasich, he has no credibility left in the republican party. i don't think that he will be swaying anybody there and i don't think that independents are tuned in to what is going on with john kasich a number of years after he left office. we may look back on this and say the most effective thing of the week was michelle obama's speech. you know, rahm and i were speaking in the commercial. she is waiting for years to say this. there was an emotion behind her

speech tonight, that you know, didn't seem angry. but was passionate. and i think what we are going look back on after this this week is at the high point of the convention, may turn out being this speech on the first night. because of who she is, and how she delivered. you know, it's easy enough to write something like that but to deliver it the way she delivered it. it was incredibly well done. >> you know that scene in the movie and you open up the scream "i can't take this anymore," that's the exact scene. >> i'm curious to get your response, a number of people criticized president trump for his handling of covid. i think that one of the most damning statements of the night was from the young woman who lost her dad and she had said that his only underlying condition was that he trusted president trump. could this be a referendum on

the way the president handled the virus? >> it will be the defining factor in the race. there's still in months to go and the outcome of covid today could be different tomorrow. and so, i think when you get to the republican convention, you know, we are going the to see donald trump talk about the many things that the trump administration has done to combat this. i think he has had some real struggles at the podium on the topic. but you know, we are not talking today about people not getting ventilators. we are talking about record breaking vaccine research. we are, people have ppe, people have masks. you know, everybody has the tools they need to combat it, not everyone is using then. but, he deserves credit for how quickly it has gotten done. >> go ahead. >> well, this is a very per thing. i mean given people are losing their lives. this is going to sound weird, in a presidential election, the organizing principal of the

election is the economy. because of covid and because of the disruption, if you look at the data coming in about how people making a decision between biden and trump, covid is the kind of grounding principal whether you think as our ticket, i don't think that people shared that view. whether they think he has done the best he can or they are negative about it. and covid is pushing your view of the economy to the sideline, and the force is around your view about covid, that is why both empathy and covid are the two dominant themes in the convention, those are the two qualities and issues that will drive the election and people's decisions. >> going to stick with you for a last second before we wrap. how does joe biden effectively connect with voters when he is not on the campaign trail and based on what you saw tonight, is this a way to do it? >> you know, i think this is first of all, you will get a lot of surrogates and they will document that. there's a part of him that will be hindered in the same way that president trump cannot do

rallies. this will affect joe biden. but there's empathy and authenticity with him. >> my thanks to lindsay and the team, we will be right back with a final note. of time. much like these majestic rocky mountains. which must be named after the... that would be rocky the flying squirrel, mr. gecko sir. obviously! ahh come on bullwinkle, they're named after... our first president george rockington! that doesn't even make any sense... mr... uhh... winkle. geico. over 75 years of savings and service. mr... uhh... winkle. for bathroom odors that linger try febreze small spaces. just press firmly and it continuously eliminates odors in the air and on soft surfaces. for 45 days.

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♪ day one of the dnc complete, going virtual for the first time, adapting in the time of covid, stay with abc news and nightline for complete coverage of the four-night political extravaganza, speakers tomorrow, former second lady, jill biden and former president bill clinton. that is it for tonight, you can find our full episodes on hulu, and we will see you tomorrow at the same time. thanks for staying up with us. goodnight america.

from hollywood, it's jimmy kimmel live, with guest host, kerry washington, tonight, reese witherspoon and our health care hero of the week. and now, kerry washington.

hello and welcome to "jimmy kimmel live." i'm your guest host, kerry washington. and tonight i am making television history as the first woman to ever host a late night show -- on a covered patio -- in one hundred degree heat and 90% humidity. that is a very specific glass ceiling, but i just broke the hell out of it. which is good because i haven't been doing much during quarantine. just being a teacher, a camp counselor, a life guard, you know, just a mom during covid times. i'm also running a production company from a corner of my bedroom, learning how to cook new things because i'm sometimes paranoid about ordering take out, teaching yoga on instagram to calm my own damn nerves, and doing press for my new documentary "the fight," which basically means running a press junket from that same corner of that same bedroom. other than that though, it's been super chill. but when i'm feeling my most anxious i think about the frontline workers, grocery store employees, sanitation workers, mail carriers.

shout out to the mail carriers especially during this time. i think about how hard they're working and i'm truly grateful.