First Day of DNC: Controversial speeches, Walz confirmed as VP nominee, and criticism of Biden for speaking outside prime time

The first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) was full of controversy and complications. The confirmation of Tim Walz as Kamala Harris' running mate was completely overshadowed on a day mostly marked by anti-Israel riots and the unexplained delay of Joe Biden's speech, who spoke outside US prime time, taking the stage at 23:25 ET.

"They are running seriously behind schedule right now at the DNC. There’s a world in which a lot of America will be in bed when President Joe Biden takes the stage," Josh Dawsey, a reporter for the Washington Post, wrote an hour before Biden spoke.

"We're 90 minutes behind schedule. It's unconscionable to have President Biden's address occur at midnight ET," said Christopher Hale, a 2020 Democratic delegate from Tennessee. "We should postpone some upcoming folks and put the president up there soon."

Criticism also came from journalists outraged by Biden's delay and the schedule of speeches by relatively minor or inconsequential figures who took the stage to highlight Kamala Harris, Walz and Biden's own "patriotism" for stepping aside and backing his vice president in the presidential race.

Indeed, several of the short addresses that preceded Biden's became repetitive, devoted mostly to praising the president as the party's "experienced leader," often with phrases like "we love you, Joe."

"How late are Democrats going to make Joe Biden wait to speak? Lot of speakers left, if they keep them all in the lineup," Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York said on Twitter after 22:30 ET.

The first lady, Jill Biden, barely began speaking past 23:10 ET and didn't even last ten minutes on stage. Afterwards, Ashley Biden took the stage to give way to her father, who was greeted with a standing ovation from the audience.

Biden kicked off his speech, like most of the day's speakers, repeating the slogan that Democrats must preserve democracy and recalled the circumstances of how he assumed the presidency in 2021.

"I knew then from the bottom of my heart as I do now, there is no place in America for political violence, none," Biden said. "You cannot say you love your country only when you win."

"Democracy has prevailed, democracy has delivered, and now democracy must be preserved," continued the president, who dropped out of the race after party leaders, progressive media and big party donors forced him to step aside following his disastrous performance in the polls.

We're facing an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history where the decisions we make now will determine the world for decades to come," said Biden, who tried to sound forceful throughout his speech, raising his voice pitch for several moments and repeatedly attacking former President Donald Trump, whom he called a "dictator."

The president also used part of his speech to emphasize his record and give Harris credit for the "successes" of his administration.

Indeed, Biden called his own tenure "one of the most extraordinary four years of progress in history," highlighting the pandemic recovery, economic growth and his measures that sought to reduce drug prices. However, the president ignored the impact of inflation, something publicly acknowledged by Harris herself, the recent negative numbers on unemployment that disrupted the markets, the crisis at the border or the insecurity problems. He also said that he and Harris helped get schools open after the pandemic, a comment that sparked outrage on social media.

At another point, Biden ignored the border crisis altogether, noting that there are "fewer border crossings" now than when Trump left office.

Although Biden's speech on the first day of the DNC was seen as an important step for Democrats, seen as a sort of passing of the torch after the president dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris as his replacement,the reality is that many Americans were unable to hear the president live.

Even some members of the DNC audience left the venue before Biden spoke.

"How late is President Joe Biden’s speech? As 11 p.m. nears in Chicago, droves of people are leaving the arena area — many carrying signs saying they love Joe, and heading into the night," the WaPo's, Josh Dawsey reported.

Anti-Israel riots

Beyond the criticism of Biden, however, the Democratic National Convention saw early on how anti-Israel protests caused uproar and concern, with clashes between law enforcement and rioters protesting Benjamin Netanyahu and Democrats who are supporting the Israeli state.

In fact, the fear of the demonstrators was such that even the city of Chicago was primed to receive the rioters, with merchants fencing off their stores and a sizeable increase in the number of law enforcement officers ready to preserve security in the vicinity of the United Center.

Despite the beefed-up security, hundreds of protesters approached the venue with Palestinian flags, signs and anti-Semitic chants.

The situation became especially complex when the most violent ones began to throw objects against the fence installed by the authorities. As the minutes passed, the rioters managed to tear down at least three panels of the 10-foot outer perimeter fence. This led to clashes between the protesters and the Police and also a few arrests to control the situation.

During his speech, President Biden addressed some of his words these protesters who were threatening security at the event. "Those, those protesters out in the street, they have a point," Biden told the Democratic audience.

"A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides," he added. Biden later assured that his Administration has been working for peace in the Middle East, stressing that Secretary of State Antony Blinken was at the same time in Israel to advocate for truce talks with Hamas.

Some controversial and divisive speeches

While there were many subdued messages throughout the day, the day had some controversial and potentially divisive moments.

For example, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton smiled and nodded as the audience at the Democratic National Convention erupted in chants of "Lock him up!" in a clear reference to former President Donald Trump.

"As a prosecutor, Kamala locked up murderers and drug traffickers, she will never rest in defense of our freedom and safety. Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial, and when he woke up he made his own kind of history, the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions," Clinton said.

Likewise, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said during his address that Democrats need to "stand up for democracy" and end the Republican Party's "cult of personality."

"Someone should have told Donald Trump that the president's job under Article II of the constitution is to take care that the laws are faithfully executed, not that the vice president is executed," said Raskin, who immediately jokingly asserted that the Jan. 6 protesters tried to "kill" former Vice President Mike Pence.

"JD Vance, do you understand why there was a sudden job opening for running mate on the GOP ticket?, They tried to kill your predecessor," he said.