How the Democrats are lining up their convention speakers

The Democratic National Convention will play out like a star-studded Zoom call next week, anchored by nightly prime-time keynote speeches, with Michelle Obama on Monday, Jill Biden on Tuesday, Barack Obama on Wednesday and Joe Biden’s acceptance speech Thursday, according to a schedule of events.

The convention, originally planned for Milwaukee, then forced into a cramped virtual format by the coronavirus pandemic, has been a logistical nightmare for planners who have had to grapple with wary television networks, daunting technical challenges and the threat of disruption by President Donald Trump.

The schedule reflects Biden’s chief political goal: uniting the jostling progressive and establishment wings of the Democratic Party.

The first-night schedule reflects that big-tent objective. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, still the standard-bearer of the populist left, has been given a keynote slot, just before Michelle Obama speaks, and after Andrew Cuomo, the moderate governor of New York, delivers what is expected to be a scathing attack on Trump’s handling of the health crisis.

After the formality of a virtual delegate vote Tuesday, Biden’s running mate will address the convention Wednesday. As a precaution, planners have scheduled speaking times for some top vice-presidential contenders in case they are not picked, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Bill Clinton will speak Tuesday, after Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general who briefly oversaw the investigation into potential ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Hillary Clinton is set to appear Wednesday, the same night as Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was severely wounded by a gunman in 2011.

Entertainers and pop-culture stars are also expected to appear, but the party has been more tight-lipped on its Hollywood talent than on the Washington lineup.

The major broadcast networks, ABC, CBS and NBC, plan to carry an hour of the convention live each night, from 10-11 p.m. on the East Coast. Cable news channels will air the two-hour nightly proceedings in full, but the Democrats’ jampacked schedule poses a risk that local affiliates in swing states could cut away at 11 p.m. if speakers are not wrapped up.

Biden is scheduled to accept the nomination Thursday, the convention’s final night, near his home in Delaware. But the exact location has yet to be announced.