Democrats who came to Philadelphia this week fretting about party division say there is only one way to ensure Hillary Clinton wins in November: defining themselves as the party of national unity.
Confronted by a Republican nominee they view as a demagogue, Democrats say with a growing sense of urgency that it is imperative for their party to embrace racial diversity, inclusion and bipartisanship as the key to defeating Donald Trump.
CNN interviewed more than a dozen Clinton supporters at the Democratic National Convention who hope to see the former secretary of state inherit the presidency from Barack Obama, asking what they perceived to be the core messages of Clinton and Trump. Many described a feeling of alarm and and even fear at the extreme differences between the two presidential nominees.
After a tumultuous few days in Philadelphia rocked by outbursts from Bernie Sanders supporters, many Democrats leave the convention confident that Clinton has found a positive theme of tolerance and championing minorities and the disenfranchised to counter Trump’s darker rhetoric.
“Hillary Clinton’s message is that we are much better together. And that is true — we don’t need to make America great. We are great already,” said William Frick, a Clinton delegate from South Carolina. “But we can be better when we work together.”
Frick, a 42-year-old attorney, described Trump’s message as: “Make America hate again.” “He wants to talk about a great time that existed in ‘Leave It to Beaver’ and not in reality,” he said.
Clinton, making history Thursday night by becoming the country’s first woman to accept a major party’s nomination for president, delivered a speech that was in part inspired by a book she wrote two decades ago: “It Takes a Village.”
“None of us can raise a family, build a business, heal a community or lift a country totally alone. America needs every one of us to lend our energy, our talents, our ambition to making our nation better and stronger,” she said. “I believe that with all my heart.”
It’s a message that appeared to resonate in the convention hall.
Anita Green, a 25-year-old Bernie Sanders delegate from Montana, was a part of the “Bernie or Bust” movement until Tuesday night, when Clinton was officially nominated. As Montana’s first transgender national delegate, Green said Clinton’s record on same sex marriage isn’t perfect but that it has become clear to her that the alternative is a “demagogue” who would do nothing to help the LGBTQ community.
“We need to come together and unite. Unity trumps Trump,” Green said. “I would like to urge the queer community to rally behind Hillary Clinton.”
North Carolina state Rep. Rodney Moore, a Clinton delegate, said the visions of the two nominees couldn’t be more diametrically opposed.
“She’s offering a message of equal economic opportunity, access to health care, education opportunities for all children regardless of their zip code and strength in our nation and strength in our world,” Moore said of Clinton.
Trump’s candidacy, Moore said, is centered on hate, confusion and xenophobia, “That’s a message of narcissism and I can solve all of America’s problems, and I don’t need any help to do it.”
The start of the Democratic convention was overshadowed by tensions within the party. Sanders supporters protested what they believed was a rigged election, frequently disrupting proceedings inside the Wells Fargo Center and staging a walkout after Clinton’s formal nomination Tuesday.
Democratic National Committee emails released over the weekend that showed committee officials favoring Clinton also led to the dramatic resignation of Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
But coming on the heels of the GOP convention last week in Cleveland, Democrats here also expounded on the theme of national unity and inclusion to draw sharp contrasts between the world views of Clinton and Trump.
The speeches and programming represented communities of a wide range of religions, races and backgrounds, while at the same time, highlighting some of Trump’s most inflammatory statements and proposals, including his signature idea of building a wall on the US-Mexico border and banning Muslims from entering the country.
In a direct attack against her GOP opponent, Clinton said, “And most of all, don’t believe anyone who says: ‘I alone can fix it.’ Those were actually Donald Trump’s words in Cleveland. And they should set off alarm bells for all of us.”
Democratic strategist Paul Begala said the banner of “Stronger Together” has been an especially resonant message this election.
“At a time when the country seems to be coming apart, voters will respond to a call to come together,” Begala said.
Stephen Woodruff, a Sanders delegate from Northern Mariana Islands now supporting Clinton, said the message that has resonated most deeply with him this convention is “love trumps hate.”
“This is the message of the Democratic Party, that we all should be one, we work together, we support each other, we don’t divide against each other, we don’t fight against people just because of the color of their skin or their religion or their sexual preference,” Woodruff told CNN. “Basically, her message to the country is the exact opposite to Donald Trump’s message to the country.”
Clinton’s speech was met with thunderous applause inside the arena and marked a particularly poignant moment for many of the women in the room.
“it’s very emotional, it truly is, that I’m able to see this in my lifetime,” said Sally Howard, 72-year-old South Carolina delegate. “I have a daughter and two granddaughters: for them to know that being president is not something only men do.”
Two rows behind Howard, South Carolina state Rep. Mandy Powers Norrell, shed tears as Clinton spoke. Powers Norrell said she was thinking about her 14-year-old daughter. “It just means so much to know that she has opportunities that are limitless,” she said.
“It’s just sort of overwhelming,” she added. “It’s so exciting, to know that I was here when history was made. I think I’ll end up going home and watching it again and processing it again at a slower pace.”
