PHILADELPHIA: The Latest on the Democratic National Convention and 2016 presidential campaign. (all times EDT):
4:05 p.m.
Lady Gaga and Lenny Kravitz have hit the stage at an invitation-only concert for Democratic convention delegates and guests.
The pop stars are performing Thursday afternoon at an amphitheater in Camden, New Jersey, across the river from Philadelphia.
Gaga opened with a jazzy version of the folk song “This Land is Your Land” and then Neil Young’s “Old Man.” She was introduced by Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, who called her a star who’s not afraid to speak out about sexual violence and mental health.
Kravitz ended his set by shouting “We the people. We the people. We the people.” Kravitz also performed inside the convention on Wednesday night.
DJ Jazzy Jeff spun tunes in between sets.
———
2:37 p.m.
President Barack Obama’s mention of “fascists” and “homegrown demagogues” in his convention speech wasn’t aimed at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
That’s what White House press secretary Josh Earnest is telling reporters the day after Obama argued for Democrat Hillary Clinton’s election over Trump.
Obama said “anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadists or homegrown demagogues will always fail in the end.”
Obama had criticized Trump several times before arriving at that particular line in the speech, including saying that American power “doesn’t come from a self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order as long as we do things his way.”
Trump said in his acceptance speech at last week’s GOP convention that “I alone can fix” a political system he says is rigged.
———
2:19 p.m.
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is giving Hillary Clinton credit for her work on behalf of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Giuliani was asked at a Republican Party briefing Thursday in Philadelphia whether he took issue with the Democratic convention speakers who’d been praising Clinton. Giuliani said she was “enormously supportive and helpful.” Clinton was a U.S. senator from New York at the time.
He says Clinton “has a right to tell people that she worked hard on behalf of the 9/11 families.” He adds that, “She did.”
But Giuliani adds that “on all other aspects she fails the test.” Clinton and Democrats, he says, have “not done anything to prevent another attack.”
———
1:50 p.m.
This time, Bill Clinton will be the adoring spouse, rapt and smiling when the cameras cut away from the candidate in the spotlight.
He’ll be the He in the VIP box watching as She accepts the presidential nomination at the Democratic convention on Thursday.
It’s one small step in the role reversal Americans will need to get used to if Hillary Clinton wins the White House in November.
Already, satires and spoofs are circulating, taking note of Bill’s fashion choices, accessories and hair style. How about that fetching pantsuit! And that nice head of hair! Whose shoes is he wearing?
After all, that’s what political wives have come to expect.
Bill Clinton, utterly comfortable in his own skin, seems to be just fine with trading places with his wife, the former first lady.
———
12:23 p.m.
Mike Pence says he has a lot in common with the Republican presidential nominee — just not in matters of rhetorical style.
The Indiana governor and Trump’s running mate said at a Wednesday campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, that the two are “a bit different in style.” He then trailed off and paused for several seconds before adding that their differences also extended to the Pence’s family’s “balance sheet.”
But Pence said the two are united by a shared appreciation for hard work and value their families. And he says both had grandfathers who were immigrants to the United States.
———
10:28 a.m.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid says the CIA should give Donald Trump “fake intelligence briefings” because he can’t be trusted.
The Nevada Democrat tells reporters in Philadelphia that “they shouldn’t give him anything that means anything because you can’t trust him.”
Reid was responding to Trump’s call for Russia to find Hillary Clinton’s deleted emails.
He says he’s sure the agency is aware of his suggestion.
He also says Trump may have violated the Logan Act that bars unauthorized U.S. citizens from negotiating with foreign governments.
———
9:56 a.m.
The North Carolina Republican Party has removed a tweet criticizing Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine for wearing a pin honoring his son’s military service.
The tweet posted during Kaine’s Democratic National Convention speech Wednesday night said Kaine “wears a Honduras flag pin on his jacket but no American flag. Shameful.”
The pin in question has a single blue star against a white background outlined in red. It’s the same design as the Service Flag, which is reserved for families who have members serving in the military during wartime. The flag of Honduras has five stars against a blue and white striped background. Kaine’s son is a Marine set to be deployed to Europe.
The party hasn’t responded to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
———
9:22 a.m.
Sen. Sherrod Brown is shedding some light on what he calls the “arduous” vetting process for vice president.
The Ohioan confirmed to reporters Wednesday that he was on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s short list of prospective running mates. She ultimately selected Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine.
Brown described being painstakingly background-checked, effectively deposed by a team of lawyers and interviewed by Clinton for 90 minutes at her home in northwest Washington. He said the process lasted 32 days.
The 63-year-old Brown had been adamant he was happy being senator and had no interest in higher office. He told the press he couldn’t help getting “a little more interested” as the vetting process proceeded. But he said he’s thrilled Clinton picked Kaine, who’s one of his best friends.
———
8:42 a.m.
Tim Kaine says his one-time opposition to same-sex marriage changed because he realized that those trying to ban it in Virginia were trying to make it “a hostile place for people” he cares about.
Kaine, Virginia’s former governor, was responding to a radio ad in which Kaine says, “I’m against same sex marriage. I’m a conservative.”
Kaine said Thursday that as governor, he opposed an effort to ban same-sex marriage in Virginia. He said he decided “we really can’t discriminate against people.”
Kaine said he’s a progressive in the conservative South, which “may be different” than being a progressive elsewhere in the U.S.
He spoke Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
———
7:30 a.m.
Tim Kaine is mocking Donald Trump for being ignorant of “basic civics” and wrongly saying Kaine was a terrible governor of New Jersey.
Hillary Clinton’s running mate was governor of Virginia — not New Jersey — and now represents the commonwealth in the U.S. Senate.
Kaine ladled on the sarcasm Thursday, suggesting that “you’ve got to give a guy a break who’s only been in politics for the last month or two and not that well informed.”
More seriously, Kaine said the presidential race is an “existential choice for the country” over questions like bringing back torture and “punishing people because of their religion.”
Trump has suggested reviving waterboarding against captured extremists and imposing a temporary ban on foreign Muslims entering the U.S.
Kaine was interviewed on ABC News’ “Good Morning America.”
———
6:10 a.m.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is dismissing heavy Democratic criticism as “mostly false stuff.”
Trump tells Fox News Channel in an interview broadcast Thursday that “I guess I take it a little bit personally, but you can’t let it get you down.”
The billionaire real estate mogul was interviewed following a campaign appearance Wednesday evening in Scranton, Pennsylvania. At an earlier campaign appearance, he encouraged Russia to find and make public missing emails deleted by his presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton. This led to a fiery debate over hacking and his urging of a foreign government to meddle in American politics.
In the Fox interview he seemed to back away somewhat on saying he thought Russia was behind the hack of the Democratic National Committee emails, saying “who knows who it is.” He called Russian President Vladimir Putin “a better leader” than President Barack Obama because “Obama is not a good leader. He’s doing a better job than Obama.”
———
3:20 a.m.
Hillary Clinton has the stage.
Stepping out of the shadows of presidents past, the former first lady, senator and vanquished-candidate-turned-secretary-of-state appeared unannounced on the platform at her nominating convention, pointed a finger at President Barack Obama and gave him a hug.
Clinton had just been anointed the inheritor of Obama’s legacy with his vigorous endorsement speech, the candidate who could realize the “promise of this great nation.”
“She’s been there for us, even if we haven’t always noticed,” Obama said Wednesday, imploring the country to elect the woman he defeated eight years ago.
Summoning his most famous line from that campaign, Obama said: “If you’re serious about our democracy, you can’t afford to stay home just because she might not align with you on every issue. You’ve got to get in the arena with her, because democracy isn’t a spectator sport. America isn’t about ‘Yes he will.’ It’s about ‘Yes we can.”’
Clinton delivers her acceptance speech to Democratic National Convention delegates Thursday night.