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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

DNC Addresses Race and Politics; "Mothers of the Movement" Speak at Convention; Hillary Clinton Wins Democratic Nomination for President; Source Hillary Clinton to Speak to Delegates via Satellite Tonight; Lena Dunham and America Ferrera Address Convention. Aired 8- 9p ET

Aired July 26, 2016 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:00:19] ANDERSON COOPER, AC360 HOST: Tonight, history is made again in the city where American democracy was born. Hillary Clinton officially becoming the first woman nominated for president of the United States by major political party.

Good evening, I'm Anderson Cooper. Welcome to special edition of AC360. And this is the second night of the Democratic National Convention.

In this hall tonight, the Democrats sealing Hillary Clinton's nomination and celebrating the groundbreaking moment with the dramatic show of party unity. We saw Bernie Sanders personally ask the party to approve Clinton's nomination by acclamation, this after roll call in which both Sanders and Clinton delegates publicly cast their votes.

Now the focus shifts the marquee speaker of the night is former president Bill Clinton expected to cap a night of testimonials about his wife's character and the causes she has championed during her lifetime. We are watching it all unfold from multiple locations in the hall and let's go across the arena with Wolf Blitzer is on the convention floor. Wolf?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Anderson, just days after Donald Trump promised to be the law and order president. The Democrats will address issues of race, crime and justice. On stage tonight, the mothers of the movement. We know their children's names including Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Michael Brown. It should be one of the most emotional moments of the night and it's coming up this hour.

Jake Tapper is with us. Jake, the big speech tonight will be Bill Clinton and his first test as a speaker promoting his spouse who might be the next president of the United States.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: That's right. The first time he's been speak to a crowd this big about that. We are told by the campaign that Bill Clinton will testify as to his wife's skills as a change maker throughout her career, but I have to say Bill Clinton in front of a microphone in a huge audience, the biggest audience he's been exposed to since 2012, you never know what he's going to say. He tends to deviate from the script. He tends to ad lib and if he did that to a very long extent in 1988 with Mike Dukakis, I cannot even imagine how much he's going to be tempted to effusively praise his wife. He desperately wants the American people to feel the same way about her that he does, to see what she is going to be able to offer the country and so far, obviously, it is a tight race with Donald Trump, and he wants to help her get past that.

BLITIZER: We're told by his aides he's crafted a very, very specific speech. He's worked really hard on this speech and we'll, of course, be anticipating it. That's coming up. Anderson?

COOPER: Wolf, Jake, thanks very much. The first speaker we'll be bringing to you in just a matter of minutes the former Attorney General Eric Holder, of course, the 82nd Attorney General of the United States and the first African-American to hold that position. He is obviously, no longer the attorney general. He was succeeded by Loretta Lynch. I am here by the panel as we await the former attorney general.

I mean, Van Jones, one of the things -- clearly, they're focusing on law and order, on justice issues tonight.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah.

COPPER: And you talked about this a little bit last night. We're going to hear from what they are calling mothers of the movement, mothers who have lost children. We are also hearing from members of law enforcement.

JONES: And I think this is one of the ways you answer a Donald Trump. When he says he wants law and order, we want law and order, too. Nobody wants law and order more than the communities that are suffering with too many funerals. We just want the police to obey the law as well. We have to get the kids to act better and get the police to act better so we can all be better. You're going to see them try to thread the needle tonight.

I cannot let it go, though, to see Donna Brazile out there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, that's great.

JONES: What nobody know, that energy you saw on stage, behind the scenes all last night and all today she was personally calling Sanders' leading activists and personally apologizing, personally asking them to come onboard and people were crying and calling each other saying they're reaching out to us. They're reaching out to us. They're reaching out to us. That kind of leadership, a little bit of that, I can't tell you how far that goes to get us that bridge over troubled waters. She was the bridge over troubled waters.

DAVID AXELROD, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: All I can think of was the lengths that people go to get off of this panel.

COOPER: But in terms of that idea of reaching out to Bernie Sanders supporters, I mean we saw that certainly yesterday significantly culminating the speech of Bernie Sanders and today, as well. Do you think its had the desired impact?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: I do. I mean, look at Bernie Sanders earlier today. Bernie Sanders put her over the top. He was quite emotional about it. You can see a tear in his eye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

BORGER: I'm not sure what that was about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First woman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

BORGER: First woman or, you know, just an emotional outlet for him having gone through what he's been through this past year. He worked with Hillary Clinton's whip operation on the floor. They made sure that it came together in the right way, and Hillary Clinton's people now are tweeting publicly about how great Bernie Sanders is, and so I think it was a real moment of unity for the party, particularly when you compare it to the Ted Cruz/Donald Trump moment at the last convention.

[20:05:21] JONES: Let me say one thing. When you have a Ben Jealous, Ben Jealous was out there going out there going hard Hillary Clinton. There was sense that he might be there. Donna got him back on board. She went after everyone of us ...

COOPER: Here's the former Attorney General Eric Holder.

ERIC HOLDER, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: Thank you. Thank you. I have known Hillary Clinton for almost -- almost 25 years, as a friend, a colleague, and a leader of courage and conviction and today I'm proud to say I stand with her.

Because I've seen that she has the skills to serve as commander in chief and the strength to lead our already great nation in this hour of challenge and consequence. Now did you hear what I just said? Already great nation. Donald, did you hear me? Already great nation.

At a time when the bonds between law enforcement and communities of color have frayed, when assassins target police and heinous attacks and peaceful citizens have to question whether black lives truly matter, and they do, we need a president who understands the reality that I saw in my travels across our country, as our nation's 82nd attorney general, that there should be no tension between protecting those who valiantly risk their lives to serve and ensuring that everyone is treated fairly by the police.

Now as the brother of a retired police officer, I am profoundly aware that an attack on a police officer anywhere is an attack on our entire society. So -- it is not enough -- it is not enough for us to praise law enforcement officers after they are killed. We must protect them, value them and equip them with the right tools, tactics and training while they are still alive.

We must also come to realize that keeping our officers safe is not inconsistent with ensuring that those in law enforcement treat the people they are sworn to serve with dignity, with respect and with fairness. We must commit ourselves to those goals.

Hillary understands that the goals we share are the same. Safer communities with less crime where all of our loved ones police and community residents, they get the chance to come home at night. As president, she will continue to work that, that it needs to be done to rebuild trust because she knows that we are stronger together.

But let us be honest. At a time when our justice system is out of balance, when one in three black men will be incarcerated in their life times and when black defendants in the federal system receive sentences 20 percent longer than their white peers, we need a president who will end this policy of overincarceration.

Now as attorney general, I launched sweeping reforms of our federal criminal justice system and reduced its reliance on draconian mandatory minimum sentences and as a result we cut the federal prison population and the crime rate together for the first time in 40 years.

Now, that's right. That's right. Despite the fiction and the fear mongering you've heard from the other party's nominee, violent crime has gone down since President Obama took office. As president, Hillary will go even farther.

She fought as a senator against sentencing disparities and racial profiling. She's our first major speech as a candidate to lay out a bold vision for criminal justice reform. As a presidential candidate, she has talked about systemic racism in a way that no one else has, and she will help our nation summon the courage to confront injustice and face down.

[20:10:14] Now, finally, at a time when the right to vote is under siege, when Republicans brazenly assault the most fundament right of our democracy, passing laws designed to stop people from voting while closing locations in minority neighborhoods where people get the documents that they need to vote, we need a president sensitive to the echoes of Jim Crow.

We need a president who knows the right to vote as sacred and stands firm against any kind of modern-day poll tax. My felly American, Hillary Clinton will be that president. She will set a new standard for early voting. She will champion universal, automatic registration. You turn 18. You are registered to vote. Because she knows and everyone in this arena has to know this, the best way to defend the right to vote is by exercising it.

Throughout history too many people have sacrificed too much, fought wars and braved fire hoses, dogs, bullets and bombs for this generation to sit on the sidelines. Never forget that we are heirs to a revolution that began just five miles from where we gather this week and that the choice we face in this pivotal election is about much more than politics. It's about the arc that we are on as a nation, the composition of our character, as a people and the ideals of equality, opportunity and justice that have always made America great. These -- these are the ideals for which Hillary Clinton has fought her entire life. This is the fight that she will continue when we make history by electing her the 45th president of the United States of America. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please welcome Police Chief Cameron McLay from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

CHIEF CAMERON MCLAY, PITTSBURGH POLICE: Greetings. Greetings. All across this country my colleagues, my brothers and sisters in blue are doing what I would argue is potentially the hardest job in this nation today. At the start of every shift they go to work never knowing for sure what dangers they might face, and yet, there is a crisis especially in the eyes of many of the communities that we serve, particularly with our communities of color. There is a crisis of trust in the police and the criminal justice system.

Ironically, crime rates have been falling for decades, but research shows that the public trust is eroding in far too many places. Dr. Martin Luther King said it beautifully. "True peace is not the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice."

Ironically, our communities are arguably safer than ever before. However, absent a sense of justice, less crime in your neighborhood is at best, a hollow victory. The controversial officer-involved shootings that have occurred since Ferguson have created a level of tension between police in our communities while at the same time there's been a great deal of work going on is to improve those relationships.

In Pittsburgh, we're doing this important work. We recognize our interdependency, and we're working closely together to reduce the violence and make sure that our residents feel both safe and respected.

But things are fragile. Two controversial police shootings in two consecutive days. In Minnesota, in Louisiana, left many understandably outraged.

[20:15:05] The assassination of eight police officers in ten days have left many of us in the law enforcement community feeling under siege. Both of these concerns are very, very real. Without question, the criminal justice system has had a disparate impact on our communities of color, and yet society is asking at the same time far more of our police officers than ever before. Laid at the doorstep of police are declining economic opportunities, disinvestment in mental health and ineffective drug treatment options for those addicted.

As a police officer who has served more than 30 years, let me say this, we can respect and support our police officers while at the same time pushing for these important criminal justice reforms. We can do both and we will do both. I promise you, there are many, many more police leaders just like me who are fully convinced and fully committed that we need to improve the integrity of our systems, but we cannot succeed unless we come together with the communities that we serve. We must each -- we must each, as human beings fight our natural tendency to hide inside our own narrow world view. Instead, we must seek common ground with the objective of creating an America that truly is and truly provides a source of liberty and justice for all. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Delegates and guests, please give a warm welcome to Tony Goldwyn.

TONY GOLDWYN, INNOCENCE PROJECT ARTISTS' COMMITTEE CO-CHAIR: Hillary Clinton has spoken of watching Nelson Mandela embrace his former jailers because he didn't want to be imprisoned twice, once by stealing concrete, once by anger and bitterness. I have worked for years with the innocence project, the extraordinary organization that fights to exonerate the wrongfully convicted, and you know, I have never heard a single exxonry, many of whom spent decades in prison for crimes they did not commit. I've never heard them speak of anger or outrage, only of their desire to reform the system so that others might be spared their suffering.

I am proud tonight to introduce a group of women profoundly impacted by injustice and violence, who have turned their pain into power and their outrage into action. They are the Mothers of the Movement.

They understand that we must reach out to each other because of our diversity, because we are stronger together. You know, Hillary says we can't hide from these hard truths about race and justice in America. We have to name them and own them and then change them. That's what she'll do as president, and the mothers of the movement prove that one life at a time, one mother at a time we can change the world. Thank you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were informed that she only had half an hour, but once she got there, Hillary actually sat there and listened to each and every one of our stories. She showed respect, empathy. We've seen a lovely mother part of her. It wasn't about politics.

[20:20:08] SYBRINA FULTON, MOTHER OF TRAYVON MARTIN: The 30-minute meeting turned into two hours because she listened to us. Nobody else listened to us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eleven times. Eleven times he said couldn't breathe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems like people are just getting away with it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From your perspective, Mrs. Clinton, what can we do?

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, I think, you can continue to speak out, but you will be more effective if you do somehow band together so that it's a constant drumbeat. As to say, look, we are citizens, we are mothers, we lost children. This is not only wrong. It is unacceptable and here are the things that need to happen to try to prevent this from ever happening again. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's all of us. We're trying to keep our kids memory alive, we're trying to keep their name alive, and so I need to speak, so that her voice can remain.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't help Trayvon at this time but there are other Trayvon Martins that I can help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe in my heart that Dontre was a seed planted so that me and these different moms can actually be our loved ones' voices, to actually give real change (inaudible). And it's been 400 years, and I just want us to love one another. I want people stop taking from each other. Stop taking from each other. Let's unite.

CLINTON: Pastor, would you mind giving us a prayer before we go out? I would so appreciate it. These people here are among some of the people that I just treasure and admire so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (singing): We are walking to the same place. We are walking to the same place. We're walking to the pearly gate. We're walking to the pearly gates

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKERS (in unison): Amen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please. Please.

GENEVA REED-VEAL, SANDRA BLAND'S MOTHER: Hello. Hello. Hello. Hello. Hey, I need you all to hear me tonight. Give me two moments to tell you how good god is. Hallelujah. Give me a moment to say thank you. We are not standing here because he's not good. We're standing here because he's great.

One year ago yesterday I lived the worst nightmare anyone could imagine. I watched as my daughter Sandra Bland was lowered into the ground in a coffin. She was my fourth of five daughters, and she was gone. No, no. Not on administrative leave, but on permanent leave from this earth. Found hanging in jail cell after an unlawful traffic stop and an unlawful arrest.

Six other women have died in custody that same month.

[20:25:06] Kendra Chapman, Alexis McGovern, Sara Lee Circle Bear, Raynette Turner, Wakina Jones and Joyce Kernel. So many of our children are gone, but they are not forgotten. I am here with Hillary Clinton tonight. Because she is a leader and a mother who will say our children's names.

She knows that when a young black life is cut short it's not just a loss. It's a personal loss. It's a national loss. It's a loss that diminishes all of us. What a blessing tonight to be standing here so that Sandy can still speak through her mama.

And what a blessing it is for all of us that we have the opportunity if we seize it. We've got to see it. To cast our votes. For a president who will help lead us down the path ward restoration and change. LUCY MCBATH, JORDAN DAVIS' MOTHER: You don't stop being a mom when your child dies. You don't stop being a parent. I am still Jordan Davis' mother. His life ended the day that he was shot and killed for playing loud music, but my job as his mother didn't. I still wake up every day thinking about how to parent him. How to protect him and his legacy, how to ensure that his death doesn't overshadow his life.

Here's what you don't know about my son. When Jordan was little he wouldn't eat a popsicle unless he had enough to bring out to his friends. He loved practical jokes. He liked having deep conversations with me about our love for god and how god could allow such pain and suffering. I lived in fear that my son would die like this. I even warned him that because he was a young black man, he would meet people who didn't value him or his life. That is the conversation that no parent should ever have with their child.

Hillary Clinton isn't afraid to say that black lives matter. She isn't afraid to sit at a table with grieving mothers and bear the full force of our anguish. She doesn't build walls around her heart. Not only did she listen to our problems, she invited us to become a part of the solution and that's what we're going to do. We're going to keep telling our children's stories and we're urging you to say their names. We're going to keep building a future where police officers and communities of color work together in mutual respect to keep children like Jordan safe.

The majority of police officers are good people doing a good job. And we are asking -- and we're also going to keep using our voices and our votes to support leaders like Hillary Clinton ...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

[20:30:00] MCBATH: ... who will help us protect one another so that this club of heartbroken mothers stops growing.

SYBRINA FULTON, TRAYVON MARTIN'S MOTHER: First of all, I'd like to say it's an honor to be here to stand with these mothers and be amongst you. I am an unwilling participant in this movement. I would not have signed up for this or any other mother that's standing here with me today, but I am here today for my son Trayvon Martin who is in heaven.

And also for his brother Jahvaris Fulton who is still here on earth. I did not want this spotlight, but I will do everything I can to focus some of this light on the pain of a path out of the darkness. Hillary Clinton has the compassion and understanding to support grieving mothers. She has the courage to lead the fight for common sense gun legislation.

She has a plan -- she has a plan to divide that so often exists between law enforcement and the communities that they serve. This isn't about being politically correct. This is about saving our children. That's why we are here tonight with Hillary Clinton, and that's why in memory of our children we are imploring you, all of you, to vote this Election Day. Hillary is one -- Hillary is one mother who can ensure our movement will succeed. I want to thank you for standing with us and supporting us and we'd like to live with you what God has given us, strength, love and peace. Thank you.

COOPER: A standing ovation in this hall for the "Mothers of the Movement", Sybrina Fulton, Geneva Reed-Veal, Lucy McBath, Gwen Carr, Cleopatra Pendelton, Maria Hamilton, Lezley McSpadden. You may not know their names, probably you know the names some of their children, Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Jordan Davis, Eric Garner, Hadiya Pendelton, Dontre Hamilton, Michael Brown, Oscar Brown.

Van Jones?

JONES: Powerful, powerful, powerful witness calling for peace. They said they don't want hatred. They said they want mutual respect. They said they want people to come together.

Can you imagine losing your child and then stand before the country with a year later with love and trying to fight for redemption?

COOPER: Andra Day singing "Rise Up."

[20:38:03] Andra Day singing "Rise Up".

Again, Van Jones, this entire auditorium is brought to a standstill.

JONES: Yeah. You know, too many funerals. Too many funerals. Too much violence. Not just from the police. Too many funerals. And we have too much ritual in this community based on funerals, based on death. Say her name, that was -- that's become now a ritual when someone -- a woman dies, say her name. Too many funerals. And I'm proud that the Democrats brought some of this to the country so they go through.

COOPER: We're going to take a short break. Bill Clinton, the big speaker of the night, obviously, a lot before that. We'll take a short break. We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:42:44] BLITZER: We're just getting word now that Hillary Clinton will make an appearance via video at -- via satellite, I should say, at this national convention immediately following the speech of her husband, the former President Bill Clinton. That is news that -- this is information we're just getting. She was -- she's in her home in Chappaqua in New York, but immediately following former President Bill Clinton's address, speak -- speaking on her behalf, she will make a -- she will address this audience as well. But right now, the president of Planned Parenthood, Cecile Richards is speaking. I want to listen to her.

CECILE RICHARDS, PRESIDENT, PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND: A man who had been championed for women and families, his entire lifetime. Hillary has always been in Planned Parenthood's corner because she woman deserves someone who is in there. Women Dayna Fares Fisher, she's a mom in Dallas who was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. Today Dayna is cancer-free. And she says she couldn't have done it without Vivian, the Planned Parenthood clinician who stuck with her all of the way through treatment.

So when Donald Trump and Mike Pence say they'll defund Planned Parenthood they're talking about cutting women like Dayna off of life- saving care.

So make no mistake about it. Women's health and rights are on the line and on the ballot this election.

So you may have heard that just last month the Supreme Court ruled that the Texas laws that forced abortion providers to close their doors are dangerous and they are unconstitutional.

But the fight's not over. Donald Trump has pledged to appoint justices who will overturn Roe versus Wade and undo decades of progress. His policies aren't just frightening, they're rooted in a deeply disturbing world view.

Donald Trump has called women fat pigs and dogs. He wants to punish women for having abortions. And he says pregnancy is, "an inconvenience" for a woman's employer.

[20:45:01] Well, Mr. Trump, come this November, women are going to be a lot more than an inconvenience. Yup, because women are going to be the reason you're not elected to be president.

When my -- when my great-grandmother was growing up, women couldn't vote under Texas law, and just two generations later, her granddaughter, my mom, Ann Richards, was elected governor of the State of Texas.

And tonight, tonight we are closer than ever to putting a woman in the White House. And I can almost hear mom saying, "Well, it sure took you all long enough."

So what do you say? Are you ready to make history? Let's go win this election.

Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please give a warm welcome to Lena Dunham and America Ferrera.

LENA DUNHAM, ACTRESS: Hi, I'm Lena Dunham, and according to Donald Trump my body is probably like a two.

AMERICA FERRERA, ACTRESS: And I'm America Ferrera, and according to Donald Trump, I'm probably a rapist.

DUNHAM: But America, you're not Mexican.

FERRERA: And President Obama isn't Kenyan, Lena, but that doesn't stop Donald. DUNHAM: We know what you're all thinking. Why should you care about what television celebrity has to say about politics?

FERRERA: And we feel the same way, but he is the Republican nominee so we need to talk about him.

DUNHAM: The un-funny fact is that this man would have you believe that our differences are more important than what unites us.

FERRERA: When we know that the truth is that this country was founded on the belief that what sets us apart, race, language, religion, sexual orientation, should not dissolve what binds us.

DUNHAM: Which is why we are proud to say, we're with Hillary.

FERRERA: I am the proud child of Honduran immigrants. I am profoundly grateful for the access and opportunity that exists in this extraordinary nation. I was educated in public schools. My talents were nurtured through public arts programs. And you know what, occasionally, I needed a free meal to get through the school day. Not everybody looks at the millions of young people like me, children born into struggling families, children born to immigrant parent, children who are immigrants themselves, not everybody looks at them and sees an investment. But Hillary has spent the last 30 years proving what she sees in us. Not our color, gender, economic status, but our capacity to grow into thriving adults capable of contributing great things to this country.

DUNHAM: I am a pro-choice, feminist, sexual assault survivor with a chronic reproductive illness. Donald Trump and his party think I should be punished for exercising my constitutional rights. His rhetoric about women takes us back to a time when we were meant to be beautiful and silent. Meanwhile, 22 years ago, Hillary Clinton declared that women's rights are human rights. And she made it possible for my sex -- fellow sexual assault survivors in my home state of New York to have access to safe, immediate care in any emergency room.

[20:49:59] Hillary knows that access and opportunity are the American promise, not transphobia, Islamaphobia, xenophobia, and systemic racism. She know we have to fight hatred of all kinds and not ignite it for the craven purpose of seeking power.

FERRERA: Look, Donald's not making America great again, he's making America hate again. And the vast majority of us, we cannot afford to see his vision of America come to be.

DUNHAM: Luckily, we the voters carry the future of this country. We don't accept hatred as the norm in our communities. So, why would we ever accept it in the Oval Office?

FERRERA: So, to everyone here tonight and out there watching at home, here is your chance to join Team Hillary.

DUNHAM: Do you want equal pay for equal work?

FERRERA: Yes.

DUNHAM: The right to make decisions about your own body?

FERRERA: Yes.

DUNHAM: Paid family leave?

FERRERA: Yes.

DUNHAM: As Hillary Clinton says, "Deal us in."

FERRERA: Text DEAL, D-E-A-L to 47246 and we will make you a card- carrying member of this team. Let's forcefully reject division.

DUNHAM: Let's say with one voice that we all have worth. We are all a part of this country.

FERRERA: Let's put Hillary Clinton in the White House.

DUNHAM: And let's declare love trumps hate.

FERRERA: Love trumps hate.

BLITZER: Lena Dunham and America Ferrera, strong words from both actresses.

Coming up, we're told Hillary Clinton will appear at this convention tonight via satellite. She'll address delegates after her husband's big speech.

We're standing by for Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton. Much more coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:56:17] BLITZER: Welcome back to the Democratic National Convention. We have heard a lot tonight so far about children, social justice, women and families, Jake, a lot of very emotional passionate speeches.

TAPPER: It's very much a night devoted towards rebuilding the Obama coalition, the coalition of college educated whites, of African- Americans, of minorities, of young people really focused on those groups that got Obama over the finish line. It's how Hillary Clinton thinks that she'll be able to win as well.

BLITZER: Because if she can't recreate that Obama coalition, she's going to be in big trouble in November.

TAPPER: Unless she makes up for it with other groups of voters. But, tonight, seems very much focused on that group.

We saw those African-American mothers. We've heard the chants of Black Lives Matter here. Very different chants than we heard at the Republican convention last week.

BLITZER: With a very loud chant, too. Just -- it wasn't a few people, it was a lot of people delivering that chant.

TAPPER: Absolutely. Absolutely. We also did hear messages from the former Attorney General Eric Holder and the Police Chief of Pittsburgh, but Senator Barbara Boxer is going to speak right now. Let's listen in.

BLITZER: Yes.

SEN. BARBARA BOXER, (D) CALIFORNIA: Oh, you look beautiful out there. So I have a question. Are you ready to elect the very first woman president of these United States of America? Let me hear it. Yes.

I want to talk to you very personally, because I've known Hillary Clinton for more than 20 years. We're actually family. My daughter was married to her brother, so my beloved grandson is her beloved nephew. Yes. So I know her. I know her as the loving aunt who helped plan my grandson's birthday parties when he was just a little toddler.

And I saw her rush over after a busy day at the State Department to cheer him on at his high school football games. And she was often joined by her devoted mother, Dorothy. Dorothy, who overcame a painful childhood and taught Hillary how one caring person can make a change in a child's life. Dorothy once wrote me a letter and she said this, "I can't remember when Hillary didn't take the long view of things, never instant gratification and she wrote that strong sense of empathy for others and a great sense of humor have served her well." Now that's a mom who knew her daughter well.

Now, we saw Hillary's heart, her heart, when as first lady, she worked across party lines to bring health care to millions and millions of children. We saw her strength when after 9/11, she stood with first responders and tirelessly fought for them.

[21:00: 06] We saw her strength.