5 memorable moments from an emotional night at Democratic National Convention

The third night of the Democratic National Convention did not disappoint when it came to emotional moments. 

From a charged plea to bring home Israeli hostages to a tearful response to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s speech, the night was filled with headline-grabbing moments. 

Here are the five most memorable.  

Israeli American hostage’s parents deliver emotional plea 

The parents of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin took to the stage at the beginning of the night to plea for the return of the Israeli hostages held by Hamas and the end of the humanitarian crisis caused by the Israel-Hamas War in Gaza. 

Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin received a warm welcome from the audience, with the crowd chanting “bring them home!” at one point.

In an emotional response to the chants, Rachel Goldberg-Polin closed her eyes and put her hand on her heart. She wore a piece of tape with 320 written on it, marking the number of days her son has been held hostage. 

Hersh Goldberg-Polin was abducted by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 while attending the Nova music festival in Israel. 

“That was 320 days ago. Since then, we live on another planet,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin said. “Anyone who is a parent or has had a parent can try to imagine the anguish and misery that John and I and all the hostage families are enduring.” 

The Israel-Hamas War loomed over the convention throughout the evening. The convention’s uncommitted delegates held a press conference revealing the convention rejected a request for a Palestinian speaker at the event. 

Clinton forgoes teleprompter 

Former President Clinton strayed from the teleprompter during his remarks in an unsurprising move from someone who has a history of going off script.

Earlier on Wednesday, reports surfaced that Clinton scrapped his original speech earlier this week after watching the first night of the convention. 

During his remarks, Clinton joked that Harris, who worked at McDonald’s in college, has spent more time in the fast food chain than he has. 

“I’ll be so happy when she actually enters the White House as president, because she will break my record as the president who spent the most time at McDonald’s,” he said. 

He also made fun of Trump, saying he talks about himself too much. 

“What does her opponent do with his voice? He mostly talks about himself. The next time you hear him don’t count the lies, count the I’s,” Clinton said.

“His vendettas, his vengeances, his complaints, his conspiracies. He’s like one of those tenors opening up before he walks out on stage … trying to get his lungs opening by saying, me, me, me, me,” the former president added.

“When Kamala Harris is president, every day will begin with you, you, you, you,” he said.

Oprah jabs at Vance over childless cat ladies 

Oprah Winfrey slammed Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) over a past comment he made about the country being run by “childless cat ladies.”

“When a house is on fire, we don’t ask about the homeowner’s race or religion. We don’t wonder who their partner is or how they voted. No,” Winfrey said. “We just try to do the best we can to save them.”

If the place “happens to belong to a childless cat lady,” Winfrey said, “well, we try to get that cat out, too.”

Winfrey endorsed Vice President Harris in her remarks, saying that “decency and respect” are on the ballot in November. 

“Common sense tells you that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz can give us decency and respect,” she said.

“Let us choose loyalty to the Constitution over loyalty to any individual because that’s the best of America. And let us choose optimism over cynicism and let us include inclusion over retribution,” 

Video played at convention shows footage of Jan. 6 violence at Capitol

A video played at the convention showed disturbing footage of the violence that took place during the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the Capitol. The footage also included recordings of Trump encouraging protesters during his rally that took place prior to the attack. 

A number of speakers, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), referenced Trump’s denial of the 2020 election results and the subsequent attack on the Capitol. 

“Jan. 6 was a perilous moment for our democracy,” Pelosi said. “Never before had a president of the United States so brazenly assaulted the bedrock of our democracy, so gleefully embraced political violence, so willfully betrayed his oath of office.”

“Let us not forget who assaulted our democracy on Jan. 6,” she continued. “He did!”

Gus Walz sobs throughout father’s speech 

Gus Walz was visibly emotional throughout his father’s address to the convention, continuously sobbing while sitting with his mother, Gwen Walz, and sister, Hope Walz. 

The younger Walz was sobbing as his dad took to the stage to deliver his speech and gave his family a shoutout. 

“Hope, Gus and Gwen: You are my entire world, and I love you,” Tim Walz said, prompting a still-tearful Gus Walz to stand up and point at his dad.