Pete Buttigieg, Oprah Winfrey & Tim Walz destroy Trump & Vance during DNC’s third night

The theme for the third night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) was “A Fight for Our Freedoms,” and the speakers all came out swinging against the Republican presidential and vice presidential nominees, former President Donald Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).

While Democratic vice presidential nominee, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), blasted Republicans and Project 2025 in his keynote address, blistering lines were also delivered by gay Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, gay Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), lesbian Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D), queer Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, and other well-known Democratic leaders, like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and former President Bill Clinton.

Below are summaries of their speeches with some of their strongest lines.

Related:

Barack & Michelle Obama blast Trump & offer hope in second night of DNC speeches

Obama called Trump “a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”

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Vice presidential nominee, Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN)

The high school football players that Walz used to coach during his days as a teacher came onstage, now as grown men, to cheer Walz on after a heartfelt introduction from one of his former student-athletes. In the crowd, hundreds of attendees held signs that said “Coach Walz.”

Walz then spoke about the necessity of supporting your neighbor, even if that person “may not think like you do … may not pray like you do [and] … may not love like you do, but they’re your neighbors, and you look out for them, and they look out for you. Everybody belongs and everybody has a responsibility to contribute.”

“It was those [high school football and basketball] players and my students who inspired me to run for Congress,” he said. “They saw in me what I had hoped to instill in them, a commitment to the common good, an understanding that we’re all in this together, and the belief that a single person can make a real difference for their neighbors.”

After touting his accomplishments as governor to lower living costs for working class Minnesotans, he said, “We also protected reproductive freedom, because in Minnesota, we respect our neighbors and the personal choices they make and, even if we wouldn’t make those same choices for ourselves, we’ve got a golden rule: Mind your own damn business. And that includes IVF [in vitro fertilization] infertility treatments. And this is personal for Gwen [his wife] and I. if you’ve never experienced the hell that is infertility, I guarantee you you know somebody who has.”

“I’m letting you in on how we started a family, because this is a big part about what this election is about, freedom,” he continued. “When Republicans use the word freedom, they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctor’s office, corporations free to pollute your air and water, and banks free to take advantage of customers.”

“But when we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love, freedom to make your own health care decisions, and yeah, your kids’ freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall,” he said.

Later on, Walz took aim at Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a second Trump presidency.

“Donald Trump and JD Vance their Project 2025 will make things much, much harder for people who are just trying to live their lives,” he said. “They spent a lot of time pretending they know nothing about this, but look, I coached high school football long enough to know and trust me on this: When somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re going to use it.”

“It’s an agenda nobody asked for,” he continued. “It’s an agenda that serves nobody except the richest and the most extreme amongst us. And it’s an agenda that does nothing for our neighbors in need. Is it weird? Absolutely, absolutely. But it’s also wrong and it’s dangerous.”

He then ended his speech with a football metaphor to encourage listeners to work hard to help elect him and Harris in November: “It’s the fourth quarter, we’re down a field goal, but we’re on offense and we’ve got the ball. We’re driving down the field, and boy, do we have the right team…. Our job, for everyone watching, is to get in the trenches and do the blocking and tackling, one inch at a time, one yard at a time, one phone call at a time, one door knock at a time, one $5 donation at a time.”

“Look, we got 76 days—that’s nothing,” he continued. “There will be time to sleep when you’re dead. We’re going to leave it on the field. That’s how we’ll keep moving forward. That’s how we’ll turn the page on Donald Trump.”

Former President Bill Clinton

While Clinton praised the characters and political accomplishments of both Harris and Walz, much of his speech attacked Trump.

“I love seeing all these young leaders, much of them are coming up after me, They look better, they sound better, and they’ll be exciting,” he said. “Two days ago, I turned 78: the oldest man in my familyAnd the only personal vanity I want to assert is, I’m still younger than Donald Trump.”

“So in 2024 we got a pretty clear choice, it seems to me: Kamala Harris for the people, and the other guy who’s proved, even more than the first go around, that he’s about me, myself. And I know which one I like better for our country,” he said.

“Donald Trump has been a paragon of consistency: He’s still dividing, he’s still blaming, he’s still belittling other people. He creates chaos, and then he sort of curates it, as if it were precious art,” Clinton said. “He mostly talks about himself, right? So the next time you hear him, don’t count the lies—count the ‘I’s.’ Count the I’s, his vendettas, his vengeance, his complaints, his conspiracies. He’s like one of those tenors opening up before he walks out on stage, like I did, trying to get his lungs open by saying, “Me, me, me, me, me, me.’ When Kamala Harris is president, every day will begin with ‘You, you, you, you.'”

“Do you want to build a strong economy from the bottom up and the middle out, or do you want to spend the next four years talking about crowd sizes?” he said, clowning Trump’s obsession with claiming that his smaller rally crowds are actually bigger than Harris’ which have filled stadiums. “And what are we supposed to make to these endless tributes to ‘the late great Hannibal Lecter,” Clinton added, referencing an odd line that Trump has repeated often in recent rallies.

“The other day, [Trump] implied that if his people voted one more time, they’d be able to rig it. From now on, they wouldn’t have to vote again… Some [Republicans] think that they are bound to dominate America, politically, economically and socially, and they have to use politics to do it, and they should rig the system. I don’t believe that. And so here’s what I want to tell you, we’ve seen more than one election slip away from us when we thought
it couldn’t happen, when people got distracted by phony issues or overcompetent This is a brutal, tough business.”

“You should never underestimate your adversary,” he added. “But here’s what I want you to know: If you vote for this team, if you can get them elected and let them bring in this breath of fresh air, you will be proud of it for the rest of your life. Your children will be proud of it. Your grandchildren will be proud of it.”

Media legend Oprah Winfrey

During Winfrey’s surprise speech at the DNC, she said, “There are people who want you to see our country as a nation of us against them, people who want to scare you, who want to rule you, people who have you believe that books are dangerous and assault rifles are safe, that there’s a right way to worship and a wrong way to love people, who seek first to divide and then to conquer. But here’s the thing, when we stand together, it is impossible to conquer us.”

“I’ve seen racism and sexism and income inequality and division. I’ve not only seen it at times, I’ve been on the receiving end of it,” she added. “But more often than not, what I’ve witnessed and experienced are human beings, both conservative and liberal, who may not agree with each other, but who still help you in a heartbeat if you’re in trouble. These are the people who make me proud to say that I am an American.”

“They are the best of America,” she continued. “And despite what some would have you think, we are not so different from our neighbors. 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, we just try to do the best we can to save them. And if the place happens to belong to ‘a childless cat lady,’ well, we try to get that cat out too.”

Referencing Trump, she said, “We know all the old tricks and tropes that are designed to distract us from what actually matters, but we are beyond ridiculous tweets and lies and foolery. These are complicated times, people, and they require adult conversation. We welcome those conversations because civilized debate is vital to democracy, and it is the best of America.”

She then mentioned abortion and reproductive rights, saying, “If you do not have autonomy over this, if you cannot control when and how you choose to bring your children into this world and how they are raised and supported, there is no American dream. The women and men who are battling to keep us from going back to a time of desperation or shame and stone cold fear, they are the new freedom fighters. And make no mistake, they are the best of America.”

She then called on “independents and undecideds” to choose the presidential ticket that demonstrates “values and character,” saying “[they] matter most of all in leadership and in life.”

“Common sense tells you that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz can give us decency and respect. They’re the ones who give it to us,” she said. “We are Americans. 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, because that is the best of America. And let us choose inclusion over retribution. Let us choose common sense over nonsense. I and let us choose the sweet promise of tomorrow over the fearful return to yesterday.”

“We won’t go back. We won’t be set back. Push back, bully back, kick back. We’re not going back,” Winfrey concluded. “Let us choose truth, let us choose honor and let us choose joy, because that’s the best of America.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg

Buttigieg began by blasting Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance and later emphaized

“Donald Trump rants about law and order, as if he wasn’t a convicted criminal running against a prosecutor, as if we were going to forget that crime was higher on his watch,” Buttigieg said, echoing recent comments he made on Fox News. “And don’t even get me started on his new running mate. At least [Trump’s former Vice President] Mike Pence was polite.”

“JD Vance is one of those guys who thinks if you don’t live live a life that he has in mind for you, then you don’t count. Someone who has said that, if you don’t have kids, you have, quote, ‘no physical commitment to the future of this country,'” Buttigieg said. “You know, Senator, when I deployed to Afghanistan, I didn’t have kids then. Many of the men and women who went outside the wire with me didn’t have kids either. But let me tell you, our commitment to the future of this country was pretty damn physical.”

By choosing Vance as his running mate, Buttigieg said that Trump and the Republicans are “doubling down on negativity and grievance, committing to a concept of campaigning best summed up in one word: darkness. Darkness is what they are selling. The thing is, I just don’t believe that America today is in the market for darkness. I believe America is ready for a better kind of politics.”

“They’re telling you that greatness comes from going back to the past,” he continued. “They’re telling you that anyone different from you is a threat. They’re telling you that your neighbor or nephew or daughter who disagrees with you politically isn’t just wrong, but is now the enemy.”

Buttigieg then pivoted to his family, saying, “The existence of my family is just one example of something that was literally impossible as recently as 25 years ago, when an anxious teenager growing up in Indiana, I wondered if he would ever find belonging in this world.”

“This kind of life went from impossible to possible, from possible to real, from real to almost ordinary in less than half a lifetime,” he continued. “But that didn’t just happen. It was brought about through idealism and courage, through organizing and persuasion and storytelling and yes, through politics, the right kind of politics, the kind of politics that can make an impossible dream into an everyday reality.”

“So this November, we will choose a better politics, a politics that calls us to our better selves and offers us a better every day,” he said. “That is what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz represents. That is what Democrats represent. That is what awaits us when America decides to end Trump’s politics of darkness once and for all. That is what we choose when we embrace the leaders who are out there building bridges and reject the ones who are out there banning books.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Retelling the story of the congressional vote certification that occurred immediately after the January 6, 2021 riots by Trump’s followers on the U.S. Capitol, Pelosi said, “Never before had a president of the United States so brazenly assaulted the bedrock of our democracy, so lethally embraced political violence, so willfully betrayed his oath of office. Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on January 6 — [Trump] did. But let us not forget who saved democracy that day: We did, and thank God we had a Democratic House of Representatives.”

At the time, 139 of the 221 House Republicans—nearly 63% of the GOP House Caucus—voted against certifying now-President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. If they had voted as a majority party in the House, they could have helped Trump overturn the will of the over 75 million voters across the nation who cast ballots against him.

“The parable of January 6 reminds us that our democracy is only as strong as the courage and commitment of those entrusted with its care,” she concluded, “and we must choose leaders who believe in free and fair elections, who respect the peaceful transfer of power. The choice couldn’t be clearer. Those leaders are vice president Harris and Governor Walz.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)

“Here’s the thing,” Jeffries said. “Extreme MAGA Republicans don’t care about everyday Americans. They only care about themselves.

“Donald Trump is like an old boy who you broke up with, but he just won’t go away,” Jeffries added. “He has spent the last four years spinning the block trying to get back into a relationship with the American people. Bro, we broke up with you for a reason.”

“Trump was a mastermind of the GOP tax scam, where 83% of the benefits went to the wealthiest 1% in America,” Jeffies continued. “In America. Trump failed our country during the COVID-19 pandemic…. Trump tried to destroy our democracy by lying about the election and inciting a violent mob to attack the Capitol. Trump put three extreme justices on the Supreme Court who destroyed Roe v. Wade.”

“We broke up with you for a reason,” Jeffies repeated. “Donald Trump can spin the block all he wants, but there’s no reason for us to ever get back together. Been there, done that—we’re not going back.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D)

Polis spent the majority of his speech highlighting Project 2025‘s plan to attack Americans’ reproductive rights.

“Here on page 562, it says that Donald Trump could use an obscure law from the 1800s to single handedly ban abortion in all 50 states, even putting doctors in jail,” Polis said. “Page 486 puts limits on contraception. Page 450 threatens access to IVF. On page 455, Project 2025 says that states have to report miscarriages to the Trump administration. Page 451 says the only legitimate family is a married mother and father, where only the father works.”

“Project 2025 would turn the entire federal government and bureaucracy into a massive machine. It would weaponize it to control our reproductive and personal choices,” Polis added. “Democrats welcome weird, but we’re not weirdos telling families who can and can’t have kids, who to marry or how to live our lives.”

“These Project 2025 people, like Trump and Vance, are not just weird—they’re dangerous. They want to take us backwards, but we aren’t going back, like ever, ever, ever,” he concluded, repeating a lyric from one of his favorite musicians, Taylor Swift.

Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson

“Progress is happening, my friends,” Robinson said near the beginning of her speech. “The 20 plus million LGBTQ+ Americans are living proof of it. We are your friends and your neighbors, your classmates and your family.”

“Donald Trump wants to erase us,” she said. “He would ban our health care, belittle our marriages, bury our stories. But we are not going anywhere. We are not going back.” The audience then began chanting, “We’re not going back.”

“Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, they are champions for LGBTQ+ freedom y’all,” Robinson said. “So tonight we’re fighting for lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and trans freedom without exception. We’re fighting for equality for all without exception. We’re fighting for joy.”

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D)

“Being Attorney General is a tough job, but as California’s Attorney General, Kamala Harris, never shied away from a good fight,” Nessel said. “But what really stands out is when she stood up and protected her constituents’ freedoms.”

“In 2011, she refused to defend California’s ban on same-sex marriage. She refused to argue that some families should have fewer rights than other families, it meant that a lot: She was fighting for families like mine,” Nessel said.

“By the way, I have a message for the Republicans and the justices of the United States Supreme Court,” Nessel said, holding up her left ring finger. “You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand!”

As the crowd cheered, she added, “And I’m retaining a lot of water, so good luck with that.”

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