best speeches since 2020

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Best TED Talks: 10 inspirational speeches you absolutely have to hear

Looking for a good TED Talk to expand your worldview? Here are 10 of the best

The best TED Talks make you think, leave you inspired and, very often, make you laugh as well. We've been watching Ted Talks evolve and grow over the last 15 years and have come to treasure the nuggets of wisdom they impart. 

But if you're just discovering Ted Talks for the first time - or feel like you've missed a bunch throughout the years - we want to help you dive head-first into the heady lecture series with a round-up of our absolute favorites: What you'll find below is a collection of personal picks from the TechRadar team that we feel best exemplify what a Ted Talk can be. 

Not seeing one of your favorite talks below? Drop me an email and I'll try to add it to the list.

How to gain control of your free time by Laura Vanderkam 

There’s a certain irony in watching a YouTube video on how to save time, but Laura Vanderkam’s talk is worth the 10 minutes of your life. It’s all built on the basic idea that shaving 5 minutes here and there from your favorite activities isn’t really going to give you more control of your life - rather, you need to set priorities for yourself and then build a schedule around those priorities. 

The hilarious example Vanderkam offers is that, instead of skipping commercials to save eight minutes of every half hour of TV you watch, maybe you could just watch a little less TV and do something else with your time. The message is simple, effective and engaging, all the hallmarks of a good TED Talk.

What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness by Robert Waldinger 

“Good relationships keep us healthier and happier. Period.” That’s the results of a landmark study of happiness conducted by more than four generations of researchers over the last 75 years, tracking hundreds of participants and measuring every facet of their lives. 

This Ted Talk takes awhile to get to the juicy details but the story of this preternatural study on happiness illustrates the lengths the researchers have gone through to get this invaluable data that shows us what makes people happy at the end of their lives. The results sound simple - almost infuriatingly so - but the lesson here is that anyone can be happy with the right relationships in their lives. 

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The game that can give you 10 extra years of life by Jane McGonigal 

Gamers, it turns out, are pretty awesome. They’re committed to saving virtual worlds and with the right skills and focus they might be able to save the physical world, too. McGonigal, a game developer and author, has spent years creating different apps and games that use in-game rewards to push players to solve real world problems. 

The talk, which is a bit long at 20 minutes, walks the audience through her previous experiences creating these games and the research data that she uses to get gamers engaged before diving into Superbetter, the app she developed to make everyone who plays it live better, fuller lives.  

 The art of asking by Amanda Palmer 

Former busker-turned-successful-musician Amanda Palmer has a key lesson for everyone: don’t be afraid to ask. Society puts an inherent shame on those who ask - whether that’s for financial help or security, emotional help or even basic requests like where to find something - when, in fact, asking for help is one of the best things we can do. Asking, Palmer says, is inherently human and powerful, it allows us to create connections and leverage those connections to do more. That was evident when she wanted to crowdfund her band’s next CD, asking for $100,000, and raising over a million dollars instead. 

The point here is that next time you look down on someone asking, instead view them with compassion and make a connection - because in the long run that’s more powerful, more effective and, well, more human.  

The first 20 hours -- how to learn anything by Josh Kaufman 

Have you ever heard the old adage about needing to spend 10,000 hours to learn a skill? Good news, it's wrong. As it turns out, the research that factoid is taken from was studying experts in their respective fields, and not, say, the average trombonist. 

In this talk, new father Josh Kaufman walks us through how long it actually takes to learn a skill - which, incidentally, is only around 20 hours. Now sure, 20 hours of practice isn't going to make you the next Bobby Fischer, but it will be enough time to teach you the basics and, most importantly, how to auto-correct yourself when you've done something amiss. If you've ever felt like the ship has sailed on learning a new language, playing an instrument or learning a new skill, this talk is for you.

Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong by Johann Hari 

Journalist and author Johann Hari (Lost Connections, Chasing the Scream) offers a wide-ranging look at addiction in this 14-minute talk, whether that’s addiction to hard drugs, alcohol, or the endlessly-updating feeds on our smartphones.

We tend to think of addiction as a problem caused by the substance itself. We say that phones are addictive, or heroin is addictive – but Hari makes a case for a more nuanced understanding, one that sees how social circumstance affects our propensity for addiction, and the difference that strong bonds to those around us can make.

The power of vulnerability by Brené Brown 

With over 47 million views, Brené Brown’s Ted Talk on the power of vulnerability is one of the most watched Ted Talks of all time, and for good reason. 

In this 20-minute presentation, Brown shares what she’s learnt about the nature of shame, and how our fear of vulnerability prevents us from being able to fully embrace ourselves. As a researcher trained to “control and predict” phenomena, she shares her difficulty accepting the idea that to live fully is to stop attempting to “control and predict” at all.

An incredibly powerful talk that shows you – rather than just telling you – what it means to be vulnerable, and explores what a world that embraces vulnerability might look like.

Meeting the Enemy: A feminist comes to terms with the Men’s Rights movement by Cassie Jaye 

What filmmaker Cassie Jaye does here that’s so special is that she walks us through an immense period of growth in her life thought-by-thought. At one point a stringent feminist, Jaye began a documentary about the Men’s Rights movement that asks for the acknowledgement of certain, specific issues that men face - a movement she thought ran counter to the central points of feminism. 

What she learned in over a hundred hours of interviews with men’s rights activists is that these men didn’t want fewer rights for women, but some of the same care and devotion to some of the issues impacting men like veteran care, suicide, disproportionate parental control, length of prison sentences and others that do well and truly impact the life of men. The evolution of Jaye’s thoughts and the admission of her own preconceived notions is enthralling from beginning to end. 

How I climbed a 3,000-foot vertical cliff without ropes by Alex Honnold 

If you don’t have time for the excellent - but nearly two-hour - documentary Free Solo, check out this 10-minute Ted Talk by legendary rock-climber Alex Honnold who did something many thought to be impossible - or at least incredibly dangerous - when he climbed El Capitan, a sheer rock face in Yosemite National Park without ropes. 

Honnold’s Ted Talk gives a great overview of the climb, as well as his previous experiences leading up to it. Listening to Honnold describe certain parts of the trek are legitimately sweat-inducing and his experiences post-climb are both hilarious and heart-warming. It’s well-worth the watch. 

This is what happens when you reply to spam email by James Veitch 

Not all Ted Talks have to be heady ventures to the core of who we are. They can, in fact, just be funny and lighthearted, too. There’s no better example of these kinds of talks than the ones given by James Veitch (yes there’s more than one) wherein he takes annoying-but-easily-ignorable situations like unsubscribing from an email chain and turn them into absurdly funny matches of verbal wit between two utterly committed individuals. If you need a laugh after all this profound introspection, Veitch’s talks are the best bet. 

BONUS: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale 

OK, while this one technically isn’t a Ted Talk, it has the spirit of one and includes Bobby McFerrin, which really just sells itself. 

Just try not to sing along, it's impossible not to.

• Looking for more things to watch? Check out our list of the best Netflix shows

Nick Pino is Managing Editor, TV and AV for TechRadar's sister site, Tom's Guide. Previously, he was the Senior Editor of Home Entertainment at TechRadar, covering TVs, headphones, speakers, video games, VR and streaming devices. He's also written for GamesRadar+, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer and other outlets over the last decade, and he has a degree in computer science he's not using if anyone wants it.

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Great Talks Most People Have Never Heard

Not long ago, I came across a little-known speech titled, “You and Your Research”.

The speech had been delivered in 1986 by Richard Hamming, an accomplished mathematician and computer engineer, as part of an internal series of talks given at Bell Labs. I had never heard of Hamming, the internal lecture series at Bell Labs, or this particular speech. And yet, as I read the transcript, I came across one useful insight after another.

After reading that talk, I got to thinking… what other great talks and speeches are out there that I’ve never heard?

I’ve been slowly searching for answers to that question and the result is this list of my favorite interesting and insightful talks that are not widely known. You may see a few famous speeches on this list, but my guess is that most people are not aware of many of them—just as I wasn’t when I first started looking around.

As far as I know this is the only place where you can read transcripts of these speeches in one place.

Famous Speeches and Great Talks

This list is organized by presenter name and then speech topic. Click the links below to jump to a specific speech. On each page, you’ll find a full transcript of the speech as well as some additional background information.

• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “The Danger of a Single Story”
• Jeff Bezos, “Statement by Jeff Bezos to the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary”
• Jeff Bezos, “What Matters More Than Your Talents”
• John C. Bogle, “Enough”
• Brené Brown, “ The Anatomy of Trust “
• John Cleese, “Creativity in Management”
• William Deresiewicz, “Solitude and Leadership”
• Richard Feynman, “Seeking New Laws”
• Neil Gaiman, “Make Good Art”
• John W. Gardner, “Personal Renewal”
• Elizabeth Gilbert, “Your Elusive Creative Genius”
• Albert E. N. Gray,  “The Common Denominator of Success”
• Bill Gurley, “Runnin Down a Dream”
• Richard Hamming, “Learning to Learn”
• Richard Hamming, “You and Your Research”
• Steve Jobs, “2005 Stanford Commencement Address”
• Peter Kaufman,  “The Multidisciplinary Approach to Thinking”
• C.S. Lewis, “The Inner Ring”
• Admiral William H. McRaven, “Make Your Bed”
• Arno Rafael Minkkinen, “Finding Your Own Vision”
• Charlie Munger, “2007 USC Law School Commencement Address”
• Charlie Munger, “A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom”
• Charlie Munger, “How to Guarantee a Life of Misery”
• Charlie Munger, “The Psychology of Human Misjudgment”
• Nathan Myhrvold, “ Roadkill on the Information Highway “
• Randy Pausch, “Achieving Your Childhood Dreams”
• Randy Pausch, “Time Management”
• Anna Quindlen,  “1999 Mount Holyoke Commencement Speech”
• John Roberts, “I Wish You Bad Luck”
• Sir Ken Robinson, “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”
• J.K. Rowling, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure”
• George Saunders, “Failures of Kindness”
• Claude Shannon, “Creative Thinking”
• BF Skinner, “How to Discover What You Have to Say”
• Jim Valvano, “Don’t Give Up”
• Bret Victor, “Inventing on Principle”
• David Foster Wallace, “This is Water”
• Art Williams, “Just Do It”
• Evan Williams,  “A Journey on the Information Highway”

This is an on-going project. If you know of another great talk, please contact me .

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in: Character , Featured , Knowledge of Men

Brett & Kate McKay • August 24, 2020 • Last updated: August 25, 2021

The 35 Greatest Speeches in History

These famous speeches lifted hearts in dark times, gave hope in despair, refined the characters of men, inspired brave feats, gave courage to the weary, honored the dead, and changed the course of history.

How did we compile this list?

Great oratory has three components: style, substance, and impact.

Style: A great speech must be masterfully constructed. The best orators are masters of both the written and spoken word, and use words to create texts that are beautiful to both hear and read.

Substance: A speech may be flowery and charismatically presented, and yet lack any true substance at all. Great oratory must center on a worthy theme; it must appeal to and inspire the audience’s finest values and ideals.

Impact: Great oratory always seeks to persuade the audience of some fact or idea. The very best speeches change hearts and minds and seem as revelatory several decades or centuries removed as when they were first given.

And now for the speeches.

Contents [ hide ]

• 1. Theodore Roosevelt, "Duties of American Citizenship"
• 2. Winston Churchill, "We Shall Fight on the Beaches"
• 3. Lou Gehrig, "Farewell to Baseball Address"
• 4. Demosthenes, "The Third Philippic"
• 5. Chief Joseph, "Surrender Speech"
• 6. John F. Kennedy, "Inauguration Address"

7. Ronald Reagan, "Address to the Nation on the Challenger"

8. "speech of alexander the great", 9. william wilberforce, "abolition speech", 10. theodore roosevelt, "the man with the muck-rake", 11. franklin delano roosevelt, "first inaugural address", 12. charles de gaulle, "the appeal of 18 june", 13. socrates, "apology", 14. george washington, "resignation speech", 15. mahatma gandhi, "quit india", 16. winston churchill, "their finest hour", 17. william faulkner, "nobel prize acceptance speech", 18. dwight d. eisenhower, "farewell address", 19. marcus tullius cicero, "the first oration against catiline", 20. ronald reagan, "remarks at the brandenburg gate", 21. pericles, "funeral oration", 22. general douglas macarthur, "farewell address to congress", 23. theodore roosevelt, "strength and decency", 24. abraham lincoln, "2nd inaugural address", 25. patrick henry, "give me liberty or give me death", 26. ronald reagan, "40th anniversary of d-day".

• 27. John F. Kennedy, "The Decision to Go to the Moon"

28. Frederick Douglass, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?"

29. general douglas macarthur, "duty, honor, country", 30. theodore roosevelt, "citizenship in a republic", 31. winston churchill, "blood, sweat, and tears", 32. franklin delano roosevelt, "pearl harbor address to the nation", 33. jesus christ, "the sermon on the mount", 34. martin luther king jr., "i have a dream", 35. abraham lincoln, "the gettysburg address", 1. theodore roosevelt,  “duties of american citizenship”.

January 26, 1883; Buffalo , New York

Given while serving as a New York assemblyman, TR's address on the "Duties of American Citizenship" delved into both the theoretical reasons why every man should be involved in politics and the practical means of serving in that capacity. Roosevelt chided those who excused themselves from politics because they were too busy; it was every man's duty to devote some time to maintaining good government.

Worthy Excerpt:

Of course, in one sense, the first essential for a man's being a good citizen is his possession of the home virtues of which we think when we call a man by the emphatic adjective of manly. No man can be a good citizen who is not a good husband and a good father, who is not honest in his dealings with other men and women, faithful to his friends and fearless in the presence of his foes, who has not got a sound heart, a sound mind, and a sound body; exactly as no amount of attention to civil duties will save a nation if the domestic life is undermined, or there is lack of the rude military virtues which alone can assure a country's position in the world. In a free republic the ideal citizen must be one willing and able to take arms for the defense of the flag, exactly as the ideal citizen must be the father of many healthy children. A race must be strong and vigorous; it must be a race of good fighters and good breeders, else its wisdom will come to naught and its virtue be ineffective; and no sweetness and delicacy, no love for and appreciation of beauty in art or literature, no capacity for building up material prosperity can possibly atone for the lack of the great virile virtues. But this is aside from my subject, for what I wish to talk of is the attitude of the American citizen in civic life. It ought to be axiomatic in this country that every man must devote a reasonable share of his time to doing his duty in the Political life of the community. No man has a right to shirk his political duties under whatever plea of pleasure or business; and while such shirking may be pardoned in those of small cleans it is entirely unpardonable in those among whom it is most common--in the people whose circumstances give them freedom in the struggle for life. In so far as the community grows to think rightly, it will likewise grow to regard the young man of means who shirks his duty to the State in time of peace as being only one degree worse than the man who thus shirks it in time of war. A great many of our men in business, or of our young men who are bent on enjoying life (as they have a perfect right to do if only they do not sacrifice other things to enjoyment), rather plume themselves upon being good citizens if they even vote; yet voting is the very least of their duties, Nothing worth gaining is ever gained without effort. You can no more have freedom without striving and suffering for it than you can win success as a banker or a lawyer without labor and effort, without self-denial in youth and the display of a ready and alert intelligence in middle age. The people who say that they have not time to attend to politics are simply saying that they are unfit to live in a free community.

Read full text of speech here .

2. Winston Churchill,  “We Shall Fight on the Beaches”

June 4, 1940 ; House of Commons, London

Winston Churchill, one of the greatest orators of the 20th century, was interestingly enough, like Demosthenes and other great orators before him, born with a speech impediment which he worked on until it no longer hindered him. One would never guess this from hearing Churchill's strong and reassuring voice, a voice that would buoy up Britain during some of her darkest hours.

During the Battle of France, Allied Forces became cut off from troops south of the German penetration and perilously trapped at the Dunkirk bridgehead. On May 26, a wholesale evacuation of these troops, dubbed "Operation Dynamo," began. The evacuation was an amazing effort-the RAF kept the Luftwaffe at bay while thousands of ships, from military destroyers to small fishing boats, were used to ferry 338,000 French and British troops to safety, far more than anyone had thought possible. On June 4, Churchill spoke before the House of Commons, giving a report which celebrated the "miraculous deliverance" at Dunkirk, while also seeking to temper a too rosy of view of what was on the whole a "colossal military disaster."

I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation. The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

Check out my podcast with Churchill biographer Andrew Roberts .

3. Lou Gehrig, “Farewell to Baseball Address”

July 4, 1939; Yankee Stadium

It seemed as if the luminous career of Lou Gehrig would go on forever. The Yankee's first baseman and prodigious slugger was nicknamed the Iron Horse for his durability and commitment to the game. Sadly, his record for suiting up for 2,130 consecutive games came to an end when at age 36, Gehrig was stricken with the crippling disease that now bears his name. On July 4, 1939, the Yankees held a ceremony to honor their teammate and friend. They retired Gehrig's number, spoke of his greatness, and presented him with various gifts, plaques, and trophies. When Gehrig finally addressed the crowd, he did not use the opportunity to wallow in pity. Instead, he spoke of the things he was grateful for and what a lucky guy he was.

Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans. Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert - also the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow - to have spent the next nine years with that wonderful little fellow Miller Huggins - then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology - the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy! Sure, I'm lucky. When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift, that's something! When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies, that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles against her own daughter, that's something. When you have a father and mother who work all their lives so that you can have an education and build your body, it's a blessing! When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed, that's the finest I know. So I close in saying that I might have had a tough break - but I have an awful lot to live for!

4. Demosthenes,  “The Third Philippic”

342 B.C.; Athens, Greece

Demosthenes, master statesman and orator, loved his city-state of Athens. He cherished its way of life and abundant freedoms. And he believed in standing strong against anyone who might attempt to infringe on these privileges. This passion, unfortunately, was seldom shared by his fellow Athenians. While Philip the II of Macedon made bolder and bolder incursions into the Greek peninsula, the Athenian people seemed stuck in an apathetic stupor. For years, Demosthenes employed his powerful oratorical skills in attempts to awaken his fellow citizens from sleep to the realization of the imminent danger Philip posed. When Philip advanced on Thrace, the Athenians called an assembly to debate whether or not to finally heed the great orator's advice. Demosthenes was sick of his brethren taking liberty and the Athenian way of life for granted and he boldly called upon them to rise up and take action. After his rousing speech, the assembly all cried out, "To arms! To arms!"

It is this fate, I solemnly assure you, that I dread for you, when the time comes that you make your reckoning, and realize that there is no longer anything that can be done. May you never find yourselves, men of Athens, in such a position! Yet in any case, it were better to die ten thousand deaths, than to do anything out of servility towards Philip [or to sacrifice any of those who speak for your good]. A noble recompense did the people in Oreus receive, for entrusting themselves to Philip's friends, and thrusting Euphraeus aside! And a noble recompense the democracy of Eretria, for driving away your envoys, and surrendering to Cleitarchus! They are slaves, scourged and butchered! A noble clemency did he show to the Olynthians, who elected Lasthenes to command the cavalry, and banished Apollonides! It is folly, and it is cowardice, to cherish hopes like these, to give way to evil counsels, to refuse to do anything that you should do, to listen to the advocates of the enemy's cause, and to fancy that you dwell in so great a city that, whatever happens, you will not suffer any harm.

5. Chief Joseph, “Surrender Speech”

October 5, 1877; Montana Territory

In 1877, the military announced that the Chief Joseph and his tribe of Nez Perce had to move onto a reservation in Idaho or face retribution. Desiring to avoid violence, Chief Joseph advocated peace and cooperation. But fellow tribesmen dissented and killed four white men. Knowing a swift backlash was coming, Joseph and his people began to make their way to Canada, hoping to find amnesty there. The tribe traveled 1700 miles, fighting the pursuing US army along the way. In dire conditions, and after a five day battle, Chief Joseph surrendered to General Nelson A. Miles on Oct. 5, 1877 in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana Territory, a mere 40 miles from the Canadian border. The Chief knew he was the last of a dying breed, and the moment of surrender was heartbreaking.

Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, I have it in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our Chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead, Ta Hool Hool Shute is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led on the young men is dead. It is cold, and we have no blankets; the little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills, and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are - perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children, and see how many of them I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my Chiefs! I am tired; my heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever.

6. John F. Kennedy,  “Inauguration Address”

January 20, 1961; Washington, D.C.

Young, handsome, with a glamorous family in tow, John F. Kennedy embodied the fresh optimism that had marked the post-war decade. On January 20, 1961, Kennedy took the oath of office as the 35th President of the United States. The youngest president in United States history, he was the first man born in the 20th century to hold that office. Listening to his inaugural address, the nation felt that a new era and a "new frontier" were being ushered in.

Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort? In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility -- I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it -- and the glow from that fire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Listen to the speech.

January 28, 1986; Washington, D.C.

On January 28, 1986, millions of Americans, many of them schoolchildren watching from their classroom desks, tuned in to see 7 Americans, including Christa McAuliffe, a 37 year old schoolteacher and the first ever "civilian astronaut," lift off in the space shuttle Challenger. Just 73 seconds later, the shuttle was consumed in a fireball. All seven aboard perished. These were the first deaths of American astronauts while in flight, and the nation was shocked and heartbroken by the tragedy. Just a few hours after the disaster, President Ronald Reagan took to the radio and airwaves, honoring these "pioneers" and offering comfort and assurance to a rattled people.

We've grown used to wonders in this century. It's hard to dazzle us. But for 25 years the United States space program has been doing just that. We've grown used to the idea of space, and perhaps we forget that we've only just begun. We're still pioneers. They, the members of the Challenger crew, were pioneers. And I want to say something to the school children of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. I know it is hard to understand, but sometimes painful things like this happen. It's all part of the process of exploration and discovery. It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave. The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we'll continue to follow them...... The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honoured us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for the journey and waved goodbye and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'

Check out our podcast with Ronald Regan biographer Bob Sptiz.

326 B.C.; Hydaspes River, India

In 335 B.C., Alexander the Great began his campaign to recapture former Greek cities and to expand his empire. After ten years of undefeated battles, Alexander controlled an empire that included Greece, Egypt, and what had been the massive Persian Empire.

That wasn't enough for Xander. He decided to continue his conquest into India. But after ten years of fighting and being away from home, his men lacked the will to take part in another battle, especially against an opponent like King Porus and his army. Alexander used the talent for oration he had developed while studying under Aristotle to infuse his men with the motivation they needed to continue on, to fight and to win.

I could not have blamed you for being the first to lose heart if I, your commander, had not shared in your exhausting marches and your perilous campaigns; it would have been natural enough if you had done all the work merely for others to reap the reward. But it is not so. You and I, gentlemen, have shared the labour and shared the danger, and the rewards are for us all. The conquered territory belongs to you; from your ranks the governors of it are chosen; already the greater part of its treasure passes into your hands, and when all Asia is overrun, then indeed I will go further than the mere satisfaction of our ambitions: the utmost hopes of riches or power which each one of you cherishes will be far surpassed, and whoever wishes to return home will be allowed to go, either with me or without me. I will make those who stay the envy of those who return.

Check out the AoM podcast about the life of Alexander the Great.

May 12, 1789; House of Commons, London

When William Wilberforce, a member of the British Parliament, converted to Christianity, he began to earnestly seek to reform the evils he found within himself and the world around him. One of the glaring moral issues of the day was slavery, and after reading up on the subject and meeting with anti-slavery activists, Wilberforce became convinced that God was calling him to be an abolitionist. Wilberforce decided to concentrate on ending the slave trade rather than slavery itself, reasoning that the abolition of one would logically lead to the demise of the other. On May 12, 1789, Wilberforce made his first speech on the abolition of the slave trade before the House of Commons. He passionately made his case for why the trade was reprehensible and needed to cease. Wilberforce introduced a bill to abolish the trade, but it failed, a result he would become quite familiar with in the ensuing years. Yet Wilberforce never gave up, reintroducing the bill year after year, and the Slave Trade Act was finally passed in 1807.

When I consider the magnitude of the subject which I am to bring before the House-a subject, in which the interests, not of this country, nor of Europe alone, but of the whole world, and of posterity, are involved: and when I think, at the same time, on the weakness of the advocate who has undertaken this great cause-when these reflections press upon my mind, it is impossible for me not to feel both terrified and concerned at my own inadequacy to such a task. But when I reflect, however, on the encouragement which I have had, through the whole course of a long and laborious examination of this question, and how much candour I have experienced, and how conviction has increased within my own mind, in proportion as I have advanced in my labours;-when I reflect, especially, that however averse any gentleman may now be, yet we shall all be of one opinion in the end;-when I turn myself to these thoughts, I take courage-I determine to forget all my other fears, and I march forward with a firmer step in the full assurance that my cause will bear me out, and that I shall be able to justify upon the clearest principles, every resolution in my hand, the avowed end of which is, the total abolition of the slave trade.

April 14, 1906; Washington, D.C.

Theodore Roosevelt was president during the Progressive Era, a time of great enthusiasm for reform in government, the economy, and society. TR himself held many progressive ideals, but he also called for moderation, not extremism. The "Man with a Muck-rake" in Pilgrim's Progress never looked heavenward but instead constantly raked the filth at his feet. TR thus dubbed the journalists and activists of the day who were intent on exposing the corruption in society as "muckrakers." He felt that they did a tremendous amount of good, but needed to mitigate their constant pessimism and alarmist tone. He worried that the sensationalism with which these exposes were often presented would make citizens overly cynical and too prone to throw out the baby with the bathwater.

To assail the great and admitted evils of our political and industrial life with such crude and sweeping generalizations as to include decent men in the general condemnation means the searing of the public conscience. There results a general attitude either of cynical belief in and indifference to public corruption or else of a distrustful inability to discriminate between the good and the bad. Either attitude is fraught with untold damage to the country as a whole. The fool who has not sense to discriminate between what is good and what is bad is well-nigh as dangerous as the man who does discriminate and yet chooses the bad. There is nothing more distressing to every good patriot, to every good American, than the hard, scoffing spirit which treats the allegation of dishonesty in a public man as a cause for laughter. Such laughter is worse than the crackling of thorns under a pot, for it denotes not merely the vacant mind, but the heart in which high emotions have been choked before they could grow to fruition.

March 4, 1933; Washington, D.C.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt handily beat incumbent Herbert Hoover in the 1932 presidential election. The country was deep into the Great Depression, and the public felt that Hoover did not fully sympathize with their plight and was not doing enough to alleviate it. No one was quite clear on what FDR's plan was, but as in today's election season, "change" was enough of an idea to power a campaign. In his First Inaugural Address, Roosevelt sought to buoy up the injured psyche of the American people and present his case for why he would need broad executive powers to tackle the Depression.

I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our Nation impels. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself-nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

Read the full text here .

June 18, 1940; London

In June of 1940, it was clear that France was losing their country to the German invasion. Refusing to sign an armistice, Prime Minister Paul Reynaud was forced to resign. He was succeeded by Marshal Philippe Petain who made clear his intention to seek an accommodation with Germany. Disgusted with this decision, General Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French Forces, escaped to England on June 15. De Gaulle asked for, and obtained permission from Winston Churchill to make a speech on BBC radio. De Gaulle exhorted the French to not give up hope and to continue the fight against the German occupation and the Vichy Regime.

But has the last word been said? Must hope disappear? Is defeat final? No! Believe me, I who am speaking to you with full knowledge of the facts, and who tell you that nothing is lost for France. The same means that overcame us can bring us victory one day. For France is not alone! She is not alone! She is not alone! She has a vast Empire behind her. She can align with the British Empire that holds the sea and continues the fight. She can, like England, use without limit the immense industry of the United States. This war is not limited to the unfortunate territory of our country. This war is not over as a result of the Battle of France. This war is a worldwide war. All the mistakes, all the delays, all the suffering, do not alter the fact that there are, in the world, all the means necessary to crush our enemies one day. Vanquished today by mechanical force, in the future we will be able to overcome by a superior mechanical force. The fate of the world depends on it.

399 B.C.; Athens

Socrates is perhaps the greatest teacher in the history of the Western world. He wandered around Athens engaging in dialogues with his fellow citizens that focused on discovering the truth of all things . He taught his pupils that the "unexamined life is not worth living."

The Athenians saw Socrates as a threat, especially to the Athenian youth. Socrates acquired quite a following among the young men of Athens. He taught these impressionable minds to question everything, even Athenian authority. Eventually, Socrates was arrested and put on trial for corrupting the youth, not believing the gods, and creating new deities.

The "Apology" is Socrates' defense to these charges. Instead of crying and pleading for mercy, Socrates accepts his charges and attempts to persuade the jury with reason. He argued that it was his calling from the gods to seek knowledge and that it was through his questions he uncovered truth. To not fulfill his calling would be blasphemy. In the end, Socrates lost and was sentenced to death by hemlock. Socrates accepted this fate willingly and without grudge against his condemners, thus dying as a martyr for free thinking.

Some one will say: Yes, Socrates, but cannot you hold your tongue, and then you may go into a foreign city, and no one will interfere with you? Now I have great difficulty in making you understand my answer to this. For if I tell you that to do as you say would be a disobedience to the God, and therefore that I cannot hold my tongue, you will not believe that I am serious; and if I say again that daily to discourse about virtue, and of those other things about which you hear me examining myself and others, is the greatest good of man, and that the unexamined life is not worth living, you are still less likely to believe me.

Check out our article on the philosophy of Plato . 

December 23, 1784; Annapolis, Maryland

As the Revolutionary War drew to a close, there was much speculation that George Washington, then Major General and Commander-in-Chief, would follow in the footsteps of former world leaders by making a grab for supreme power. Some even wished he would do so, hoping he would become the king of a new nation. Yet Washington knew that such a move would wither the fragile beginnings of the new republic. Looking to the Roman general Cincinnatus an exemplar, Washington rejected the temptations of power and resigned his position as Commander-in-Chief. Choosing the right is almost never easy, and as Washington read his speech in front of the Continental Congress, the great statesman trembled so much that he had to hold the parchment with two hands to keep it steady. "The spectators all wept, and there was hardly a member of Congress who did not drop tears. His voice faltered and sunk, and the whole house felt his agitations." When finished, Washington bolted from the door of the Annapolis State House, mounted his horse, and galloped away into the sunset.

While I repeat my obligations to the Army in general, I should do injustice to my own feelings not to acknowledge in this place the peculiar Services and distinguished merits of the Gentlemen who have been attached to my person during the War. It was impossible the choice of confidential Officers to compose my family should have been more fortunate. Permit me Sir, to recommend in particular those, who have continued in Service to the present moment, as worthy of the favorable notice and patronage of Congress. I consider it an indispensable duty to close this last solemn act of my Official life, by commending the Interests of our dearest Country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superintendence of them, to his holy keeping. Having now finished the work assigned me, I retire from the great theater of Action; and bidding an Affectionate farewell to this August body under whose orders I have so long acted, I here offer my Commission, and take my leave of all the employments of public life.

Check out my podcast about the self-education of George Washington.

August 8, 1942; India

While the battle for freedom and democracy raged across the world, the people of India were engaged in their own fight for liberty. For almost a century, India had been under the direct rule of the British crown, and many Indians had had enough. Mahatma Gandhi and the National Indian Congress pushed for a completely non-violent movement aimed at forcing Britain to "Quit India." Gandhi, pioneer of the tactics of non-violent civil disobedience, called for their use on August 8, 1942 with the passing of the Quit India Resolution demanding complete independence from British rule.

I believe that in the history of the world, there has not been a more genuinely democratic struggle for freedom than ours. I read Carlyle's French Resolution while I was in prison, and Pandit Jawaharlal has told me something about the Russian revolution. But it is my conviction that inasmuch as these struggles were fought with the weapon of violence they failed to realize the democratic ideal. In the democracy which I have envisaged, a democracy established by non-violence, there will be equal freedom for all. Everybody will be his own master. It is to join a struggle for such democracy that I invite you today. Once you realize this you will forget the differences between the Hindus and Muslims, and think of yourselves as Indians only, engaged in the common struggle for independence.

June 18, 1940; House of Commons, London

On May 10, 1940, the Germans began their invasion of France. On June 14 Paris fell. In a matter of days, France would surrender and England would stand as Europe's lone bulwark against the twin evils of Fascism and Nazism. At this critical moment, Churchill gave his third and final speech during the Battle of France, once again imparting words meant to bring hope in this dark hour.

What General Weygand called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'

Check out my podcast about how Churchill led during the Blitz.

December 10, 1950; Stockholm, Sweden

A true master of the written word, William Faulkner did not often make public his gift for the spoken variety. So there was some interest as to what he would say when accepting the Nobel Peace Prize for his "powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel." The year was 1950, the Soviet Union had tapped the potential of the atomic bomb, and the atmosphere in the the United States crackled with the fear of them using it. Faulkner challenged poets, authors, and all mankind to think beyond the questions of "When will I be blown up?" and instead continue to "create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before."

I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.

January 17, 1961; Washington, D.C.

The 1950's were a time of ever increasing military spending, as the United States sought to fight communism abroad and prevent it at home. As President Dwight D. Eisenhower left office, more than half of the federal budget was allocated for defense purposes. Eisenhower, former General of the Army, was certainly not opposed to the use of military power to keep the peace. Still, he saw fit to use his "Farewell Address" to warn the nation of the dangers posed by the "military-industrial complex," referring to the relationship between the armed forces, the government, and the suppliers of war materials. Eisenhower was wary of the large role defense spending played in the economy, and understood the political and corporate corruption that could result if the public was not vigilant in checking it.

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex . The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

63 BC; Rome

Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline to his friends) was a very jealous man. Having once run against Cicero for the position of consul and lost, he became determined to win the next election by any devious method necessary. Plan A was to bribe people to vote for him, and when that didn't work, he decided to go for bust and simply knock Cicero off on election day. This plan was ferreted out by the ever vigilant Cicero, the election was postponed, and the Senate established marital law. When the election finally was held, the murderer-cum-candidate was surprisingly trounced at the polls. Now it was time for Catiline's Plan C: raise an army of co-conspirators, create insurrection throughout Italy, overthrow the government, and slice and dice as many Senators as they could get their coo -ky hands on. But Cicero was again one step ahead and discovered the plan. He called the Senate together for a meeting at the Temple of Jupiter in the Capitol, an orifice only used in times of great crisis. Catiline, who seriously didn't know when he was not welcome, decided to crash the party. With his archenemy in attendance, Cicero began his Catiline Orations, a series of speeches covering how he saved Rome from rebellion, the guilt of Catiline, and the need to whack he and his cronies.

I wish, O conscript fathers, to be merciful; I wish not to appear negligent amid such danger to the state; but I do now accuse myself of remissness and culpable inactivity. A camp is pitched in Italy, at the entrance of Etruria, in hostility to the republic; the number of the enemy increases every day; and yet the general of that camp, the leader of those enemies, we see within the walls-aye, and even in the senate-planning every day some internal injury to the republic. If, O Catiline, I should now order you to be arrested, to be put to death, I should, I suppose, have to fear lest all good men should say that I had acted tardily, rather than that any one should affirm that I acted cruelly. But yet this, which ought to have been done long since, I have good reason for not doing as yet; I will put you to death, then, when there shall be not one person possible to be found so wicked, so abandoned, so like yourself, as not to allow that it has been rightly done. As long as one person exists who can dare to defend you, you shall live; but you shall live as you do now, surrounded by my many and trusty guards, so that you shall not be able to stir one finger against the republic; many eyes and ears shall still observe and watch you, as they have hitherto done, tho you shall not perceive them.

June 12, 1987; Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

Since the end of World War II, Germany had been a divided country, the West free and democratic, the East under authoritarian communist control. When President Reagan took office, he was committed not only to uniting that country, but to bringing down the entire "Evil Empire." While the importance of Reagan's role in successfully doing so is endlessly debated, it beyond dispute that he exerted some influence in bringing the Cold War to an end. There is no more memorable and symbolic moment of this influence then when Reagan stood at the Berlin wall, the most visible symbol of the "Iron Curtain," and challenged Gorbachev to "tear down this wall!"

We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace. There is one sign the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace. General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

Listen to speech.

431 BC; Athens

Pericles, master statesman, orator, and general, was truly, as Thuciydies dubbed him, "the first citizen of Athens." Pericles was a product of the Sophists and had been personally tutored by the great philosopher Anaxagoras. His study with the Sophists made Pericles a highly persuasive orator. Through his speeches, he galvanized Athenians to undertake an enormous public works project that created hundreds of temples, including the Pantheon.

Pericles' gift of oration was put to the test during the epic battles of the Peloponnesian War, a civil war between Athens and Sparta. His speeches inspired Athenians to fight to become the number one power in Greece. In February of 431 B.C., Athens had their annual public funeral to honor all those who died in war. Pericles was asked to give the traditional funeral oration. Rather than focus his speech on enumerating the conquests of Athens' fallen heroes, Pericles instead used his funeral oration to laud the glory of Athens itself and inspire the living to make sure the soldiers had not died in vain.

Over 2,000 years later, Pericles' funeral oration inspired Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address." Like Pericles, Lincoln was a leader during a time of civil war. Like Pericles, Lincoln focused on exhorting the living to live their lives in a way that would make the sacrifice of fallen warriors worthwhile.

So died these men as became Athenians. You, their survivors, must determine to have as unfaltering a resolution in the field, though you may pray that it may have a happier issue. And not contented with ideas derived only from words of the advantages which are bound up with the defense of your country, though these would furnish a valuable text to a speaker even before an audience so alive to them as the present, you must yourselves realize the power of Athens, and feed your eyes upon her from day to day, till love of her fills your hearts; and then, when all her greatness shall break upon you, you must reflect that it was by courage, sense of duty, and a keen feeling of honor in action that men were enabled to win all this, and that no personal failure in an enterprise could make them consent to deprive their country of their valor, but they laid it at her feet as the most glorious contribution that they could offer.

April 19, 1951, Washington; D.C.

During the Korean War, General MacArthur and President Truman clashed over the threat posed by the Chinese People's Liberation Army and their incursion into Korea. MacArthur continually pressed Truman for permission to bomb bases in Manchuria, believing the war needed to be extended in area and scope. Truman refused the General's requests, arguing that directly drawing China into the war would arouse the Soviet Union to action. MacArthur continued to press his case, and Truman, accusing the General of insubordination, made the decision to relieve MacArthur of his command. After serving for 52 years and in three wars, the General's military career was over. MacArthur returned to the United States and gave this farewell address to Congress.

I am closing my 52 years of military service. When I joined the Army, even before the turn of the century, it was the fulfillment of all of my boyish hopes and dreams. The world has turned over many times since I took the oath on theplain at West Point, and the hopes and dreams have long since vanished, but I still remember the refrain of one of the most popular barrack ballads of that day which proclaimed most proudly that "old soldiers never die; they just fade away." And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Good Bye.

Roosevelt was an advocate of having many children and making sure the next generation would continue to uphold the great virtues of civilization. He was always concerned that young men not be coddled or cowardly, and grow up to live rugged, strenuous, and thoroughly manly lives. But he also strongly believed that being ruggedly manly and being refined in mind and spirit were not incompatible and should in fact go hand and hand. In this speech, he exhorts young men to pursue virtuous manliness. Amen, brother, amen.

It is peculiarly incumbent upon you who have strength to set a right example to others. I ask you to remember that you cannot retain your self-respect if you are loose and foul of tongue, that a man who is to lead a clean and honorable life must inevitably suffer if his speech likewise is not clean and honorable. Every man here knows the temptations that beset all of us in this world. At times any man will slip. I do not expect perfection, but I do expect genuine and sincere effort toward being decent and cleanly in thought, in word, and in deed. As I said at the outset, I hail the work of this society as typifying one of those forces which tend to the betterment and uplifting of our social system. Our whole effort should be toward securing a combination of the strong qualities with those qualities which we term virtues. I expect you to be strong. I would not respect you if you were not. I do not want to see Christianity professed only by weaklings; I want to see it a moving spirit among men of strength. I do not expect you to lose one particle of your strength or courage by being decent. On the contrary, I should hope to see each man who is a member of this society, from his membership in it become all the fitter to do the rough work of the world; all the fitter to work in time of peace; and if, which may Heaven forfend, war should come, all the fitter to fight in time of war. I desire to see in this country the decent men strong and the strong men decent, and until we get that combination in pretty good shape we are not going to be by any means as successful as we should be. There is always a tendency among very young men and among boys who are not quite young men as yet to think that to be wicked is rather smart; to think it shows that they are men. Oh, how often you see some young fellow who boasts that he is going to "see life," meaning by that that he is going to see that part of life which it is a thousandfold better should remain unseen!

March 4, 1865; Washington, D.C.

The Union's victory was but a month away as Abraham Lincoln began his second term as president of a bitterly ruptured United States. Like the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln keeps this speech only as long as needful. While there are those who still debate whether the Civil War was truly fought over slavery or not, Lincoln certainly believed so. To him, slavery was a great national sin, and the blood shed during the war was the atoning sacrifice for that evil.

He does not relish the prospect of coming victory; instead, he appeals to his countrymen to remember that the war was truly fought between brothers. When the war was over and the Confederacy forced to return to the Union, Lincoln was prepared to treat the South with relative leniency. He did not believe secession was truly possible, and thus the South had never truly left the Union. Reconstruction would not mean vengeance, but the return home of a terribly errant son.

Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

March 23, 1775; Richmond , VA

For a decade, revolutionary sentiments had been brewing in Virginia and Patrick Henry had always been in the thick of it, stirring the pot. Henry became particularly enflamed by the Stamp Act of 1764, which prompted him to give his so-called "treason speech," spurring the Burgesses to pass the Virginia Resolves banning the act. Tensions between the colonies and the Crown continued to build, and in 1775, Massachusetts patriots began making preparations for war. Henry believed that Virginia should follow suit. At a meeting held in St. John's Church in Richmond, Henry presented resolutions to make ready Virginia's defenses. Seeking to persuade his fellow delegates of the urgency of his message, he gave a rousing and memorable speech, climaxing is that now famous line, "Give me liberty of give me death!"

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable -- and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come! It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, "Peace! Peace!" -- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!

June 6, 1984; Pointe du Hoc, France

What the Army Rangers did on D-Day at Pointe Du Hoc is a tale every man worth his salt should be familiar with. Pointe du Hoc was a sheer 100 foot cliff located in-between Omaha and Utah beaches. Perched atop the cliff sat six casemates capable of being manned, armed, and taking out the men on the beaches. As the Germans fired upon them, the Rangers scaled the cliff using ropes and ladders, found the guns (which had been moved from the casemates) and destroyed them. Without reinforcements for two days, the Rangers alone held their position and fended off German counterattacks. These skirmishes proved deadly; only 90 of the original 225 Ranger landing force survived.

On the 40 th anniversary of D-Day, President Reagan gave a moving tribute to these men, many of whom were present at the occasion.

These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war. Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your 'lives fought for life...and left the vivid air signed with your honor'... Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer. It was faith, and belief; it was loyalty and love. The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge -- and pray God we have not lost it -- that there is a profound moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest. You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.

27. John F. Kennedy, " The Decision to Go to the Moon"

May 25, 1961; Houston, TX

On April 12, 1961, the Soviets launched the first man into space. Khrushchev used this triumph as prime evidence of communism's superiority over decadent capitalism. Embarrassed, the United States feared it was falling behind the Soviet Union and losing the "space race." After consulting with political and NASA officials, Kennedy decided it was time for America to boldly go where no man had gone before by putting a man on the moon. The feat would not only catapult the nation over the Soviet Union, but also allow man to more fully explore the mysteries of space. And this mission would be accomplished by the end of the 1960's. When was the last time a president had the cajones to publicly issue a straightforward, ambitious goal and set a timeline for its success?

There is no strife, no prejudice, no national conflict in outer space as yet. Its hazards are hostile to us all. Its conquest deserves the best of all mankind, and its opportunity for peaceful cooperation many never come again. But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic? Why does Rice play Texas? We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

July 5, 1852; Rochester, NY

Frederick Douglass, former slave, abolitionist, and engineer on the underground railroad, was a popular speaker on the anti-slavery circuit. He traveled thousands of miles each year, giving hundreds of speeches. Yet the money he earned from lecturing was not enough to become financially comfortable, and he and his family struggled. Douglass was disillusioned by the repercussions of the Fugitive Slave Act, and his abolitionist leanings grew more strident and bold. If the citizens of Rochester, New York had expected to be flattered by Douglass when they asked him to speak on the Fourth, they were soon disavowed of that idea. Douglass took the opportunity to defiantly point out the ripe hypocrisy of a nation celebrating their ideals of freedom and equality while simultaneously mired in the evil of slavery. While the speech surely made even the most liberal audience members squirm; nonetheless, the crowed let loose in "universal applause" when Douglass finished.

I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you this day rejoice are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence bequeathed by your fathers is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. Youmay rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak today?

Read what books had the biggest influence on Frederick Douglass.

May 12, 1962; West Point, New York

General Douglas MacArthur, General of the Army and a man who fought in three wars, knew something of "Duty, Honor, Country." In 1962, MacArthur was in the twilight of his life and came to West Point to accept the Sylvanus Thayer Award and participate in his final cadet roll call. His address reflects upon and celebrates the brave and courageous men who came before, men he personally led, men who embodied "Duty, Honor, Country."

There are many great speeches in this list, but I hope you will pause to read the entirety of this one. Picking an excerpt was quite difficult, as so many of the passages are inspiring. A must read for all men.

You are the leaven which binds together the entire fabric of our national system of defense. From your ranks come the great captains who hold the nation's destiny in their hands the moment the war tocsin sounds. The Long Gray Line has never failed us. Were you to do so, a million ghosts in olive drab, in brown khaki, in blue and gray, would rise from their white crosses thundering those magic words: Duty, Honor, Country . This does not mean that you are war mongers. On the contrary, the soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war." The shadows are lengthening for me. The twilight is here. My days of old have vanished, tone and tint. They have gone glimmering through the dreams of things that were. Their memory is one of wondrous beauty, watered by tears, and coaxed and caressed by the smiles of yesterday. I listen vainly, but with thirsty ears, for the witching melody of faint bugles blowing reveille, of far drums beating the long roll. In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield. But in the evening of my memory, always I come back to West Point. Always there echoes and re-echoes: Duty, Honor, Country .

April 23, 1910; Paris , France

At the end of Theodore Roosevelt's second term in office, he set out to tour Africa and Europe, hoping to allow his successor, President Taft, to step into the enormous shoes TR had left and become his own man. After a safari in Africa, he traveled throughout Europe. While in France, he was invited to speak at the historic University of Paris. Roosevelt used the opportunity to deliver a powerful address on the requirements of citizenship, the characteristics which would keep democracies like France and the United States robust and strong. This speech is famous for the "man in the arena" quote, but the entire speech is an absolute must read.

Let the man of learning, the man of lettered leisure, beware of that queer and cheap temptation to pose to himself and to others as a cynic, as the man who has outgrown emotions and beliefs, the man to whom good and evil are as one. The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer. There are many men who feel a kind of twister pride in cynicism; there are many who confine themselves to criticism of the way others do what they themselves dare not even attempt. There is no more unhealthy being, no man less worthy of respect, than he who either really holds, or feigns to hold, an attitude of sneering disbelief toward all that is great and lofty, whether in achievement or in that noble effort which, even if it fails, comes to second achievement. A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticise work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life's realities - all these are marks, not as the possessor would fain to think, of superiority but of weakness. They mark the men unfit to bear their part painfully in the stern strife of living, who seek, in the affection of contempt for the achievements of others, to hide from others and from themselves in their own weakness. The rôle is easy; there is none easier, save only the rôle of the man who sneers alike at both criticism and performance. It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

May 13, 1940; House of Commons, London

Winston Churchill's first speech to the House of Commons as Britain's new Prime Minister got off to an auspicious start. His welcome to that assembly was quite tepid, while outgoing PM Neville Chamberlain was enthusiastically applauded (the world did not yet know just how disastrous his appeasement policies would prove and did not trust Churchill). But Churchill's first speech, the first of three powerful oratories he gave during the Battle of France, would prove that England was in more than capable hands. A seemingly unstoppable Hitler was advancing rapidly across Europe, and Churchill wasted no time in calling his people to arms. While TR had actually been the first to utter the phrase, "blood, sweat and tears," it was Churchill's use of these words that would leave an inedible and inspiring impression upon the world's mind.

Worthy Excerpt

I say to the House as I said to ministers who have joined this government, I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea, and air. War with all our might and with all the strength God has given us, and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs - Victory in spite of all terrors - Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.

December 8, 1941; Washington, D.C.

The attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, shocked the United States to its core, outraging a nation that had hoped to stay out of the mounting turmoil in Asia and Europe. Overnight, the country united in desire to enter the war. The day after the attacks, FDR addressed the nation in a brief, but electrifying speech, declaring war on Japan and giving assurance that the United States would attain victory.

Be sure to listen to the audio of the speech. Imagine every American family, rattled and worried, listening around the radio to what their president would say. They knew their whole world was about to change forever. Listen to the reaction of Congress as they applaud and cheer FDR's words. The emotion is so very real and palatable; it truly transports you back to that critical moment in time.

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives: yesterday, December 7, 1941- a date which will live in infamy -the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan..... But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory. I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us. Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces-with the unbounding determination of our people-we will gain the inevitable triumph-so help us God.

33 A.D.; Jerusalem

Whether one believes that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God or simply a wise teacher, it is impossible to deny the impact of perhaps the world's most famous speech: The Sermon on the Mount. No speech has been more pondered, more influential, or more quoted. It introduced a prayer now familiar the world over and uttered in trenches, churches, and bedsides around the globe. It introduced a code of conduct billions of believers have adopted as their lofty, if not not always attainable, goal. While much of the sermon has roots in Jewish law, the advice given in the Beatitudes represented a dramatic and radical departure from the eye for an eye system of justice known in the ancient world. The standards of behavior outlined in the sermon have given believers and non-believers alike plenty to contemplate and discuss in the two thousand years since it was given.

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

See Matthew Chapter 5-7 for full text.

August 28, 1963; Washington, D.C.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream Speech" is hands down one of the greatest, if not the greatest, pieces of oratory in American history. King's charisma, skills in rhetoric, and passion, place him in a league of his own. A century after slavery ended, a century after African-Americans were promised full equality, black children were being hosed down in the streets, spat upon, bused to separate schools, turned away from restaurants, and denied treatment as full human beings. In this midst of this egregious track record, Dr. King voiced a clear, compelling message of hope, a dream that things would not always be as they were, and that a new day was coming.

Many people have seen excerpts of the speech, but a surprisingly number of adults my age I have never sat down and watched the speech in its entirety. I challenge you to do just that. It is just as electrifying and moving today as it was in 1963.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification - one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. This will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"

Listen to the speech here .

November 19, 1863; Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

272 words. 3 minutes long. Yet, the Gettysburg Address is unarguably one of the greatest pieces of rhetoric in American history. Dr. J Rufus Fears (one of the great modern orators) argues that the Gettysburg Address, along with the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, form the three founding documents of American freedom. And I have to agree.

The Battle of Gettysburg left 8,000 men dead. The bodies were too numerous to bury properly and many were at first placed in shallow graves. Weeks after the battle, heads and arms were sticking up through the ground and the smell of rotting flesh was sickening.

Money was raised for a proper reburial, and it was decided that the new cemetery should be dedicated, to sweeten the air of Gettysburg, to solemnize this place of death. As was traditional, a great orator, in this case, Edward Everett, was asked to give a solemn and grand speech as a memorial to the fallen men. Lincoln was asked 2 months later, almost as a causal afterthought. He was to add a few remarks to Everett's, a function much like the man with the ceremonial scissors who cuts the ribbon. Legends has it that Lincoln's remarks were the product of pure inspiration, penned on the back of an envelope on the train chugging its way to the soon-to-be hallowed grounds of Gettysburg.

On the day of the dedication, Everett kept the crowd enthralled for a full two hours. Lincoln got up, gave his speech, and sat down even before the photographer had finished setting up for a picture. There was a long pause before anyone applauded, and then the applause was scattered and polite.

Not everyone immediately realized the magnificence of Lincoln's address. But some did. In a letter to Lincoln, Everett praised the President for his eloquent and concise speech, saying, "I should be glad if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."

And of course, in time, we have come to fully appreciate the genius and beauty of the words spoken that day. Dr. Fears argues that Lincoln's address did more than memorialize the fallen soldiers at Gettysburg; it accomplished nothing short of transforming the entire meaning of the Civil War. There were no details of the battle mentioned in the speech, no mentioning of soldier's names, of Gettysburg itself, of the South nor the Union, states rights nor secession. Rather, Lincoln meant the speech to be something far larger, a discourse on the experiment testing whether government can maintain the proposition of equality. At Gettysburg, the Constitution experienced a transformation. The first birth has been tainted by slavery. The men, of both North and South, lying in the graves at Gettysburg had made an atoning sacrifice for this great evil. And the Constitution would be reborn, this time living up to its promises of freedom and equality for all.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate - we cannot consecrate - we cannot hallow - this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us - that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion - that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom - and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

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Oscars 2020 as it happened: Winners, best speeches, biggest moments and more

Hollywood's biggest night came and went with surprise wins, political moments and a lot of ... singing. "Parasite," Bong Joon Ho's twisted social thriller, took home the biggest prize of the night, winning best picture. Joaquin Phoenix and Renée Zellweger both gave memorable acceptance speeches. And "1917" beat a crowded field for visual effects Oscar.

• Full list of winners
• Who makes up the academy? A breakdown of the exclusive Oscars club
• From Iowa chaos to Jeff Bezos, watch the Oscars' best political jokes

Catch up on the full night of major moments, musical numbers and our commentary throughout the 92nd Academy Awards.

How to watch Bong Joon-ho's essential movies

Daniel Arkin

Bong Joon-ho, the newly crowned king of the Academy Awards, has been churning out genre-bending cinematic marvels for nearly 20 years. The wave of wins for "Parasite" could draw even larger numbers of American audiences to his impressive body of work. Here's a look at some of the South Korean auteur's other key movies and where you can watch them.

"Memories of Murder" (2003)

Bong's second feature was this deeply unsettling crime drama about a spate of murders in South Korea, partly inspired by the country's first serial killings. David Fincher's "Zodiac," in the eyes of many film buffs, was indebted to this film's coldly analytical tone and surprising moments of pitch-black comedy.

Where to watch: iTunes

"Snowpiercer" (2013)

Chris Evans and Tilda Swinton co-starred in this grim but compulsively watchable sci-fi satire about a train carrying the last survivors of a failed attempt to fight global climate change. The key themes — economic inequality, the tension between the haves and the have-nots — anticipated "Parasite."

Where to watch: Netflix, iTunes

"Okja" (2017)

"Parasite" is hard to fit into any genre, but it's even harder to do that with "Okja." Netflix distributed this continent-spanning epic about a young Korean girl who takes a genetically modified superpig (Okja!) under her wing. It must be seen to be believed.

Where to watch: Netflix

Bong Joon-ho ties Walt Disney for most Oscars in one night

Ben Kesslen

Bong Joon-ho made history in more than one way.

"Parasite" became the first foreign-language film to win best picture, and Bong Joon-ho has now tied Walt Disney for the most Oscar wins in a single year.

Disney won four awards in 1953 and Bong won four tonight, for best picture, best director, best original screenplay and best international film feature!

Celebrities react to 'Parasite's' historic win

Nicole Acevedo

Celebrities are showing some love to the cast and crew of "Parasite" after the film made history at the Oscars as the first foreign-language film to win best picture.

Ava DuVernay was one of the first to show her excitement, tweeting, "MASSIVE! HISTORIC! LANDMARK! PARASITE! The world is big and it is beautiful and films from everywhere deserve to be on that stage winning @TheAcademy 's highest honor. This is wonderful and right. #Oscars "

MASSIVE! HISTORIC! LANDMARK! PARASITE! The world is big and it is beautiful and films from everywhere deserve to be on that stage winning @TheAcademy ’s highest honor. This is wonderful and right. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/Q8go53lqmd — Ava DuVernay (@ava) February 10, 2020

Comedian Mike Birbiglia said his wife, who "is right about 98% of the time" predicted "Parasite's" win last year.

My wife is right about 98% of the time. Clo called it in October. #parasite https://t.co/2VA1LkU53s — Mike Birbiglia (@birbigs) February 10, 2020

Actress Olivia Munn showed off her pride tweeting, "My Asian heart is very full right now. #Oscars   #Parasite #RepresentationMatters ."

My Asian heart is very full right now. #Oscars #Parasite #RepresentationMatters 💛💛💛💛 — Olivia Munn (@oliviamunn) February 10, 2020

Presidential candidate Andrew Yang tweeted "Wow I need to see Parasite" after its historic win.

Wow I need to see Parasite. — Andrew Yang🧢 (@AndrewYang) February 10, 2020

Producer calls 'Parasite' best picture win a 'moment in history'

Ethan Sacks

On a historic night in which "Parasite" became the first foreign-language film to win the best picture award in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards, the film's producer put it all in perspective.

"We never imagined this to happen. We're so happy," producer Kwak Sin Ae said through an interpreter. "I feel like a very opportune moment in history is happening right now." 

The Oscar was the movie's fourth of the night, to go with a best director trophy for Bong Joon-ho, best original screenplay and best international feature film.

It also clearly won the crowd inside the Dolby Theatre: When the stage lights dimmed during the acceptance speech, the audience chanted for the lights to be turned on again.

From Iowa chaos to Jeff Bezos, watch the Oscars' best political jokes

Best picture goes to 'parasite'.

We have a winner: "Parasite."

Bong Joon-ho's twisted social thriller was just crowned best picture, edging out "1917." It's the first non-English-language film to earn the top prize in the history of the Academy Awards.

Hollywood legend Jane Fonda presented the award.

Fun fact: 'The Irishman' is based on the book 'I Heard You Paint Houses'

Lara Horwitz

The book's title, "I Heard You Paint Houses," were the first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran. On "The Tonight Show," Robert De Niro explained that the term, along with "I also do my own carpentry work," refer to both the hit and the cleanup.

Did Joaquin Phoenix win best actor or best activist?

No one was laughing during "Joker" star Joaquin Phoenix's acceptance speech. 

While accepting the Oscar for best actor, Phoenix turned the podium into a pulpit, launching into a impassioned plea to "give voice to the voiceless."

"I think at times we feel we champion different causes, but for me, I see commonality. I think whether we're talking about gender inequality, racism, queer rights, animal rights, we're talking about injustice," he said.

He admonished humans for plundering the natural resources of the planet — mentioning the artificial impregnation of cows as an example.

Activism over acting has been a theme of Phoenix's speeches all awards season.

"I feel conflicted, because so many of my fellow actors that are deserving don't have that same privilege," Phoenix said in accepting his acting award at the BAFTAs last weekend. "I think that we send a very clear message to people of color that you're not welcome here."

Phoenix got emotional as he closed his speech with some words from his late brother, River Phoenix, who died in 1993 of a drug overdose when Joaquin was days away from turning 19.

"When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric, he said, 'Run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow," Phoenix said.

Renée Zellweger wins for her bravura lead performance in 'Judy'

No surprise here either: Renée Zellweger triumphed in the best actress category for her spot-on portrayal of Judy Garland in "Judy."

Zellweger last won an Oscar in 2004 for her supporting turn in "Cold Mountain."

'Joker' composer Hildur Guðnadóttir is the first woman to win best original score in two decades

Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir is the first woman to win an Academy Award for best original score in two decades.

She delivered an empowering speech after receiving her Oscar for her work in "Joker."

"To the girls, to the women, to the mothers, to the daughters who hear the music bubbling within — please speak up. We need to hear your voices," Guðnadóttir said.

The last woman to have won an Academy Award for best original score was Anne Dudley, for her work in "The Full Monty" back in 1997.

What did Kobe Bryant win an Oscar for?

Jamie Primeau

While Kobe Bryant's name is synonymous with basketball championships and not necessarily Hollywood award shows,  he earned  his Oscar in 2018. Bryant took home the trophy for best animated short film along with Glen Keane, who animated and directed the short, called "Dear Basketball." It featured music by John Williams, an award-winning composer who worked on the "Star Wars" movies, "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and several other classics. Read more here.

Joaquin Phoenix wins for 'Joker,' as expected

No shocker: Joaquin Phoenix, who depicted a social outcast's descent into madness and violence in the edgy origin story "Joker," is your winner for best actor.

In Memoriam segment leaves off Robert Conrad, Orson Bean

This has been such a horribly tragic week for Hollywood that several actors didn't make the In Memoriam segment at Sunday's Oscars because they died too recently. 

"The Wild Wild West" star Robert Conrad died Saturday of congestive heart failure, one day after 91-year-old Orson Bean was struck and killed by a car while crossing the street. 

The segment, delivered to Billie Eilish singing the Beatles' "Yesterday," was already stuffed with enough huge names to fill a movie marquee, including Kobe Bryant, Doris Day, Peter Fonda and Kirk Douglas.

Topical humor!

Bong Joon Ho is surging in New Hampshire — Rich Parr (@richparr79) February 10, 2020

'1917' and 'Parasite' are Oscar worthy — for different reasons

In a close battle between favorites for the best picture Oscar, it's the World War I epic "1917" that has stormed to front-runner status this awards season. But another consensus contender, the South Korean genre-twisting drama "Parasite," seems to have been steadily leaching votes over the past few weeks.

There will be suspense as the final envelope is opened, but both films deserve the most important honor in the film industry — for different reasons. Read the full story.

'Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood' was Luke Perry's last movie

Luke Perry, who suffered a massive stroke in late February 2019 and died March 4, portrayed real actor Wayne Maunder, who is in one of the shows that Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) stars in in "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood."

Burt Reynolds, who died in September 2018, was originally cast as George Spahn. Unfortunately, Reynolds passed away before filming his scenes. Tarantino proudly acknowledges that Reynolds was present at the first table read, making it his last performance.

Fun fact: 'Parasite' director Bong Joon-ho's interpreter is also a filmmaker

Interpreter Sharon Choi has gained her own fandom as she's made the rounds with "parasite" director Bong Hoon-jo this awards season.

In a post-Golden Globes interview, Bong told reporters that Choi is also a filmmaker. Choi bashfully agreed, saying she wants to direct.

Bong Joon-ho wins best director!

Bong Joon-ho, the celebrated and daring South Korean auteur behind "Parasite," was just crowned best director.

"I thought I was done for the day and ready to relax," Bong said through an interpreter, nodding to his earlier wins for best original screenplay and best international feature.

In his heartfelt acceptance speech, Bong paid tribute to Martin Scorsese ("The Irishman"), quoting one of his sayings ("The most personal is the most creative") and eliciting a standing ovation for the famed filmmaker.

Bong also tipped his proverbial hat to Quentin Tarantino ("Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood"), Sam Mendes ("1917") and Todd Phillips ("Joker").

Game recognize game. pic.twitter.com/EsVDDunEks — Film at Lincoln Center (@FilmLinc) February 10, 2020

A reminder that all women are superheroes

Anne T. Donahue

Before introducing Irish conductor Eímear Noone — the first woman to conduct (ever!) at the Academy Awards — two superheroes (Brie Larson and Gal Gadot) and the woman who paved the way for them, Sigourney Weaver, sent a strong message out to audiences: They intended to form a fight club that all people could join, but the loser would be stuck fielding questions like "What's it like to be a woman in Hollywood?"

'Parasite's' youngest star gets in on Oscar celebration

The raucous cheers for "Parasite" weren't confined to the Dolby Theatre. 

The film's youngest star, 8-year-old actor Jeong Hyeonjun, was photographed in his Seoul home jumping for joy after his film won the Oscar for best original screenplay. It was the first Academy Award on a historic night for the South Korean drama, which also won the Oscar for best international feature film, along with Bong Joon-ho, who won for best director, and it remained in contention for best picture honors. 

Fun fact: Latin Grammy winner Rosalía marked her film debut in 'Pain and Glory'

She plays one of Penélope Cruz's friends during the river scene, in which she also sings.

Fun fact: Elton John did not take his last name from John Lennon

Contrary to what "Rocketman" depicts, Elton John, born Reginald Kenneth Dwight, did not take the "John" in his stage name from the Beatles' John Lennon.

According to Rolling Stone , the first part of his stage name is from his Bluesology bandmate Elton Long, while the second part is from John Baldry, a mainstay of the 1960s London rock scene who was one of his earliest mentors.

No surprise: 'Parasite' wins best international feature

Bong Joon-ho's genre-bending tale of class warfare just won the best international feature Oscar, as just about everyone expected. But will it pull double duty with a history-making best picture victory? We'll find out in the next 30 to 45 minutes!

'1917' beats a crowded field for visual effects Oscar

The World War I epic "1917" took the Oscar for best visual effects, beating out some Hulk-size competition in the category, including Marvel's "Avengers: Endgame." 

Disney came up empty-handed despite having three of the highest-profile and showiest nominees in "Avengers," "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" and "The Lion King." The CGI de-aging effects in the other nominee, "The Irishman," were not well received by many critics, and it probably was never a real contender.

But the effects in "1917" were award-worthy precisely because they were subtle. Director Sam Mendes needed an army of FX wizards to help make the film look as if it was shot completely in one take — even though it wasn't.  

Jonas Rivera finds out he's the first U.S.-born Latino to win multiple Oscars

Gwen Aviles

Although Jennifer Lopez didn't earn an Oscar nomination for "Hustlers," the 2020 Academy Awards turned out nonetheless be a groundbreaking night for Latinos after "Toy Story 4" producer Jonas Rivera won an Oscar for best animated feature.

Rivera, who previously an Academy Award for the 2015 film "Inside Out," is the first U.S.-born Latino to win multiple Oscars.

"As if my mind couldn't be more blown about the last five minutes, thank you for that," Rivera said during a backstage interview after interviewers informed him that he had made history Sunday. "I'm a little bit out of my body right now. It means the world to me. I can't even really put it into words."

#ToyStory4 's Jonas Rivera reacts to finding out that he’s the first U.S.-born Latino to win multiple #Oscars : “I’m a little bit out of my body right now. It means the world to me” pic.twitter.com/oZ8qzraYxE — Variety (@Variety) February 10, 2020

While Rivera, who is Mexican American, doesn't speak Spanish fluently, he said that he feels connected to his Latino identity and that he tries to bring his culture into his work, as he did in "Toy Story 4" by hiring Jay Hernandez to play Bonnie's father. Rivera was particularly close to his Mexican grandfather, to whom he dedicated the animated feature "Up." 

"The only Spanish I learned was when my grandparents would fight," Rivera said. "You work hard, you put your guts into it ... and it does happen."

May we all mourn our lost invitations to the Jellicle Ball

Yes, James Corden and Rebel Wilson used their "Cats" characters to re-horrify and remind us of what feline-centric terrors we once played witness to, but most important ... actually, that's it.

Their mere presence reminded us that we should all have seen "Cats" by now. That we should have paid our hard-earned dollars to watch them sing and dance like CGI cats as we were forced to scream at the screen, "WHY?" That all that glitters isn't gold. And that if we have anything bad to say about the Jellicle Ball, then there's a reason we were not invited.

The honor of a lifetime pic.twitter.com/E0yfivoizb — Mallory Rubin (@MalloryRubin) February 10, 2020

Fun fact: Arguably the most uncomfortable scene in 'Bombshell' was shot only once

The scene in which Roger Ailes (John Lithgow) asks Kayla Pospisil (Margot Robbie) to lift up her skirt was filmed with multiple cameras capturing all the angles at once. Director Jay Roach said he didn't want Robbie to need to perform the scene for more than one take .

Brie Larson let us know what Taika Waititi did with his Academy Award

We all sometimes wonder what celebrities do with their Academy Awards after they walk off the Oscars stage.

Brie Larson gave us a glimpse of what actor and filmmaker Taika Waititi did with his after he win for best adapted screenplay for "Jojo Rabbit."

Larson posted a video on her Instagram story showing Waititi putting his award under the seat in front of him while Oscar Isaac and Salma Hayek were on stage presenting an award.

Taika Waititi putting his oscar under the chair is a mood. #Oscars 🎥 Brie Larson via Instagram Story. pic.twitter.com/rpC5tVOVfT — Brie Larson Online (@blarsononline) February 10, 2020

Waititi won his first Oscar, making him the first person of indigenous descent to ever receive the honor in the screenwriting category . He is of Maori and Jewish descent.

Fun fact: 'Joker' fans believe a Heath Ledger Easter egg was hidden in the film

While "Joker" made numerous references to the Batman universe, fans believe the ambulances in the film, which bear a resemblance to Heath Ledger's Joker, are a nod to "The Dark Night." 

This design of the back of this ambulance in Joker (2019) looks familiar pic.twitter.com/7YWm4bnm9Y — Movie Details (@moviedetail) December 28, 2019

When did this become the Grammy Awards?

The guiding principle of the 92nd Academy Awards seems to have been borrowed from Jake Gyllenhaal's character in John Mulaney's recent Netflix special.

The theme of the Oscars: "Music here, music there — music, music everywhere." pic.twitter.com/pKndpSHcgw — Daniel Arkin (@d_arkin) February 10, 2020

Good news! 'Downhill' might be really good!

Thanks to the onstage banter/timing/camaraderie of Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell while presenting best editing and best cinematography, we have been given hope: Their coming comedy, "Downhill," might be hilarious. Which, frankly, we all need. The movie, slated to open Friday, is the American version of "Force Majeure" (only a little lighter), and stars the two as a long-married couple. And frankly, I will gladly accept this. Some of us (hello) are going through real "Veep" withdrawal and are desperate for any version of President Selena Meyer, aka Julia Louis-Dreyfus, aka our queen.

'Ford v Ferrari' scoops up second award of the night

"Ford v Ferrari," an exhilarating racing drama and top-tier Dad Movie , drove off with the best editing award. It won for sound editing earlier in the night. (Honestly, that feels like hours ago.)

Roger Deakins wins for best cinematography

The physical assault it took to make World War I drama "1917" ensured there was no battle for the best achievement in cinematography Oscar. 

Roger Deakins won, as predicted, for the sheer technical achievement of shooting the film to look as if it was entirely shot in one take.

That it was done in seven- or eight-minute sequences and expertly stitched together to sell the illusion doesn't make it any less of a feat. 

It was the second Oscar for Deakins on his fourth nomination. 

President Obama sends congrats to doc co-produced by his company

"American Factory," winner of the best documentary feature award, was co-produced by Higher Ground Productions — the company founded by the Obamas.

Congrats to Julia and Steven, the filmmakers behind American Factory, for telling such a complex, moving story about the very human consequences of wrenching economic change. Glad to see two talented and downright good people take home the Oscar for Higher Ground’s first release. https://t.co/W4AZ68iWoY — Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 10, 2020

This has descended into chaos.

Eminem? Randy Newman with no introduction? A boneless rap recapping the show?

We, your dedicated and steadfast livebloggers, are just as confused as you are. This broadcast has descended into chaos.

Another hour to go! Stay with us; we will try our best to make sense of it.

'Ford v Ferrari' wins what may be last Oscar for 20th Century Fox

The best sound editing Oscar, which that went to "Ford v Ferrari," could very well be the last Academy Award in 20th Century Fox's esteemed history.

Last year, Disney removed "Fox" from the name of the studio after buying it as part of a larger $71 billion deal for Fox's entertainment holdings. The movie division is now called 20th Century Studios. 

Over the course of its run, 20th Century Fox won 12 best picture Oscars on a 78 whopping nominations. 

'1917' gets its first trophy of the night

Sam Mendes' searing World War I drama, which could triumph in the best picture race at the end of the night, just picked up its first prize: best sound mixing.

Fun fact: '1917' was inspired by true events

Director Sam Mendes based the film on war stories told to him by his grandfather  Alfred Mendes, who fought in World War I.

Martin Scorsese, celebrated auteur, engages with American culture

Martin Scorsese dislikes in order: Marvel movies, Eminem, editing movies. #Eminem #Oscar2020 #Oscars2020 pic.twitter.com/re8f6EaIuh — Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) February 10, 2020

Eminem surprises everyone at the Oscars

Lin-Manuel Miranda presented a lengthy original song montage including classics from "The Breakfast Club," "Purple Rain," "Titanic," "La Bamba" and many more.

The clip ended with Eminem in "8 Mile" — and next thing we know ... the rapper comes up on stage to perform "Lose Yourself."

Eminem got a standing ovation after his performance.

"Lose Yourself" was the first rap song ever to win an Academy Award for best original song.

Look, if you had another shot, another opportunity... Thanks for having me @TheAcademy . Sorry it took me 18 years to get here. pic.twitter.com/CmSw2hmcZo — Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) February 10, 2020

Fun fact: Tom Hanks is a distant cousin of Fred Rogers

According to Ancestry.com, Hanks is Rogers' sixth cousin . 

1975 and 2020

Jason Abbruzzese

Diane Ladd & Laura Dern at the Oscars in 1975 and Today pic.twitter.com/ckzkkFaBWR — Amanda (@DuganAmanda) February 9, 2020

I love montages.

I will always love them.

Karl Marx gets a shoutout at the Oscars

In the acceptance speech for Netflix's "American Factory," director Julia Reichert quoted Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels while on stage for her Michelle and Barack Obama-produced documentary

Reichert said, "Workers of the world, unite!" — a rallying cry from "The Communist Manifesto."

I wonder what the Netflix execs thought!

every wealthy celebrity after the creators of American Factory said “workers of the world unite” pic.twitter.com/y5iyJPdhii — girlgenius. (@SlimJosa) February 10, 2020

Laura Dern wins for supporting turn in 'Marriage Story'

Laura Dern, who played a tough-minded divorce attorney in Noah Baumbach's "Marriage Story," just won the best supporting actress trophy — a win that was widely expected after she swept film ceremonies in the lead-up to the Oscars.

In a tearful acceptance speech, Dern dedicated the award to her parents: actress Diane Ladd and actor Bruce Dern.

She is the first actor to win an Oscar for a performance in a movie distributed by Netflix.

Greta Thunberg makes appearance in Oscars clip

Climate activist Greta Thunberg appeared in a clip showcasing the power of documentary films before actor Mark Ruffalo took the stage to present the category.

@GretaThunberg makes a surprise appearance at the #Oscars . pic.twitter.com/6ftyMBNZ4x — Gabriel Hays (@ghays1492) February 10, 2020

Back from the most recent commercial break with a montage that begins with Greta Thunberg citing documentaries as a major inspiration for her activism. #Oscars #LTAwardsSeason — Landmark Theatres (US) (@LandmarkLTC) February 10, 2020

Instant classic meme, folks

pic.twitter.com/Fx5cnSwiW4 — Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) February 10, 2020

Fun fact: Renée Zellweger’s hair and makeup transformation in 'Judy' included a prosthetic nose and color contacts

The "Judy" hair and makeup team revealed  that they had to prosthetically extend the tip of Renée Zellweger's nose to better match Judy Garland's profile. Dark gray contact lenses were fitted to approximate Garland's dark brown eyes, and a cropped walnut-brown wig was fashioned to resemble Garland's iconic hairdo.

Doc produced by Michelle and Barack Obama's company wins

"American Factory," a documentary about cultural turmoil at a manufacturing plant in Ohio, just won the best documentary feature award.

The film was distributed by Netflix and produced by Higher Ground Productions — also known as President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama's foray into Hollywood.

'Little Women' wins Oscar for best costume design

There finally was a little love for "Little Women."

Designer Jacqueline Durran won the period drama's first Academy Award of the night, for best costume design.

Although Durran was favored in the category going into Sunday night, some prognosticators also believed Greta Gerwig stood a good chance of winning for best adapted screenplay for her adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic 19th century novel. Instead, Taika Waititi won for "Jojo Rabbit."

Many critics were already annoyed by the snub of Gerwig in the best director field — with all five nominations going to men.

While the film's remaining nominations — for best picture, best actress (Saoirse Ronan) and best supporting actress (Florence Pugh) — have yet to be announced, "Little Women" was not expected to win any of them.  

How many Quibis until this commercial is over?

We just saw our first of what we expect to be five Quibi commercials of the night.

The streaming service launching in April is trying to build up its hype, and it has recruited everyone from Kristen Bell to Chrissy Teigen to Tyra Banks for shows on the short-form video platform. (NBC News will produce short news programs for the service.)

Buckle up, because we are in for a Quibi-filled night, year and possibly eternity. 

First Quibi commercial? #Oscars pic.twitter.com/JGckuJi4g2 — Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) February 10, 2020

Yes, Chrissy Metz can sing

Yes, Chrissy Metz can sing. Not sure how this is news to anyone, but someone in our newsroom (not naming names) just said, "Wait, she can sing?" 

If you like this song, it's called "I'm Standing With You," and it's from the movie "Breakthrough," which Metz also starred in and which will make you bawl crying. 

Fun fact: 'Jojo Rabbit' director Taika Waititi directed the film dressed as Hitler

In an interview on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," Taika Waititi, who directed the film and played Adolf Hitler, confessed that there were times he directed "Jojo Rabbit" while dressed in his Hitler costume.

Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig reunite to remind us all how perfect "Bridesmaids" was

In 2011, a question loomed among pop culture aficionados and anybody with a penchant for boring questions: Are women funny? And while everyone knew that they are and have been forever, the runaway success of "Bridesmaids" was a fast way to pacify naysayers.

So imagine my joy upon seeing the film's stars Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig join forces onstage to present best production design and best costume design, bringing the chemistry, comedic timing and flawless delivery that inspired some of you to see "Bridesmaids" no fewer than three times in theaters, memorize it after buying it on DVD and quote it to excess even now. May they work together again soon. Or may they hijack the rest of the awards and just stand up there, singing.

Fun fact: If Cyntia Erivo wins an Oscar, she would become the youngest person to have won an EGOT

Cynthia Erivo, who already has an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony, has two chances tonight to win an Oscar and make history as the youngest person to win in all four major entertainment categories. Erivo is nominated for best actress and original song for "Harriet."

No Netflix ads will air during the Oscars

ABC aired an endearing Disney+ ad featuring the music from the animated film "Up" — but viewers won't be seeing any ads from one of the streaming platform's biggest competitors: Netflix. 

This is because Disney banned Netflix from advertising on some of its networks back in October, as it fiercely competes against many other companies launching streaming services.

Netflix ads no longer run on ABC, FX, Freeform and National Geographic, which are all owned by Disney.

Shia LaBeouf and Zack Gottsagen reunite to present at Oscars

Shia LaBeouf and Zack Gottsagen reunited at the Oscars to present the Academy Award for best live action short film to "The Neighbor's Window." 

The pair's relationship began as they filmed "The Peanut Butter Falcon," a movie about a young man with Down syndrome who runs away from the nursing home where he lives to chase his dream of becoming a professional wrestler.

Gottsagen, who was born with Down syndrome, has been breaking barriers since he was a child. He had dreamed of becoming an actor ever since watching "Grease," and at Zeno Mountain Farm, a camp in Vermont, he met filmmakers Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz. The trio worked together on developing "The Peanut Butter Falcon" over the course of five years. 

In the film, Tyler, played by LaBeouf, an outlaw on the run, becomes Zak's unlikely friend. 

LaBeouf and Gottsagen's relationship is just as strong off screen; LaBeouf has credited Gottsagen with helping him return to sobriety. 

Catch up on all the winners so far

"Parasite" won for original screenplay, "Toy Story 4" for animated feature film, Brad Pitt for actor in a supporting role, and there's more. See all the winners here. 

Fun fact: Director Bong Joon-ho ended the Cannes Film Festival standing ovation because the cast was ... hungry

After winning the Cannes Film Festival's top prize, "Parasite" was met with a standing ovation.

In an interview on the "Tonight Show," Bong told Jimmy Fallon that it was late and that the cast couldn't eat dinner, so he decided to end the 8-minute ovation by saying, "Thank you. Let's all go home now." 

'Jojo Rabbit' hops to victory in best adapted screenplay category

Taika Waititi, the multihyphenate artist who wrote, directed and co-starred in the anti-fascist fable "Jojo Rabbit," won the best adapted screenplay award.

The win had looked increasingly likely after Waititi triumphed in the category at the British Academy Film Awards and Writers Guild of America Awards earlier this month.

Waititi, who appears in the film as Adolf Hitler, is the first Indigenous filmmaker to win an Oscar.

"I dedicate this to all the indigenous kids in the world who want to do art and dance and write stories. We are the original storytellers, and we can make it here," he said in his acceptance speech.

Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves give us the "Something's Gotta Give" reunion we need (and deserve)

Once upon a time in 2003, Nancy Meyers wrote and directed a romantic comedy called "Something's Gotta Give," which was as iconic for its May-December love affair as it was for its turtlenecks. And tonight, because some things in life are beautiful, two of its stars — Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves — reunited onstage to present the award for best original screenplay. Which, admittedly, was so exciting that Diane nearly dropped the envelope before announcing the winner. Now we can only hope for a follow-up in which they fall in love all over again and Diane wears that same coat and hat.

'Parasite' wins best original screenplay, beating out Tarantino

Bong Joon-ho and Han Jin-won nabbed the best original screenplay prize for "Parasite," an honor that could foreshadow other big wins tonight.

Bong and Han beat out "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood" by Quentin Tarantino, who earned the screenplay prize at the Golden Globes.

Idina Menzel performs alongside a legion of Elsas

Idina Menzel performed the Oscar-nominated song "Into the Unknown" (from that little indie hit "Frozen 2") alongside a slew of artists who've voiced Elsa all over the world. Was it haunting? Absolutely. Beautiful? Correct. Was it difficult for me not to tweet about the way her necklace perfectly complemented the presence of "Uncut Gems"? Of course. But good luck doing anything but sit bewitched by a chorus of Disney princesses with incredible voices. I apologize to everyone who overhears me singing in the car this week.

'Hair Love' wins best animated short film

" Hair Love ," a story about a black father who struggles and eventually succeeds in styling his young daughter's  hair , won the Academy Award for best animated short film. 

The story, which once existed only in the form of a dream and a Kickstarter campaign, is now the basis of a best-selling children's book and Oscar-winning film.

Matthew Cherry, the former NFL player who wrote and directed "Hair Love," predicted that he would be nominated for an Oscar in a 2012 tweet that resurfaced Sunday.

I'm gonna be nominated for an Oscar one day. Already claiming it — Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) June 2, 2012

"I wanted to give kids a character that normalizes and celebrates black hair," Cherry told NBC News . "Black fathers get a bad rap in mainstream media, so I also wanted to show them as present and caring, versus the deadbeat dad stereotype that is often ascribed to them in film."

Black hair has often been policed, which is why Gabrielle Union, the other producer of “Hair Love,” invited  DeAndre Arnold to the Oscars ceremony on Sunday. Arnold is a high school senior who was suspended and told he wouldn’t be able to walk at his own graduation ceremony unless he cut his dreadlocks .

"It means the world to us to have him here with us," Cherry said on the red carpet before the Oscars. "We wanted people to see how good of a kid he is, but also there’s no reason people should be policing our hair."

Cherry advocates for the federal passing of the Creating a Respectful Workplace for Natural Hair Act, or CROWN Act, which updates the state's anti-discrimination law so that the term "race" includes "traits historically associated with race."  California became the first state  to pass the act in July,  with New York following suit later that month.

New format for the acting clip reels?

In a break from recent years, the clip reel that preceded Brad Pitt's supporting actor win was a montage that mixed scenes from four movies.

The producers behind the show have traditionally rolled out clips one by one.

Why do presenters have presenters?

Beanie Feldstein just introduced Mindy Kaling, who is presenting awards for animated features and shorts, which means presenters have presenters this year. OK ...

Publicists must be working overtime!

They have presenters for the presenters? #Oscars — Dartunorro D. Clark (@DartDClark) February 10, 2020

Mindy Kaling found solace in animation as a 'shy' girl from an immigrant family

Before announcing the Academy Award for best animated feature film, comedian Mindy Kaling said she found solace in animated films as a "shy" young girl from an immigrant family.

Now that she's older, she recognizes that animation is one of the most sophisticated forms of storytelling. 

"I can't wait to introduce those worlds to my daughter now," Kaling said before announcing that "Toy Story 4" won the Oscar. 

Righteous chill

1995 Oscars / 2020 Oscars (📸Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/tPAMPqPJgy — Netflix US (@netflix) February 10, 2020

Brad Pitt breaks seal on political messages at Oscars 15 minutes into the show

It took all of 15 minutes and 40 seconds for the Oscars to get political. (We timed it.)

And it happened during the first award of the night.

During his acceptance speech after winning the Academy Award for best supporting actor, Brad Pitt dropped the first barb of the night aimed at the GOP for acquitting President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial. The expectation is it won't be the last. 

"They told me I only have 45 seconds up here, and that's 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week," Pitt said.

Fun fact: Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce are no strangers to portraying religious figures

Before starring as Pope Benedict in the "The Two Popes," Anthony Hopkins played a priest in "The Rite" and Methuselah, Noah's grandfather, in the 2014 epic Biblical drama "Noah."

Jonathan Pryce has also taken on a few notable non-secular roles, including the High Sparrow in "Game of Thrones" and Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a high-ranking Catholic bishop during the reign of Henry VIII, in the BBC historical drama "Wolf Hall."

Know that feel

posting a fire tweet and then realizing there’s a massive typo in it pic.twitter.com/stQ27eZHrE — Medicare Pharrell (@ElSangito) February 10, 2020

Steve Martin and Chris Rock call out the academy in comedy stand-up

Chris Rock and Steve Martin delivered a quick stand-up comedy set in which they slightly called out the academy for not nominating any women in the best director category.

Martin said there's something missing from this year's best nominated films.

Rock responded, "Vaginas." 

Brad Pitt nabs the first award of the night

OK, that's one down and 23 to go. 

Brad Pitt just won the best supporting actor trophy for "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood," Quentin Tarantino's love letter to the fading days of Hollywood's golden age.

In his acceptance speech, Pitt nodded to the absence of witnesses at President Donald Trump's impeachment trial: "They told me I only have 45 seconds up here, which is 45 seconds more than the Senate gave John Bolton this week. I'm thinking maybe Quentin does a movie about it. In the end, the adults do the right thing."

Pitt, who was recognized for playing (fictional) veteran stuntman Cliff Booth, paid tribute in his speech to Tarantino, co-star Leonard DiCaprio and Hollywood's legions of stunt coordinators and crews.

Who needs a host? Steve Martin and Chris Rock help open the Oscars.

The Oscars may not have had an official host.

But unofficially Sunday night's ceremony had two of them, at least for its opening. 

After Janelle Monaé's opening musical performance, former Academy Awards hosts Chris Rock and Steve Martin helped open the event.

"We both hosted the Oscars before," Martin said. "This is such an incredible demotion." 

Then the jokes started cascading:

Martin joked that there would be no "La La Land"-"Moonlight"-type mixup this year because the academy was using the new Iowa caucus app. 

Chris Rock zings Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Amazon, is at the Oscars — but not above getting burned.

Chris Rock hit Bezos with a couple of solid jokes about his recent divorce  while also noting that even after the separation, he's still the richest man in the world.

When Rock asked Steve Martin whether he wanted a crack at Bezos, Martin declined: "I like getting my packages on time."

I'm fine with a three-hour roast of Jeff Bezos. — Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) February 10, 2020

Janelle Monáe channels Mr. Rogers in musical opening

Singer-actress Janelle Monáe kicked off the show with a rendition of "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" — a nod to Mr. Rogers and the movie "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," co-starring Oscar nominee Tom Hanks as the famed children's TV host.

She then ditched the bright red cardigan and jumped into an original tune that riffed on some of the other contenders. At one point, she donned a floral dress like the one worn by Florence Pugh in the horror flick "Midsommar."

Billy Porter ("Pose") was on hand to belt a few bars from the Elton John song "I'm Still Standing," featured in the biopic "Rocketman."

The theme of this year's Oscars red carpet is: homecoming, circa 1999

While tassels are coming in hot for the biggest Oscar style trend (sure!), writer Anne Helen Peterson has brought attention to an even more exciting vibe: HOMECOMING 1999. Thanks to a thread I will personally bookmark and consult later on my own fashion choices, the biggest Oscar names have been bringing serious Midwestern/Southern Ontario mall realness, as if plucked from our Y2K-era dreams. RIP Mariposa; I miss you every day.

two dresses I would've tried on while shopping for Homecoming at the Mariposa in the Spokane Northtown Mall c. 1999 pic.twitter.com/pmwhftNqjM — Anne Helen Petersen (@annehelen) February 9, 2020

The Joker gets the last laugh when it comes to movie awards

Batman may beat up on the Joker in the pages of the comics, but the clown prince of crime has dominated on the awards circuit. 

Going into Sunday night, Joaquin Phoenix was heavily favored to win the best actor Oscar for his transformative turn as the titular villain in "Joker." If he wins, it would be the second time the Joker has pilfered the prestigious prize — with Heath Ledger winning a posthumous Oscar as best supporting actor for "The Dark Knight" in 2009.

Two decades earlier, Jack Nicholson's performance as the Joker in "Batman" earned the first Golden Globe nomination for an actor playing a comic book character.

But the Joker's Hollywood roots actually go way back to 1928, 12 years before his debut in print: Co-creators Jerry Robinson and Bill Finger based the villain largely on Conrad Veidt's ghoulish character from " The Man Who Laughs ." 

TODAY breaks down the best dressed

Our friends over at TODAY are collecting all the  lewks at the  Oscars 2020 red carpet . 

Mayor Pete is happy about the Oscars

Democratic presidential contender Pete Buttigieg has some nice words for three of the nominees. 

Congratulations to all of tonight's #Oscars nominees. Great films allow us to momentarily inhabit the lives and the hearts and the challenges of another person. That matters. And that's why I'm glad to see Hair Love, Little Women, and For Sama included among this year's nominees. — Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) February 10, 2020

Fun fact: Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, once told E! News that he does not have one particular favorite movie, "but 'The Godfather' and 'Gangs of New York' are up there."

I also like "The Godfather," Mayor Pete. Enjoy the show!

Natalie Portman and Waad al-Kateab dress with empowering messages

Natalie Portman and Syrian filmmaker Waad al-Kateab embroidered empowering messages on their dresses.

Natalie Portman embroidered her Dior cape with all of the female directors who weren't nominated for #Oscars . Check out her explanation here. pic.twitter.com/kyyo2wVMZf — Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) February 10, 2020

Portman walked the Oscars red carpet wearing a black-and-gold dress decorated with a Dior cape with the names of female directors who weren't nominated for an award.

Waad al-Kateab, the filmmaker from Aleppo who made the documentary "For Sama," graced the red carpet with a pink dress with a message that read "we dared to dream" and "we don't regret asking for our dignity."

Waad al-Kateab, the Syrian filmmaker from Aleppo who made the heartbreaking “For Sama”, has shown up at the Oscars tonight wearing a dress embroidered with the words: “we dared to dream.” And, “we don’t regret asking for our dignity”. Incredible movie, deserves to win pic.twitter.com/oiCiH0Sk54 — Liz Sly (@LizSly) February 9, 2020

Don't count out 'Jojo Rabbit' and Taika Waititi

"Jojo Rabbit" has hopped up and down the awards season leaderboard.

The darkly comic coming-of-age story about a boy in the Hitler Youth (Roman Griffin Davis) and his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), stirred up buzz after winning the top prize at the Toronto Film Festival in September — an honor that sometimes foreshadows a best picture win at the Oscars.

But as the Oscars race heated up, "Jojo" seemed to recede from the spotlight, while "1917," "Parasite" and "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood" gained steam. Waititi, who wrote and directed the film, was snubbed in the screenplay and director categories at the Golden Globes last month.

But there are signs "Jojo" could stage a comeback. Waititi earned the best adapted screenplay awards at both the British Academy Film Awards and the Writers Guild of America Awards earlier this month, beating out heavy hitters like Greta Gerwig ("Little Women") and Steven Zaillian ("The Irishman").

Waititi could pull the same trick. Tom O"Neil, a veteran awards analyst of the website Gold Derby, also thinks "Jojo" could nab a surprise win in another category: best supporting actress for Scarlett Johansson. He told NBC News last week that he "wouldn't rule her out" even though Laura Dern ("Marriage Story") dominated at other awards shows.

10-year-old legend Julia Butters is the early contender for winner of the night

Julia Butters is an early contender for the winner of the night.

The 10-year old "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood" actress told reporters she stashed a turkey sandwich in her purse because she said she doesn't always like the food at awards shows.

First up the one and only @Julia_Butters in custom Siriano tonight at the #oscars . It’s Julia’s world we are all just living in it!! 💕💕💕💕💕💕 pic.twitter.com/wg59udIVFd — Christian Siriano (@CSiriano) February 9, 2020

And when asked by Variety which celebrities she was hoping to see, she said, "If Lady Gaga's here, God bless America."

Julia Butters reveals who she’s looking forward to seeing at the #Oscars : “If Lady Gaga’s here, God bless America” pic.twitter.com/BSqnSquxJy — Variety (@Variety) February 10, 2020

The actress, born in 2009, also reportedly said attending the Oscars has been a "lifelong dream." No choice but to stan!

ScarJo's double nomination

Scarlett Johansson is a first-time Oscar nominee this year.

But she didn't get just one nomination. She's up for best actress for "Marriage Story" and best supporting actress for "Jojo Rabbit"

She's the first actor to get a double nom since Cate Blanchett was up for best actress for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age" and best supporting actress for "I'm Not There" in 2007.

If I had to bet, ScarJo won't win in either category, but at least she became a meme for her dancing in "Marriage Story."

"This medicine may cause death" The people in the ad: pic.twitter.com/NaRqOec3lb — Cryptic (@CrypticNoOne) December 13, 2019

And the award for most searched movie goes to ...

And the award for most searched movie goes to...

At the moment, it's "Jojo Rabbit," according to data from Google Trends at 7 p.m. ET. 

"Parasite" and "1917" have both seen a decent amount of search traffic in the past few days. 

Scarlett Johansson has pretty much dominated the other best actress nominees, while Joaquin Phoenix and Leonardo DiCaprio traded the No. 1 spot until a sudden leap by Antonio Banderas. Check out all the data here .

It's been a while since best picture winner has been a box office winner, too

If "Parasite" wins the best picture Oscar, it will continue a seven-year (and counting) streak of academy voters honoring films that mainstream American moviegoers haven't seen. 

The South Korean drama has wowed critics and been a dominant force during award season, but it has earned only $35.5 million in North America to date, according to ComScore.

The last best picture winner to break the $100 million mark came seven years ago, when "Argo" took the film industry's biggest prize. To find the last best picture winner that also topped that year's box office charts, one has to go back to 2004, when "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" earned the Oscar and $377 million domestically.  

Since then, critics have slammed the academy for being out of touch with the moviegoing public in prioritizing indie darlings over crowd-pleasing Hollywood epics.

That streak could change if the other major contender, "1917," wins. Director Sam Mendes' WWI drama has earned $132.5 million to date.  

It should be noted that Netflix's "The Irishman" and "Marriage Story" can't be measured with the same metric, as their audiences are primarily streaming viewers. 

Of the nine best picture nominees, "Joker" has been the biggest blockbuster, earning $335 million at the box office. "Ford v. Ferrari," "Little Women" and "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood" also passed the $100 million mark. 

The red carpet is underway!

Stars have arrived on the red carpet!

The cast of "Parasite" looks great as they prepare to possibly take home a bunch of awards.

And Spike Lee used the carpet to honor Kobe Bryant, with a purple and gold suit adorned with the number 24.

Kaitlyn Dever, the star of "Booksmart" and Netflix's "Unbelievable," is showing off her Louis Vuitton "sustainable" dress. Don't really know what that means, but she looks great!

Kaitlyn Dever goes for red glam on the #Oscars carpet pic.twitter.com/gz090LEYtS — Variety (@Variety) February 9, 2020

Janelle Monáe never disappoints.

Knitwear's out on the Twitter account for 'Knives Out'

The braided, fisherman-style crew neck sweater Chris Evans wears in Rian Johnson's ensemble murder mystery, "Knives Out," was the subject of endless fascination on social media last fall. It's now taking center stage on the @KnivesOut official Twitter account in honor of the Oscars.

The sweater that deserves all the awards. For Your Consideration in all categories. pic.twitter.com/9TmSY9iGg1 — Knives Out Live Tweets the Oscars (@KnivesOut) February 5, 2020

'The Irishman' is a critical darling. But it probably won't make a killing tonight.

Martin Scorsese's gangland saga "The Irishman" swept into awards season as one of the top contenders, boosted by critical raves and Netflix's considerable marketing muscle.

But as the Oscars race took shape last fall, "The Irishman" seemed to lose momentum. The ambitious drama, starring Robert De Niro as a real-life mafioso who claimed he gunned down Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, was overshadowed by "1917," "Parasite" and, to a lesser extent, "Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood."

When all is said and done, "The Irishman" will probably end the night without scoring a single win, at least according to the top prognosticators. 

What happened?

It's possible a contingent of industry insiders balked at lavishing awards on the film's distributor, Netflix, the streaming giant that has disrupted traditional Hollywood and challenged the longstanding dominance of the studios. Or maybe some voters were put off by the movie's mammoth running time (3½ hours) and grim tone.

All of that is not to say the academy snubbed "The Irishman" altogether. It earned an impressive 10 nods, including best picture and best director — putting it just behind "Joker" (11 nods) on this year's leaderboard.

What's in the bag? Oscar nominees are lavished with $225k of gifts

Oscar nominations for acting and directing come with more than prestige.

According to Reuters, even if they don't take home a trophy, Oscars nominees like Renee Zellweger and Antonio Banderas will be walking away with a $225,000 gift bag.

The gift bag is not affiliated with the academy, and instead arranged by the LA-based company Distinctive Assets, Reuters said.  

“It’s the highest value we’ve ever put together,” founder Lash Fary told Reuters, adding it's been a tradition now for 18 year.

The 70-plus item bag includes a 12-day cruise, and $20k of facial rejuvenation treatments. It also includes a 24-carat gold-plated vape pen!

Take a look inside a $225,000 gift bag for Oscar nominees that includes $20,000 of facial rejuvenation treatments and a $78,000 12-day yacht cruise https://t.co/6DuKpGtRzb pic.twitter.com/n72kypVGfc — Reuters (@Reuters) February 9, 2020

The 10 most popular TEDx talks

TEDx events unleash fresh ideas from local communities. Close to 50,000 talks have been given at 10,000 events since the program launched in 2009. Below, the 10 most-watched TEDx talks posted to our homepage.

How great leaders inspire action

The power of vulnerability

Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model.

What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness

The happy secret to better work

The orchestra in my mouth

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A Saudi, an Indian and an Iranian walk into a Qatari bar ...

Depression, the secret we share

A 12-year-old app developer

The Best Commencement Speeches

When you can’t have all the pomp because of the circumstances, what does a graduation look like that’s the question countless high schools and colleges had to answer this spring., in addition to creative celebrations for graduates, many celebrities, politicians, business leaders and athletes delivered national commencement addresses online., “you have the power to stand for and fight for and vote for healthier conditions that will create a healthier society... use your education to begin to heal our afflictions.”.

—Oprah Winfrey

“The important thing to remember about career paths is that they don’t have to last forever... Don’t be afraid to try something new.”

—Bill Gates

“Time was flying, but not anymore. This is what was needed to prepare us for the future.”

—Mary J. Blige

“If the world is going to get better, it’s going to be up to you... This is your time to seize the initiative.”

—Former President Barack Obama

“The class of 2020 won’t be defined by what we lost to this virus but by how we responded to it. The world is yours now.”

—Malala Yousafzai

“There is nothing more eternal, or more powerful, than the impact we have on others.”

“pursue every ambition, go as far as you can possibly dream and be the first generation to embrace a new responsibility, a responsibility to rebuild your community.”.

—LeBron James

“A real dream is something that not only hangs onto you, but you will hang onto it. And it will power you through every obstacle.”

—Steven Spielberg

“No one else defines you but you... What other people think of you is never as important as what you think of yourself.”

—Chelsea Handler

“It’s not about you. You’re going to be happiest, in my opinion, when you try to be selfless.”

—David Chang

“Take the torch and leave your mark. Put your stake in the ground and build the future that you want and you believe in, and fight like hell to do it.”

—Megan Rapinoe

“The key to success, the key to happiness, is opening your mind and your heart to love, spending your time doing things you love with people you love.”

—John Legend

“Just keep on truckin’, keep on goin’, movin’ to the moon. Do not microwave metal.”

“challenge yourself… don’t let the new normal be an excuse for standing in place.”.

—Eli Manning

“Now is the time, if ever there was one, for us to care selflessly about one another.”

—Dr. Anthony Fauci

“Check the source of everything you read or share. Vote in every single election, not just the presidential ones. Believe in science, including vaccinations. Wash your hands.”

—Hillary Clinton

See more celebrity commencement addresses of 2020.

The Best Speeches from the 2020 Oscars

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This Guillermo del Toro-Produced Horror Mixed Hitchcock With Giallo for 90% on Rotten Tomatoes

The 10 best action movies based on true stories, ranked, the 10 best performances in quentin tarantino movies, ranked.

When you keep covering the Oscar race, it's easy to forget that the winners are real people who can be genuinely surprised and honored by taking home a prestigious award. Thankfully, on Oscar night, that excitement and gratitude can really shine through, and we got some lovely acceptance speeches last night.

For me, the highlight of the night was Bong Joon-ho 's acceptance speech for Best Director. The prognosticators (myself included) had the award going to Sam Mendes for 1917 since the Academy tends to recognize the "most" directing. Instead, they gave it to Bong, who appeared genuinely surprised and moved by the award. In his acceptance speech, he quoted Martin Scorsese and thanked Quentin Tarantino for being a champion of his early work. It wasn't a perfunctory thanks to his fellow nominees (that came at the end when he also acknowledged Todd Phillips  and Mendes), but to show how two of his fellow nominees had a massive impact on his life.

That's kind of the beauty of the Oscars: when they remind of those that came before (Scorsese, Tarantino) paving the way for a future where a movie from South Korea can win four Oscars on the night (Bong tied Walt Disney for most Oscars in a single night). Bong's acceptance speeches hammered home why we tune in for this long awards ceremony and bother to care about how the industry recognizes certain pictures.

Other fun speeches on the night included Laura Dern thanking her parents (acting legends Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern ), Brad Pitt managing to weave in political commentary while also personally thanking folks who helped his career like Ridley Scott and Geena Davis with his role in Thelma & Louise , and Taika Waititi thanking his mother even though he lost track of where she is right now.

Check out the best acceptance speeches of the night below.

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The Best Speeches From The DNC So Far

The root recounts the most memorable and powerful addresses from the chicago event..

The 2024 Democratic National Convention at Chicago’s United Center was an electrifying event that featured several prominent and powerful speeches. From Vice President Kamala’s closing address to DL Hughley’s public apology, here are the best speeches from the DNC so far.

Suggested Reading

Vice president kamala harris calls trump an “unserious man”.

Harris made history as this country’s first Black woman to receive the presidential nomination from a major party. During her acceptance speech at the DNC, Harris used the momentum in the arena to reintroduce herself to the American public and to separate herself from her Republican opponent Donald Trump.

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“I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un, who are rooting for Trump,” the VP stated.

She continued by boldly stating that even though Trump is a joke, he’s also very dangerous.

“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election.”

D.L. Hughley issued VP Harris a very public apology

During his time at the podium, comedian and actor D.L. Hughley admitted that he never thought he would be supporting a prosecutor and teacher in their quest for the White House. However, he acknowledged the unwarranted scrutiny he placed on Harris with his radio platform.

“I’m here apologizing to the whole damn world,” Hughley stated.

He also used his time to critique Trump by saying that Kamala has been Black longer than Trump has been a Republican. In addition, he reminded attendees that Harris has incited a movement.

“Kamala is getting broad support,” Hughley pointed out. “They got Black men for Kamala, white men for Kamala, Latinos and Asians for Kamala. They even have Republicans for Kamala.”

Maya Harris lovingly honors her oldest sister and their late mother

Harris’ younger sister, Maya, gave a moving speech about Kamala on the convention’s final night. She talked about how proud their late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, would be of her oldest daughter accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination for president.

“Mommy understood the power and the possibility that comes with knowing and showing who you truly are. She knew we could be the authors of our own stories, just as she’d been the opportunity that she wanted for Kamala and me. That’s a distinctly American story,” Maya said.

“I could just see her smiling saying how proud she is of Kamala. And then, without missing a beat, she’d say, ‘That’s enough. You have work to do.’”

Former First Lady Michelle Obama stopped “going high”

One of the absolute most memorable speeches at the DNC came courtesy of former First Lady Michelle Obama. During her address, she called out Donald Trump’s attacks on her as well as former President Barack Obama.

“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us,” Michelle said.

“See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black.”

Even though she coined the phrase “When they go low , we go high” in reference to dealing with vicious hate from the right, Michelle seemingly abandoned that notion when she asked one question.

“I want to know — I want to know — who’s going to tell [Trump], who’s going to tell him, that the job he is currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?”

Hakeem Jeffries uses apt analogy to say Trump is bad at taking a hint

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) held nothing back during his remarks at the DNC when he compared former President Donald Trump to an ex-boyfriend trying to reconcile his relationship with Americans as he desperately seeks a second term. What made it even better was Jeffries’ sense of humor as he presented his case.

“Donald Trump is like an old boyfriend who you broke up with, but he just won’t go away,” Jeffries said. “We broke up with you for a reason...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.”

Raphael Warnock turns the stage into a pulpit

Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock indulged his pastor side when he preached to DNC attendees about unifying for the greater American good. His passion made for one of the best moments from the convention.

“I’m convinced tonight that we can lift the broken even as we climb. We can heal the wounds that divide us. We can heal a planet in peril. We can heal the land,” he stated.

Warnock also called out the culture of MAGA and its followers’ attack at the U.S. Capitol building in 2021.

“The line of logic of Jan. 6 is a sickness, is a kind of cancer metastasized into dozens of voter suppression laws all across our country. And we must be vigilant tonight, because these anti-democratic forces are at work right now in Georgia and across the country.”

Rep. Jasmine Crockett puts Donald Trump’s “rap sheet” on display

U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett — who has a history of going viral — compared Vice President Kamala Harris’ record to that of her presidential opponent Donald Trump.

“She became a career prosecutor while he became a career criminal — with 34 felonies, two impeachments and one porn star to prove it!” Crockett said.

“She’s lived the American dream while he’s been America’s nightmare. America, looking at the two choices before you, who would you hire? Donald Trump or Kamala Harris? Kamala Harris has a résumé — Donald Trump has a rap sheet.”

Crockett remarks received raucous cheers from the Chicago audience and she continued with full steam.

“The question before us is: Will a vindictive vile villain violate voters’ vision for a better America or not? I hear alliterations are back in style.”

Barack Obama uses his hands to hit Trump where it hurts

This nation’s first Black president delivered his remarks with his signature charm and cool. However, he had no problem calling out Donald Trump for exactly what it is.

“This is a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago,” he said.

“It’s been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that’s actually gotten worse now that he’s afraid of losing to Kamala. The childish nicknames and crazy conspiracy theories and weird obsession with crowd sizes.

Obama said the aforementioned remarks while making a gesture with his hands to mock Trump and hit him where it hurts.

Oprah takes a swipe at JD Vance before literally singing Kamala’s praises

“Who says you can’t go home again?” Winfrey stated at the beginning of her surprise appearance . Her long-running eponymous talk show, which ended in 2011, was based in Chicago and convention attendees couldn’t be more thrilled by her presence. Oprah urged unity, how having Kamala Harris as President would bring joy to our nation and that it’s imperative for us to vote.

She also childed JD Vance’s remark about “childless cat ladies” and sung Kamala’s name as she ended her speech.

“Here’s the thing: when we stand together, it is impossible to conquer us,” she said.

10 Best Indie Comics Since 2020, Ranked

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Indie comics tell some of the best stories by the best creative teams in comics, and recent years have truly been a golden age for the genre. Unlike the big two publishers, Marvel and DC, which mainly publish stories about superheroes, indie comics from publishers like Image Comics or BOOM! Studios cross every genre imaginable, from high fantasy to the darkest horror.

Most indie comics are owned by their creators, meaning that the comic book industry’s best creators have a chance to tell the stories they truly want to share, as opposed to being constrained by the limits of a more controlling publisher. The result is unrivaled creativity and some of the most innovative and compelling stories available in comic books today. With this high level of quality, there has never been a better time to check out some new indie comics.

10 Eight Billion Genies Imagined the Consequences of Everyone on Earth Getting One Wish

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This September, indie comics celebrates 25 years of Farscape, while also traveling time and facing off against hungry vampires.

What would happen if every person on Earth were simultaneously given a genie who can grant them one wish? This question is answered by Charles Soule and Ryan Browne’s hit series Eight Billion Genies . With everyone in the world attempting to fulfill their greatest desires simultaneously, the planet becomes a pretty crazy place.

Eight Billion Genies is set to become a movie , and its fantastical settings and characters will be a perfect fit for the screen. The wishes people make range from the mundane (health, youth, money), to the truly incomprehensible. As characters try to navigate the chaotic new world they find themselves in, readers also naturally ask themselves the same question, what would they wish for?

9 Somna Blended Sensuality with Horror Based on True History

10 Best Indie Comics For Fans of The Umbrella Academy

Indie comic series like Deadly Class, Locke & Key, and The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys just might fill that hole left by The Umbrella Academy.

The new comic publishing imprint DSTLRY has been absolutely smashing it when it comes to the quality of the stories it releases. One of its earliest offerings was Somna , a beautiful yet also nightmarish horror story based on the historical practice of witch trials and the women who were caught in these horrific hunts.

Becky Cloonan and Tula Lotay both wrote and illustrated Somna , and the difference in their art styles, which are both lovely, helps to separate the real world from the fantasies that occur within the story. Somna manages to be one of the most sensual comics from the past year, even while being one of the most horrific, demonstrating the skill with which the comic was crafted.

8 Damn Them All Placed One Magic-Wielding Woman Between the Forces of Heaven, Hell, and Earth

What happens when popular DC comic Hellblazer goes on hiatus and its author, Simon Spurrier, still has stories to tell? He writes a story about a trenchcoat-wearing, magic-wielding cynic fighting demons in London and works with The Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard to illustrate it. One of the best comics in recent years , Damn Them All is the result of that collaboration.

Ellie “Bloody El” Hawthorne is not the heroic type. But when all the demons of hell are set loose into the world in the form of silver coins, she has little choice but to step in. Damn Them All blurs the boundaries between good and evil in an action-packed narrative that will keep readers anxious to see what happens next.

7 Black Cloak Blended High Fantasy with Police Procedurals in a Unique Style

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Unforgettable indie series like The Walking Dead, Invincible, and Paper Girls impressed comic readers while also surprising new fans with adaptations.

Some of the best indie comics blend two separate genres. Black Cloak is one of those comics. It is set in a high fantasy world in a sprawling city populated by elves, mermaids, and other creatures of legend. The Black Cloaks feared law-keepers who maintained order, investigated crimes and kept order in the city.

When an elven prince is found murdered, Black Cloak Phaedra Essex is called in to investigate. While looking into the crime, Phaedra must face her estranged family among the elven court, but her problems only begin there. The murder mystery unravels even darker secrets that can potentially destroy civilization.

6 W0rldtr33 Imagined a New Type of Interdimensional Online Threat

Anyone who uses the internet knows that there are plenty of threats online waiting for unwary victims. W0rldtr33 imagines a completely new danger waiting in the deepest corners of the internet–an entity from an alternate dimension that wants to consume reality as it currently exists. Horror comics are some of the most popular titles , and W0rldtr33 is one of the most chilling.

Internet mogul Gabriel Winter and his trusted group of friends once defeated this threat when they were teenagers. But now, the otherworldly menace has new allies and attempts to break through to the real world again. Winter's group has reassembled to fight, but with the baggage of their years weighing on them, this may be a more difficult battle to win, and the entire world will pay the price if they fail.

5 The Cull Gave One Group of Friends the Power to Try and Save Their World

10 Best Image Comics Villains

Villains like WicDiv's Ananke, TWD's Negan, and Invincible's Angstrom Levy are just a few of the iconic foes who debuted in hit Image Comics series.

In The Cull , five friends set out to shoot a movie at the seashore near their homes. What they discover will change their lives and their world forever. This Goonies -like adventure story takes readers on a beautiful and terrifying journey as the friends confront their inner demons and try to get home from the strange new place they find themselves in.

The art style in comic books varies widely, but few are as beautiful as The Cull . Mattia De Iulis’ realistically painted panels practically jump off the page and transport readers into the fantastical world of the comic. Combined with Kelly Thompson’s compelling writing, The Cull is an excellent example of just how great indie comics can be.

4 Love Everlasting Fought Romantic Tropes by Embracing Them

Romance stories tend to unwind in a familiar pattern. Two people feel an attraction, fight through obstacles, declare their love, and then live happily ever after. In one of Image Comics’ best titles , Love Everlasting , that was Joan’s experience. And then it was Joan’s experience again. And again, in a seemingly infinite loop of fairy-tale romances. Until she tries to break the cycle, that is, with shockingly violent results.

Love Everlasting tells its story through the lens of traditional romance narratives but in a way that completely unravels existing romantic tropes. The series highlights the limitations that traditional romance stories and relationship roles place on women while also telling an epic love story that will keep readers guessing as to what is happening. This romance might start out as predictable, but after a few issues, it’s anything but.

3 The Department of Truth Bent Reality According to People's Beliefs

10 Best Indie Comics of All Time, Ranked

From The Walking Dead to Invincible, the greatest indie comics left a significant mark on history and often transcended the comics medium.

Many conspiracy theorists believe that shadowy cabals run the world by controlling governments and fabricating information divulged to the public. In The Department of Truth , the opposite is sort of true, as a shadowy government organization fights not to hide the truth but to ensure that it stays true.

The Department of Truth imagines a world where belief shapes reality. If enough people believe that something is true, it actually will be. For people who understand this secret, anything is possible, so long as they have enough influence over the beliefs of others. For the government agents trying to preserve reality, convincing the masses of the truth is a matter of life or death.

2 The Good Asian Confronted Historical Racism Through the Lens of a Murder Mystery

Crime stories are one of the most popular genres in any form of entertainment. The Good Asian is one of the most compelling examples of the crime genre in comic book form, and it won’t be at all surprising if there is a movie based on The Good Asian in the works before long. Set in 1930s San Francisco, the comic investigates a murder mystery while dealing with rampant racism.

In the 1930s, Chinese immigration was tightly controlled by law, and Chinese immigrants were subjected to horrific treatment in the United States. This noir crime story follows Edison Hark, a troubled Chinese-American detective tasked with policing Chinatown while enduring the abuse of both his colleagues and the people he is trying to protect. While not always an easy read, the story and characters are compelling and explore a difficult but important time in America’s past.

1 The Many Deaths of Laila Starr Beautifully Explored Indian Mythology and Human Mortality

Writer Ram V and artist Felipe Andrade have teamed up for two incredible comic books. The more recent comic, Rare Flavours , is excellent, but the pair’s original work, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is even more iconic. The comic imagines the goddess of death has been fired and cast out into a mortal’s body. Her quest to return death to its rightful place in the world provides the framework for the story.

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr has drawn parallels to works like The Sandman , thanks to its reimagining of traditional religious narratives. Here, the creators are drawing on Indian mythology as the basis for a story that uses death personified to explore the meaning of life and what truly matters in peoples’ time on Earth.

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Joe Biden Reveals the ‘Single Best Decision I Made as President’

The president introduced Kamala Harris at a Labor Day rally in Pittsburgh for their first appearance on the campaign trail together since Biden announced his withdrawal.

Night Editor

Quinn Glabicki/Reuters

President Joe Biden was welcomed with cheers as he introduced 2024 Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris at a Labor Day campaign rally at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #5 training facility in Pittsburgh.

Their first appearance on the campaign trail together since Biden announced his withdrawal in July, the president focused his speech on his special bond with Harris, hailing his decision as nominee in 2020 to select her as his vice president as “the single best decision I made as president of the United States of America.”

He also spoke of the pitfalls of another Trump presidency, notably to labor unions. “Remember, Trump, for four years, promised every month, infrastructure week, for four years he promised that,” Biden said, Harris standing behind. “He didn’t build a damn thing. Nothing. I mean it, not nothing.”

“Folks, we made a lot of progress and Kamala and I are going to build on that progress and she’s going to build on it, I’ll be on the sidelines but I can do everything I can to help.

“He’d [Trump] rather cross [a picket line] than walk one. I have no problem walking the picket line,” said Biden, who last year became the first president to join striking workers on a picket line. “Neither does Kamala.”

“It’s all at risk because of Donald Trump, with the stroke of a pen he can get rid a lot of this, and do you think this guy gives a damn about your pensions?

Pennsylvania is considered a key battleground in the Nov. 5 election. While Harris held events in Detroit and Pittsburgh, Trump, meanwhile, was off the campaign trail on Monday, choosing Truth Social to wish supporters a happy Labor Day while taking jabs at his opponent.

“Happy Labor Day to all of our American Workers who represent the Shining Example of Hard Work and Ingenuity. Under Comrade Kamala Harris, all Americans are suffering during this Holiday weekend - High Gas Prices, Transportation Costs are up, and Grocery Prices are through the roof. We can’t keep living under this weak and failed ‘Leadership,’” he wrote.

Biden’s appearance came just hours after he told reporters at the White House that he did not think Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was doing enough to secure a hostage deal.

Closing his speech, he drew on the special bond he shares with his vice president, calling Harris next to him and holding her hand.

“Let me tell you about this woman. I know her. I trust her. Not a joke. The first decision I made as nominee in 2020 was selecting her as my vice president,” he said. “And by the way, it was the single best decision I made as president of the United States of America.”

“I know she’ll be a good president...she has a backbone like a ramrod. She has the moral compass of a saint, this woman knows what she’s doing.”

Biden concluded by promising Harris could “make “Donald Trump a loser again.”

US President Joe Biden (C-L) embraces US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris during a campaign rally at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 5 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 2, 2024.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The pair embraced and smiled at each other before Harris paused to lead a chant of, “Thank you Joe.” She went on to promise to continue Biden’s commitment to the most “pro-union administration in US history.”

“You really get to know somebody when you’re in the middle of a fight, when times are hard, when the forces are mighty, when people don’t believe something can’t get done... and I have spent more time with this extraordinary human being when the cameras were not in the room, when the stales were high... and Joe Biden has always stood with the workers of America... always,” she added.

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162 lies and distortions in a news conference. NPR fact-checks former President Trump

Domenico Montanaro

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, speaks during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida on Aug. 8. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

There were a host of false things that Donald Trump said during his hour-long news conference Thursday that have gotten attention.

A glaring example is his helicopter emergency landing story, which has not stood up to scrutiny .

But there was so much more. A team of NPR reporters and editors reviewed the transcript of his news conference and found at least 162 misstatements, exaggerations and outright lies in 64 minutes. That’s more than two a minute. It’s a stunning number for anyone – and even more problematic for a person running to lead the free world.

Politicians spin. They fib. They misspeak. They make honest mistakes like the rest of us. And, yes, they even sometimes exaggerate their biographies .

The expectation, though, is that they will treat the truth as something important and correct any errors.

But what former President Trump did this past Thursday went well beyond the bounds of what most politicians would do.

Here’s what we found, going chronologically from the beginning of Trump’s remarks to the end:

1. “I think our country right now is in the most dangerous position it’s ever been in from an economic standpoint…” 

The U.S. economy has rebounded from the pandemic downturn more rapidly than most other countries around the world. Growth has slowed in recent months, but gross domestic product still grew at a relatively healthy annual clip of 2.8% in April, May and June – which is faster than the pace in three of the four years when Trump was president. — Scott Horsley, NPR chief economics correspondent

2. “…from a safety standpoint, both gangs on the street…”

We don’t have great, up-to-date data on gang activity in the U.S., but violent crime trends offer a good glimpse into safety in the country. Nationally, violent crime – that includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault – has been trending way down after a surge in 2020, according to the most recent data from the FBI . That data is preliminary and incomplete, covering around three-quarters of the country, but other crime analysts have found similar trends. Crime levels, of course, vary locally : murders are down in Philadelphia, for instance, but up in Charlotte, N.C. — Meg Anderson, NPR National Desk reporter covering criminal justice

3. “...and frankly, gangs outside of our country in the form of other countries that are, frankly, very powerful. They’re very powerful countries.”

The U.S. is not in the “most dangerous position” from a foreign-policy standpoint than ever before. Biden pulled troops out of Afghanistan in his first year in office — though the withdrawal itself was chaotic and a target of much criticism — and since then, U.S. troops have not been actively engaged in a war for the first time in 20 years. The U.S. is supporting Ukraine and Israel, of course, and has troops in Iraq and Syria, but they’re not fighting on any regular basis.

What’s more, however, FBI Director Christopher Wray has said the greatest threat to the country is domestic extremism . And beyond organized groups the very definition of extremism is changing, as fringe ideologies move into the mainstream, and radicalization takes hold amongst parts of the populace. Consider: the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and the assassination attempt on Trump’s life, even with a motive that remains murky at best. Regardless, the call is coming from inside the house, domestic extremism experts warn. Many polls show a sobering degree of support for political violence to drive change. — Andrew Sussman, NPR supervising editor for national security

4-5. “ We have a lot of bad things coming up. You could end up in a Depression of the 1929 variety, which would be a devastating thing, took many years– took many decades to recover from it, and we’re very close to that.”

There is nothing to suggest that a 1930s style Depression is on the horizon for the United States. And the Depression did not take “many decades to recover from.” It ended during World War Two , in 1941. — Scott Horsley

6. “And we’re very close to a world war. In my opinion, we’re very close to a world war.”

No serious person thinks that the U.S., Russia and China are about to start a world war. Right now, Russia appears to be having a hard time defending Russia, given Ukraine’s recent incursions. While there are concerns about things like the potential for regional conflagrations in the Middle East, only Trump is talking about world war. — Andrew Sussman

7. “ Kamala's record is horrible. She's a radical left person at a level that nobody's seen.” 

It’s debatable how liberal Harris is. Some in California didn’t like her record on criminal justice and thought she was not progressive enough. She’s clearly liked by progressives and her voting scores as a senator are on the liberal end of the spectrum, but is she “radical left” and “at a level that nobody’s seen”? There are plenty of people alive and in history who would be considered far more liberal and more radical.

8. “She picked a radical left man.”

Few, if any, reasonable people would say Walz is a “radical left man.” He had a progressive record as governor with a Democratic legislature, but the things passed are hardly radical – free school lunch, protecting abortion rights, legalizing marijuana, restricting access to certain types of guns. All of these things have majority support from voters. What’s more, that “progressive” record ignores Walz’s first term as governor when he worked with Republicans because Democrats didn’t control the legislature. And it ignores Walz’s time as a congressman when he was considered a more moderate member given that he was from a district that had been previously held by a Republican.

9. “He's going for things that nobody's ever even heard of. Heavy into the transgender world.” 

Last year, Walz championed and signed a bill that prevented state courts of officials from complying with child-removal requests, extraditions, arrests or subpoenas related to gender-affirming health care that a person receives or provides in Minnesota. “Heavy into the transgender world” is vague and misleading.

10. “He doesn't want to have borders. He doesn't want to have walls.”

Walz has never called for having no borders. He has voiced opposition to a wall because he doesn't think it will stop illegal immigration. He told Anderson Cooper on CNN , for example, that a wall "is not how you stop" illegal immigration He called for more border-control agents, electronics and more legal ways to immigrate.

11. “He doesn't want to have any form of safety for our country.”

Trump himself praised Walz’s handling of the aftermath of the George Floyd murder at the hands of a police officer. And it’s certainly hyperbole to say he “doesn’t want any form of safety for our country.” Walz served in the U.S. National Guard for 24 years, so clearly, he’s interested in the country having national security. And domestically, he’s never been a “defund the police” advocate. Walz opposed a ballot measure that would have gotten rid of minimum police staffing levels, for example. That angered advocates. He signed police reforms into law , but that does not prove wanting no safety.

12. “He doesn't mind people coming in from prisons.”

Walz has not said he wants people coming in from prisons. Trump is trying to tie his claim that other countries are sending prisoners to the United States to Democrats’ immigration policies.

13. “And neither does she, I guess. Because she's not, she couldn't care less.”

Harris has said a lot to the contrary of not caring about the levels of migrants coming across the border, let alone people coming in from prisons. In fact, when in Guatemala, she said her message for people thinking of immigrating to the United States was: " Do not come. Do not come ."

14. “She's the border czar. By the way, she was the border czar, 100%. And all of a sudden, for the last few weeks, she's not the border czar anymore, like nobody ever said it.”

Harris was never appointed “border czar.” That’s a phrase that was used incorrectly by some media outlets. Biden tasked Harris with leading the “ diplomatic effort ” with leaders in Central American countries, where many migrants are coming from.

Biden said he wants Harris “to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that help — are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border.” He added that Harris “agreed to lead our diplomatic effort and work with those nations to accept — the returnees, and enhance migration enforcement at their borders — at their borders.”

Harris herself that day spoke of “the need to address root causes for the migration that we’ve been seeing.”

15. “We have a very, very sick country right now. You saw the other day with the stock market crashing. That was just the beginning. That was just the beginning.”

The stock market did not “crash.” The stock market fell sharply at the end of last week as investors fretted about a softening job market. This was amplified on Monday when Japan’s stock market tumbled 12%, sparking a selloff around the world. Stocks in Japan and elsewhere have since regained much of this ground, however. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 683 points on the day of Trump’s news conference. — Scott Horsley

16. “Fortunately, we've had some very good polls over the last fairly short period of time.”

Most good polls have shown Harris gaining not just nationally, but also in the swing states, though these same polls show a very close race.

17. “Rasmussen came out today. We're substantially leading.” 

Trump is not substantially leading, and Rasmussen is viewed as one of the least credible pollsters in the country.

18. “And others came out today that we're leading, and in some cases, substantially, I guess, MSNBC came out, or CNBC came out also, with a poll that was, you know, has us leading.” 

Polls have not shown substantial leads. CNBC had Trump leading by 2, unchanged from his 2-point lead in July.

19. “And leading fairly big in swing states. In some polls, I'm leading very big in swing states… .”

Again, polls in swing states have shown a tightened race.

20. “But as a border czar, she's been the worst border czar in history, in the world history.”

Vice President Harris was never asked to lead immigration policy. That’s the job of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Again, the term “border czar” was used inaccurately by some media outlets, and it’s a term conservatives have been using to attack her, in part, because she has only visited the Southern U.S. border a few times since 2021. But in reality, Harris was tapped by President Biden to address the root causes of migration . Her approach has focused on deterrence. She’s told migrants to not come to the U.S., and she has been able to secure more than $5 billion in commitments from private companies to help boost the economy in Central American countries. — Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, NPR immigration correspondent based in Texas 

21. “I think the number is 20 million, but whether it's 15 or 20, it's numbers that nobody's ever heard before. 20 million people came over the border in the last– during the Biden-Harris administration. Twenty-million people. And it could be very much higher than that. Nobody really knows what the number is.”

It’s unclear where Trump is getting this number from. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection , since 2021 agents have had more than 7.3 million encounters nationwide with migrants trying to cross into the country illegally. Under Biden, unlawful crossings hit an all-time high last year, but that number has decreased significantly, in part, due to Biden’s asylum restrictions at the Southern U.S. border. An April report from the Office of Homeland Security Statistics found there’s nearly 11 million unauthorized migrants in the country. — Sergio Martínez-Beltrán

22. “Just like far more people were killed in the Ukraine-Russia war than you have reported.”

Neither Russia nor Ukraine is revealing its own casualty figures, so there are only very broad estimates. — Andrew Sussman 

23. “A lot of great things would have happened, but now you have millions and millions of dead people. And you have people dying financially, because they can't buy bacon; they can't buy food; they can't buy groceries; they can't do anything. And they're living horribly in our country right now.”

Grocery prices actually jumped sharply during Trump’s last year in office, as pandemic lockdowns disrupted the food supply chain and Americans were suddenly forced to eat more of their meals at home. Grocery inflation in June 2020 hit 5.6%. This was masked, however, by a plunge in other prices, as the global economy fell into pandemic recession.

As the economy rebounded, prices did, too. Inflation began to rise in 2021, and spiked in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent food and energy prices soaring. Inflation has since moderated, falling from a peak of 9.1% in June 2022 to 3% in June 2024 . (July’s inflation figures will be released next week.) Grocery prices have largely leveled off in the last year, although they remain higher than they were before the pandemic – a potent reminder of the rising cost of living.

Economists have warned that Trump’s proposed import tariffs and immigration restrictions could result in higher inflation in the years to come. Researchers from the Peterson Institute for International Economics estimate the tariffs alone would cost the typical family about $1,700 a year . — Scott Horsley

24. “We've agreed with NBC, fairly full agreement, subject to them, on Sept. 10th.”

This is ABC, not NBC.

25. “She can't do an interview. She's barely competent and she can't do an interview.” 

Harris hasn’t done interviews since getting into the campaign, but she has done them in the past, so saying “she can’t do” one or that she is “barely competent” are just insults. Trump tends to revert to questioning the intelligence of Black women who challenge him. In fact, Trump did it nine times in this news conference, saying either Harris is not that “smart” (five times) "incompetent” (three times) or “barely competent,” as he did here.

26-27. “Why is it that millions of people were allowed to come into our country from prisons, from jails, from mental institutions, insane asylums, even insane asylums, that's a– it's a mental institution on steroids. That's what it is.”

Immigration experts have said they have not been able to find any evidence of this. Adam Isacson, director for defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, told FactCheck.org : “It’s hard to prove a negative — nobody’s writing a report saying, ‘Ecuador is not opening its mental institutions’ — but what I can say is that I work full-time on migration, am on many coalition mailing lists, correspond constantly with partners in the region, and scan 300+ RSS feeds and Twitter lists of press outlets and activists region wide, and I have not seen a single report indicating that this is happening. … As far as I can tell, it’s a total fabrication.”

Notably, a version of this did happen in 1980 during the Mariel boatlift from Cuba . The Washington Post noted three years later: “Back in 1980, it seemed to be a humanitarian and patriotic gesture to accept provisionally, without papers or visas, all those fleeing from the port of Mariel. More than 125,000 came. Most were true refugees, many had families here, and the great majority has settled into American communities without mishap. But the Cuban dictator played a cruel joke. He opened his jails and mental hospitals and put their inmates on the boats too.”

Without a question, some migrants who have come into the U.S. have committed crimes, but the data show the vast majority do not. According to Northwestern University , immigrants are less likely to commit a crime than U.S.-born people and certainly at no higher rates that the population writ large. (Trump goes on to repeat this claim minutes later in the news conference as well, so it is included in our count here.)

28. “We have a president that's the worst president in the history of our country.”

Trump may have this opinion, but he says it as if it’s fact, and a 2022 survey of historians ranked Biden in the top half of presidents. Trump, on the other hand, was No. 43. The two below Trump were James Buchanan, who did little to stop the impending U.S. Civil War, and the impeached and nearly convicted Andrew Johnson.

29. “We have a vice president who is the least admired, least respected, and the worst vice president in the history of our country.” 

A recent rating of vice presidents did not show this. Harris was in the bottom half of vice presidents, but Spiro Agnew, Dan Quayle, Henry A. Wallace and were toward the bottom of the list.

30. “The most unpopular vice president.”

This might have been true about a year ago or so, but not anymore. An NBC poll then showed Harris had the lowest favorability rating of any modern VP they’d tested. But her numbers have turned around. The NPR poll had Harris with a 46%/48% favorable to unfavorable rating, which was higher than Trump’s and his running mate, JD Vance, who is among the least popular running mates in recent history .

31. “Don't forget, she was the first one defeated. As I remember it, because I watched it very closely, but she was the first one.”

Harris was not “defeated,” because she dropped out of the Democratic presidential race before Iowa. But even if one considers her dropping out on Dec. 3, 2019, a defeat, she was not the first of the Democratic candidates in that primary campaign to do so. At least 10 others dropped out sooner .

32-34. “And I'm no Biden fan, but I'll tell you what, from a constitutional standpoint, from any standpoint you're looking at, they took the presidency away. … And they took it away.” 

There’s nothing in the U.S. Constitution about picking presidential candidates. This is a party process, and everything has been done within party rules. And, again, the presidency wasn’t taken away: Biden is still president.

35. “They said they're going to use the 25th Amendment.”

This was never floated as a possibility to get Biden to withdraw from the race. Biden’s Cabinet members are all people he appointed and who are loyal to him. In addition, the 25th Amendment outlines a procedure for removing a sitting president from office, not from running for a second term.

36-39. "They're going to hit you hard. ‘Either we can do it the nice way. I heard, I know exactly, because I know a lot of people on the other side, believe it or not. And, they said, ‘We'll do it the nice way, or we'll do it the hard way.’ And he said, ‘All right.”

This was not said; he did not hear; no Democrats in the know are talking to Trump; and this dialogue is made up.

40. “We're leading, we're leading.”

The race is statistically tied in national polls and in the states. In some national polls, Harris leads. In some, Trump does.

41-42. “I'm saying it's a–, for a country with a Constitution that we cherish, we cherish this Constitution to have done it this way is pretty severe, pretty horrible. … But to just take it away from him, like he was a child.”

Again, this is Trump talking about how Biden stepped aside, and there’s nothing in the Constitution about how the political parties should pick candidates. And nothing was taken away.

43-46. “And he's a very angry man right now, I can tell you that. He's not happy with Obama, and he's not happy with Nancy Pelosi. Crazy Nancy, she is crazy, too. She's not happy with any of the people that told him that you've gotta leave. He's very unhappy, very angry, and I think he, He also blames her. He's trying to put up a good face, but it's a very bad thing in terms of a country when you do that. I'm not a fan of his, as you probably have noticed, and he had a rough debate, but that doesn't mean that you just take it away like that.” 

Trump can’t speak to Biden’s state of mind; all evidence is that Nancy Pelosi is perfectly sane – see her recent multiple rounds of interviews about her book, including with NPR ; again, Trump doesn’t know Biden’s state of mind; and again, nobody took it away.

47-51. “She's trying to say she had nothing to do with the border. She had everything. She was appointed to head the border. And then they said border czar. Oh, she loved that name. She loved that name. But she never went there. She went to a location once along the border, but that was a location that you would love to go and have dinner with your husband or whoever. That was a location that was not part of the problem. That was not really going to the border. So I– essentially she never went to the border.”

(1) As previously noted, she was not put in charge of the border and certainly did not have “everything” to do with it; (2) she was not appointed to head the border; (3) if “they” is the White House, then “they” did not call her “border czar”; (4) Trump doesn’t know what Harris might have thought about the term; (5) Harris did not go to a place at the border “you would love to go and have dinner with your husband or whoever.”

In 2021, Harris toured border patrol facilities in El Paso, Texas, visited an area where asylum seekers were screened, and met with migrants. Republicans criticized her at the time for not going to the Rio Grande Valley.

52. “Now we have the worst border in the history of the world.” 

World history is filled with cases where one country has crossed a border and invaded a neighboring country.

53. “She destroyed San Francisco. She destroyed California as the A.G. But as the D.A. She destroyed it. She– San Francisco. … She destroyed– no cash bail, weak on crime, uh, she's terrible.”

As San Francisco’s district attorney from 2004 to 2011, and then California’s attorney general until 2017, it’s true that Kamala Harris was deeply connected to how crime was prosecuted during that particular period. However, no single person is responsible for destroying any city or state, not to mention that both are not destroyed.

There are just too many factors that contribute to why crime rises and falls. What’s more, according to the FBI , both violent and property crime rates in California more or less mirrored national trends during her tenures. As a prosecutor, Harris was largely seen as aligning more with law-and-order tendencies, though she has supported some progressive reforms, like offering certain criminal defendants drug treatment instead of going to trial. She also tweeted support for a Minnesota bail fund after the 2020 protests of George Floyd’s murder. — Meg Anderson

During her campaign for the 2020 nomination, she rolled out a plan that would have phased out cash bail , and she pledged to eliminate it as president because “no one should have to sit in jail for days or even years because they don’t have the money to pay bail.” But in the same campaign, during a debate, former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard criticized Harris for keeping cash bail in place as district attorney.

54. “And yet they weaponized the system against me.” 

The justice system was not weaponized against Trump. Biden went through pains to not show any interference with the Justice Department. And Trump was found guilty by a jury of his peers in New York in a state case.

55-58. “I won the big case in Florida. I won the big case. … Nobody even wrote about it. The big case.” 

(1) Trump did not “win” the classified documents case against him in Florida; (2) this was not “the big case” against him; (3) there was plenty of coverage of it; and (4) he goes on to repeat that he won the case later.

For context: the judge in the case controversially dismissed it, claiming the special counsel was unconstitutionally appointed despite Supreme Court decisions upholding independent counsels. The Justice Department has signaled it will appeal by the end of August but by the time the decision comes back, the election will be over.

Trump had four criminal cases against him including the classified documents case – the fraudulent business practices case in New York, for which he was convicted on 34 felony counts; an election interference case in Georgia; and the other federal case dealing with Jan. 6. If there was a biggest case, it was the last one.

59. “The judge was a brilliant judge, and all they do is they play the ref with the judges. But this judge was a fair but brilliant judge.”

There has been lots of criticism of the judge in the case, Aileen Cannon, who Trump appointed. She had very little experience as a trial judge, made several decisions that were questioned by legal experts and early in this case, had a ruling, in which she called for a special master to review classified documents first, overturned by the 11th Circuit.

60. “Now Biden lost it because he didn't have presidential immunity. He didn't have the Presidential Records Act. He lost it.”

This was not “Biden’s case.” It was to be tried by special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland. The Biden White House has made efforts to keep an arms-length distance from the investigation. Biden often declined to comment on the Justice Department’s and state investigations into Trump when it would likely have been politically advantageous for him to talk about it on the campaign trail.

61. “But the– I call it prosecutors, special counsel, special prosecutor to me. He–, appointed by him and appointed by Garland. He said the man's incompetent. He can't stand trial, but he can run for president.” 

This appears to be a misrepresentation of what special counsel Robert Hur said of Biden in a report he released investigating the president’s handling of classified documents. Hur said he wouldn’t be charging Biden, called the president “an elderly man with a poor memory" and said a jury might find sympathy with him because of it. He did not say Biden was incompetent and could not stand trial.

62. “She couldn't pass her bar exam.”

This is false. Harris passed her bar exam on the second try . She failed on first attempt, which is not unusual for California’s bar exam given its difficulty.

63. “I was doing very well with Black voters, and I still am. I seem to be doing very well with Black males. This is according to polls, as you know. 

Trump was not doing “very well” with Black voters. Biden was not doing as well with Black voters as he did in 2020, according to most surveys, but that didn’t mean Black voters were moving heavily toward Trump. Many seemed more likely not to vote. There were signs that Trump was doing better with Black men, but there wasn’t much good evidence to support this in polling, considering most national polls have such high margins of error with voter groups. A typical national survey might have 1,000 voters and 100 or so Black voters, give or take. That’s typically a margin of error upward of +/- 10 percentage points, meaning results could be a whopping 10 points higher or lower.

64. “Extremely well with Hispanic.”

Like with Black voters, it’s difficult to tell in most national surveys exactly how well a candidate is doing with Latino voters because of high margins of error. “Extremely well” depends on how it’s defined, but this is an exaggeration.

65. “Jewish voters, way up.”

Jewish voters traditionally vote roughly 2-to-1 for Democrats in presidential elections, so this seems more like a hope than reality.

66. “White males, way up. White males have gone through the roof. White males, way up.” 

It’s just not the case that Trump is “way up.” NPR polling finds that while Trump is doing as well as ever with white men without college degrees, Harris – and Biden before her – is actually leading with white men with college degrees, a group Trump won in 2020, according to exit polls .

67. “It could be that I'll be affected somewhat with Black females. Well, we're doing pretty well. And I think ultimately they'll like me better, because I'm gonna give them security, safety and jobs.”

Trump is not doing well with Black females. Black women are a key pillar Democratic voting group, and Black voters have moved more in Harris’ favor since she’s gotten in.

69. “We have a very bad economy right now. We could, we could literally be on the throes of a depression. Not recession, a Depression. And they can't have that. They can't have that.”

This is not the case. See earlier fact check. (He repeats this again later in the press conference, so it is included here in the count.)

70. “I know Josh Shapiro. He's a terrible guy. And he's not very popular with anybody.” 

A Fox News poll last month showed Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a finalist to be Harris’ running mate, had a 61% approval rating in the state. Other polls also found him with a net-positive rating, though, not quite as high.

71. “Listen, I had 107,000 people in New Jersey. You didn't report it.”

It was reported that the numbers come from faulty information about the size of a crowd at Trump’s rally. More accurate estimates appear to be anywhere from 30,000 to 60,000 . Still, a very large crowd, but Trump is exaggerating here.

72-77. “What did she have yesterday? 2,000 people? If I ever had 2,000 people, you'd say my campaign is finished. It's so dishonest, the press. … When she gets 1,500 people, and I saw it yesterday on ABC, which they said, ‘Oh, the crowd was so big.’ … I have 10 times, 20 times, 30 times the crowd size. And no, they never say the crowd was big. … I think it's so terrible when you say, ‘Well she has 1,500 people, 1,000 people,’ and they talk about, oh, the enthusiasm.” 

(1-3) Trump gave at least three incorrect estimates here, downplaying Harris’ crowd sizes (2,000, 1,500 and 1,000); (4) He also far overestimated how big his crowd sizes are compared to Harris’; (5-6) He twice said the press is dishonest about her crowd size and about his.

For context, the Harris campaign’s estimate was 10,000 or more at each rally. What the exact number is might be unclear — as is often the case with crowd-size estimates — but they were bigger than 2,000 and 1,500. Reporters have often commented on the size of Trump’s crowds. Frequently, they are very large, certainly larger than ones that Hillary Clinton drew in 2016 or Joe Biden this year, but Trump also regularly exaggerates their sizes.

78. “If I were president, you wouldn't have Russia and Ukraine, where it never happened. Zero chance. You wouldn't have had Oct. 7th of Israel.”

This is speculation, and that there is simply no way to know what would have happened in either case if he'd been reelected.

79. “You wouldn't have had inflation. You wouldn't have had any inflation because inflation was caused by their bad energy problems.” 

Again, this is speculative. Energy and food prices jumped sharply around the world following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions on Russian energy. Gasoline prices in the U.S. hit a record high topping $5 a gallon. But domestic energy production has not suffered during the Biden administration. In fact, U.S. oil and natural gas production hit record highs last year. AAA reports the average price of gasoline today is $3.45/gallon. — Scott Horsley

80. "I don't know if you know, they're drilling now because they had to go back because gasoline was going up to $7, $8, $9 a barrel."

Oil and gas production has largely been determined by energy companies. They were disciplined about not expanding production when prices were low but have become more aggressive as prices climbed. While Kamala Harris opposed “fracking” for oil and gas during her 2019 presidential campaign, she now says she would not try to outlaw the practice – which is important in battleground states such as Pennsylvania. — Scott Horsley

81. “Everybody's going to be forced to buy an electric car, which they're not going to do because they don't want that. It's got a great market. It's got a market. It's really a sub market.”

The Biden administration has set a goal of having 50% of new vehicle sales be electric by 2030 . It has primarily tried to achieve this through carrots rather than sticks, offering incentives to make electric cars more affordable, encouraging the development of electric charging stations and using the federal government’s own purchasing power to create demand. — Scott Horsley

82. “We don't have enough electricity. We couldn't make enough electricity for that.”

A shift to electric vehicles will require a rapid updating and expansion of the U.S. power grid, according to the Electric Power Research Institute . However, as EVs become more efficient, the increased demand could be reduced by as much as 50% per mile traveled over the next three decades. — Scott Horsley

83. “The weight of a car, the weight of a truck, they want all trucks to be electric. Little things that a lot of people don't talk about. The weight of a truck is two-and-a-half times, two-and-a- half times heavier.” 

Electric vehicles are typically heavier than gasoline-powered vehicles, because of the batteries. But the weight difference is about 30% , not 250% as Trump said. What’s more, American vehicles have been getting heavier for decades, long before the move to EVs, thanks to the popularity of pickup trucks and SUVs.

84. “You would have to rebuild every bridge in this country, if you were going to do this ridiculous policy.”

While many bridges and other transportation infrastructure need improvement , the additional weight of EVs is just one of many factors that will need to be considered. Another challenge is that bridges and highways are typically funded through gasoline taxes. The shift to EVs, which don’t use gasoline, will require an alternate source of highway funding.

85-90. “So, but on crowd size in history, for any country, nobody's had crowds like I have, and you know that. And when she gets 1,000 people and everybody starts jumping, you know that if I had a thousand people would say, people would say, that's the end of his campaign. I have hundreds of thousands of people in, uh, South Carolina. I had 88,000 people in Alabama. I had 68,000 people. Nobody says about crowd size with me, but she has 1,000 people or 1,500 people, and they say, oh, the enthusiasm's back.”

There were at least six different misstatements here – (1) Trump has had large crowds, but “in history,” there certainly there have been people with larger crowds, from Barack Obama and others; (2, 3) her crowds have been larger than 1,000, which he repeats twice; (4) no serious analysts have said this is the end of Trump’s campaign. This race is very close; (5) there’s no evidence for crowds of the size Trump notes in South Carolina and Alabama; (6) people do talk about Trump’s crowd sizes.

91. “They wanna stop people from pouring into our country, from places unknown and from countries unknown from countries that nobody ever heard of.”

Someone has likely heard of whatever the unnamed country is.

92-93. “We're leading in Georgia by a lot. We're leading in Pennsylvania by a lot.”

The races in Georgia and Pennsylvania are within the margin of error, according to an average of the polls.

94. “So I won Alabama by a record. Nobody's ever gotten that many votes. I won South Carolina by a record. You don't win Alabama and South Carolina by records and lose Georgia. It doesn't happen.”

It does, and here’s why. Demographically, Georgia has become very different from South Carolina and Alabama. Georgia’s population is now majority-minority, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Alabama and South Carolina are 64% and 63% white, respectively.

Georgia’s Black population is also significant politically — 33% of the state’s population is Black. By comparison, Alabama is 27% Black, South Carolina 26%. Latinos also make up 11% of Georgia’s population and Asian Americans are 5%, both of which are higher than Alabama and South Carolina. And Georgia’s population is marginally younger — 15% of Georgia’s population is older than 65% compared to 18% in Alabama and 19% in South Carolina.

95. “If we have honest elections in Georgia, if we have honest elections in Pennsylvania, We're gonna win them by a lot.”

Winning them by a lot is highly unlikely, considering how close the states have been in recent elections, but perhaps more pressing is Trump’s insinuation that there were voting problems in the two states, which there were not. That’s why Trump is upset with Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, for example, because he upheld the valid 2020 election results even in the face of pressure from Trump.

96. “Of course there'll be a peaceful transfer. And there was last time.”

This wholly ignores the Jan. 6 siege on the Capitol, which took place because of Trump’s election lies.

97. “Because I'm leading by a lot.”

Again, this is a very close race.

98. “We have commercials that are at a level I don't think that anybody's ever done before.”

This is false. Since Super Tuesday, Democrats have outspent Trump’s campaign and outside groups supporting him by more than double, according to data provided by AdImpact and analyzed by NPR — $373.5 million to $150.6 million.

99. “She's not smart enough to do a news conference.”

There is plenty of evidence that Harris is “smart enough to do a news conference,” as she has done in the past.

100. "We're in great danger of being in World War III. That could happen." 

Again, no serious analyst believes this.

101. “I think those people were treated very harshly, when you compare them to other things that took place in this country where a lot of people were killed.”

The Justice Department investigation into the events of Jan. 6, 2021, is the largest and most complex federal criminal probe in U.S. history, the attorney general has said. More than 140 law enforcement officers were injured that day, in what U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves has described as the biggest mass casualty event involving police. It’s hard to find any comparable event in recent American history.

As of Aug. 6, 2024, according to Graves’s office, prosecutors have charged more than 160 people with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer. Prosecutors have also secured convictions on the rarely-deployed charge of seditious conspiracy, or attempting to overthrow the government by use of force, against top leaders of the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.

Even so, only a small number of Jan. 6 defendants have been held in federal custody while they await trial. Mostly, these are the rioters who allegedly used the most violence on that day more than three years ago. Republican members of Congress have toured the jail facilities and decried conditions there, expressions of support that defendants facing ordinary charges in D.C. have not received. — Carrie Johnson, NPR national justice correspondent

102. “Nobody was killed on Jan. 6th.” 

Conservatives were upset at the time that one of the rioters, Ashli Babbitt, was killed when she was shot by police, as she was trying to force her way into the Speaker’s Lobby of the Capitol, which leads to the House chamber, with a crowd of others. Many officers were injured that day; one died of a stroke as a result of Jan. 6; and others later died by suicide that their families say was also a result of Jan. 6.

103-105. “And, you know, it's very interesting, the biggest crowd I've ever spoken to. … The biggest crowd I've ever spoken before was that day. … The biggest crowd I've ever spoken. … I've spoken to the biggest crowds. Nobody's spoken to crowds bigger than me.” 

It was not the biggest crowd he’s ever spoken to. His inauguration would have topped that. And others have had bigger crowds, as noted earlier.

106. “I said peacefully and patriotically.”

While Trump did utter those words, it is misleading. Trump also said the word “fight” multiple times , and he told the already angry crowd because of the election lies he fed them: “We fight like Hell and if you don’t fight like Hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Trump aides testified that he “refused” to tweet the word “peaceful” in the days leading up to the rally because he thought it might discourage people from being there, and he was concerned about his crowd size.

107-108. “If you look at Martin Luther King, when he did his speech, his great speech, and you look at ours, same real estate, same, everything, same number of people. If not, we had more. …You look at the picture of his crowd, my crowd, uh, we actually had more people.”

First, the speeches did not take place at the “same real estate.” Trump spoke from a position just south of the Ellipse. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Second, the crowds were not the same size and Trump’s was certainly not larger. It is an extraordinary claim and shows just how much Trump cares about crowd size.

109. “We have a Constitution. It's a very important document, and we live by it. She has no votes.” 

Again, there’s nothing in the Constitution about how parties should pick their presidents.

110-111. “They said, ‘You're not going to win, you can't win, you're out.’ And at first they said it nicely, and he wasn't leaving, and then you, you know, the, you know it better than anybody. … At first, they were going to go out to another vote, they were going to go through a primary system, a quick primary system, which it would have to be. And then it all disappeared, and they just picked a person.”

As explained earlier, this is not how Biden wound up stepping aside. The story is yet another Trump invention. He also lies here in saying that “they were going to go through a primary system” and “it would have to be” a quick primary system.” There’s no requirement that a primary is held. In fact, for many years, candidates’ selection as party nominees had nothing to do with primaries, and they were not as prevalent as today.

112-113. “That was the first out. She was the first loser, OK? So, we call her the first loser. She was the first loser when– during the primary system, during the Democrat primary system, she was the first one to quit. And she quit.”

As explained earlier, Harris was not the first one out in the 2020 Democratic primary race. And “first loser” appears to be a name Trump made up at this news conference, as Harris has not been referred to that way as a result of her run for the 2020 nomination.

114. “She did, obviously, a bad job. She never made it to Iowa. Then for some reason, and I'm, I know he regrets it, you do too, uh, he picked her, and she turned on him too. She was working with the people that wanted him out."

Once again, this is a false conspiracy invented by Trump.

115. “She was the first one out.” 

Trump repeats this false line again.

116. “I think the abortion issue is written very much tempered down, and I've answered I think very well in the debate, and it seems to be much less of an issue, especially for those where they have the exceptions.”

Abortion rights as a political and social issue has certainly not “tempered down.” There are millions of women, especially across the South, who do not have access to abortion and women who have experienced pregnancy losses with the inability to access medications for those necessary procedures.

117. “As you know, and I think it's when I look for 52 years, they wanted to bring abortion back to the states. They wanted to get rid of Roe v. Wade and that's Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, and everybody. Liberals, conservatives, everybody wanted it back in the states. And I did that.”

Everybody absolutely did not want that. It was actually quite unpopular for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe . And he again repeats that it has become less of an issue.

118-119. “I think that abortion has become much less of an issue. It's a very small.” 

“I think it's actually going to be a very small issue. What I've done is I've done what every Democrat and every Every Republican wanted to have done.” 

“I think the abortion issue has been taken down many notches. I don't think it's of– I don't think it's a big factor anymore, really.”

Minutes apart from each other, he repeats these three false claims. Abortion rights is not a “very small” issue for millions of voters. Democrats are organizing around it, and it has been seminal to Biden and Harris’ campaigns.

120. “Previous to [Virginia Gov.] Glenn [Youngkin], the governor, he said the baby will be born, we will put the baby aside, and we will decide with the mother what we're going to do. In other words, whether or not we're going to kill the baby.”

This is a distortion Republicans continue to push about what former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said. This has been fact-checked by others multiple times .

121-122. “I think the abortion issue has been, uh, taken down many notches. I don't think it's of, uh, I don't think it's a big factor anymore, really.”

“Everybody wanted it in the states.”

“But that issue has is very much subdued.”

He once again returns to the issue of abortions, which remains a “factor,” not everybody wanted it in the states, the issue is not “very much subdued.”

123-124. “ She wants to take away everyone's gun.” 

Harris has not proposed taking away all guns. She has proposed banning assault-style weapons, something that was in place for a decade. Some surveys had shown majority support for this. Others show a split. (Trump makes this case later, as well, so that is also included in the count.)

125. “Some countries have actually gone the opposite way. They had very strong gun laws and now they have gone the opposite way, where they allowed people to have guns, where in one case they encouraged people to go out and get guns, and crime is down 29%.”

It’s difficult to compare gun violence and gun laws in the United States to other countries, simply because of the staggering amount of guns we have here. Although the U.S. has less than 5% of the world’s population, it holds almost 40% or more of the world’s civilian-owned guns. And it has “the highest homicide-by-firearm rate of the world’s most developed nations,” per the Council on Foreign Relations . Norway, Canada and Australia all tightened their gun restrictions after shootings. — Meg Anderson

126. “On July 4th, 117 people were shot and 17 died. The toughest gun laws in the United States are in the city of Chicago. You know that. They had 117 people shot. Afghanistan does not have that.” 

Though Trump didn’t get the numbers exactly right, Chicago did have an incredibly violent July 4th holiday weekend this year. According to Mayor Brandon Johnson, more than 100 people were shot and 19 of those people died. Chicago does have strict gun laws, in part because its state does: Everytown For Gun Safety, a nonprofit that advocates for gun control, ranks Illinois third in the nation for the strength of its gun-control laws. However, no state or city exists within a bubble, and Illinois is surrounded by states with much weaker laws, including Indiana, which is just a short drive from Chicago. — Meg Anderson

127. “For 18 months, not one American soldier was shot at or killed, but not even shot at.” 

This is, to put it charitably, misleading. It appears that he’s actually referencing the period when the Trump administration signed the deal with the Taliban, in advance of U.S. troops leaving. The deal said the U.S. would be out in 14 months, and in exchange the Taliban wouldn’t harbor terrorists and would stop attacking U.S. service members. Needless to say, the deal didn’t hold. But as the AP notes , “There was an 18-month stretch that saw no combat, or ‘hostile,’ deaths in Afghanistan: from early February 2020 to August 2021.” – Andrew Sussman

128. “Kamala is in favor of not giving Israel weapons. That's what I hear.”

Harris does not support an Israel weapons embargo. A Biden administration official posted on social media that Harris "has been clear: she will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups.” A leader of the uncommitted movement said Harris “expressed an openness” to a meeting about an embargo, but the Biden administration official said Harris "will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law,” not that she would support an embargo.

129. “She's been very, very bad to Israel, and she's been very bad and disrespectful to Jewish people.”

Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish. The couple has hosted Passover Seders.

130. “Well, I know Willie Brown very well. In fact, I went down in a helicopter with him. We thought maybe this is the end. We were in a helicopter going to a certain location together and there was an emergency landing.”

This claim has not held up to scrutiny. Politico reported that Trump did have to make an emergency landing in a helicopter with a Black California politician decades ago, but it wasn’t Willie Brown, the former San Francisco mayor and state assembly speaker. It was Nate Holden, a former Los Angeles city councilman and state senator.

131-132. “This was not a pleasant landing, and Willie was— he was a little concerned. So I know him. I know him pretty well. I mean, I haven't seen him in years. But he told me terrible things about her.”

“He was not a fan of hers very much at that point.”

This is something Trump repeated twice, minutes apart from each other. Brown strongly denies having been on a helicopter with Trump or telling Trump negative things about Harris, whom he dated in the mid-1990s and supports now for president. The relationship ended in 1995.

133. “Our tax cuts, which are the biggest in history… .”

The 2017 tax cuts were not the biggest in history. As a share of the economy, they barely make the top 10 . They were big enough, however, to blow a big hole in the federal budget, which is why Trump was overseeing a nearly $1 trillion dollar annual deficit before the pandemic. — Scott Horsley

134. “It'll destroy the economy.”

This is what Trump said will happen if his tax cuts are not renewed. But The 2017 tax cut did not deliver the economic boom that its supporters promised, and there’s no reason to think reversing a portion of the cut would cause economic destruction. — Scott Horsley

135. “I've never seen people get elected by saying, 'We're going to give you a tax increase.'”

Vice President Harris has echoed President Biden’s pledge not to raise taxes on anyone making less than $400,000. However, Biden has called for raising taxes on wealthy individuals and raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28% – halfway back to where it was before the 2017 cut. — Scott Horsley

136. “These guys get up, think of it. ‘We're going to give you no security.’ …”

No Democratic presidential candidate has advocated “no security.”

137. “We're going to give you a weak military… .’ ”

An analysis by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, showed a “review of historical defense budget trends shows there is more at play in determining overall investments in defense than just which party is in the White House.” Indeed, since the year 2000, U.S.-led wars overseas have resulted in a surge of spending by both Democratic and Republican administrations.

138-139. “…We're going to give you no walls, no borders, no anything.”

Harris, Walz and the Democratic Party have never said they want “no borders.” They certainly oppose Trump’s wall/fence along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, citing the exorbitant cost and its relative ineffectiveness, they say, compared to using other methods. (Trump later says that Harris wants “open borders,” so that’s included in the count here.)

140. “...We're going to give you a tax increase.”

Again, this is misleading and suggests Harris wants to increase taxes across the board when they have consistently talked about increasing taxes only on the wealthy. In Harris’ view, those making more than $400,000 a year .

141. “They're gonna destroy Social Security.”

Democrats have consistently advocated for keeping Social Security and making it solvent.

142. “They've weaponized government against me. Look at the Florida case. It was a totally weaponized case. All of these cases, by the way, the New York cases are totally controlled out of the Department of Justice. They sent their top person to the various places. They went to the A.G.'s office, got that one going, then he went to the D.A.'s office, got that one going, ran through it. No, no, this is all politics, and it's a disgrace.”

In congressional testimony this year, Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers that President Biden had never called him to discuss any of the cases against Trump. Garland also had aides review Justice Department leaders’ email for any correspondence with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. In a letter to Congress in June 2024, the Justice Department said it had found no such contacts.

In that same letter, Justice Department legislative affairs chief Carlos Uriarte said the department did not “dispatch” former acting Associate Attorney General Matthew Colangelo to New York to join Bragg’s team prosecuting Trump. “Department leadership was unaware of his work on the investigation and prosecution involving the former president until it was reported in the news,” Uriarte wrote. — Carrie Johnson

143. “Any time you have mail-in ballots, you're gonna have problems. ... We should have one-day voting; we should have paper ballots; we should have voter ID; and we should have proof of citizenship.” 

Trump continues to spread baseless claims about mail ballots. There’s no proof of widespread fraud with the voting method. When it comes to paper ballots, they're standard. One estimate found that in the 2024 general election, "nearly 99% of all registered voters will live in jurisdictions where they can cast a ballot with a paper record of the vote."

The proof of citizenship comment echoes a Republican push on the issue , though studies have shown voting by non-U.S. citizens in federal elections to be exceedingly rare. The GOP-led House has passed a bill to require such documentary proof, but it’s likely to go no further in a Senate led by Democrats who are opposed to adding new voting restrictions. — Ben Swasey, voting editor

144. “The polls have suggested, there are some polls that say we're going to win in a landslide.” 

There are no polls that suggest Trump will win in a landslide. By all accounts, this is a very close race.

145. “...they're paying 50, 60, 70 percent more for food than they did just a couple of years ago.”

The rise in grocery prices is a common complaint , but Trump exaggerates the scale of the increase. According to the Consumer Price Index, grocery prices have risen 25% since before the pandemic and 21% since President Biden took office. (At the same time, average wages have risen 23% since before the pandemic and 17% since President Biden took office.)

146-149. The Strategic National Reserve is “virtually empty now. We've never had it this low.”

“He's sucked all of the oil out.”

“Essentially the gasoline to keep the, to keep the price down a little bit. … But you know what? We have no strategic national reserves now. He's emptied it. It's almost empty. It's never been this low.”

“They've just, for the sake of getting some votes, for the sake of having gasoline–. You know, that's meant for wars. It's meant for, like, tragedy. It's not meant to keep a gasoline price down, so that somebody can vote for Biden or, in this case, Kamala.” 

The strategic oil reserve is actually up in the past year . Biden has since repurchased about 32 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. As of this month, the reserve held about 376 million barrels of oil. The reserve was lower when Trump left office than when he got in.

150. “I see it right now, I see her going way down on the polls now.”

The opposite is true. Harris has continued her momentum since getting into the race.

151-152. “...now that people are finding out that she destroyed San Francisco, she destroyed the state of California.” 

As addressed earlier, Harris is not entirely responsible for San Francisco or the state of California. Crime trends there were similar to national crime trends during her time as district attorney in San Francisco and as the state’s attorney general. What’s more, preliminary data for this year indicates that many cities in California, including San Francisco, are seeing murder rates falling. (Trump repeats the claim one more time later in the news conference, so it is included in the count here.) — Meg Anderson

153. “She was early, I mean, she was the first of the prosecutors, really, you know, now you see Philadelphia, you see Los Angeles, you see New York, you see various people that are very bad, but she was the first of the bad prosecutors, she was early.”

Although Harris did refer to herself in her 2019 memoir as a “progressive prosecutor,” her legacy has largely been seen as tougher on crime. She has supported some progressive reforms, such as pretrial diversion, which offers certain criminal defendants things like drug treatment instead of going to trial. — Meg Anderson

154. “You know, with Hillary Clinton, I could have done things to her that would have made your head spin. I thought it was a very bad thing – take the wife of a president of the United States, and put her in jail. And then I see the way they treat me. That's the way it goes. But I was very protective of her. Nobody would understand that. But I was. I think my people understand it. They used to say, lock her up, lock her up. And I'd say, just relax, please.”

Trump called for Clinton’s imprisonment multiple times , including going along with crowd chants of “lock her up.”

155. “Don't forget, she got a subpoena from the United States Congress, and then after getting the subpoena, she destroyed everything that she was supposed to get. 

Clinton aides requested emails be deleted months before the subpoena, and the FBI said there’s no evidence the messages were deleted with a subpoena in mind. — Carrie Johnson

156. “I thought it was so bad to take her, and put her in jail, the wife of a president of the United States. And then, when it's my turn, nobody thinks that way.”

The Justice Department closed an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server to conduct some State Department business in 2016. Then-FBI Director Jim Comey gave a press conference to explain his reasoning in July of that election year. Comey said, “We did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information,” but he criticized Clinton and her aides for being “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information” that flowed through the server.

By contrast, prosecutors in the Florida case against former President Donald Trump said Trump had flouted requests from the FBI and a subpoena for highly classified materials he stored in unsecure spaces like a ballroom and a bathroom at his Mar-a-Lago resort. The indictment in that case accuses Trump of unlawfully retaining government secrets and of intentionally obstructing justice with the help of an aide who moved boxes of materials and otherwise allegedly thwarted the FBI probe. Trump and his co-defendants pleaded not guilty. The Justice Department says it is appealing the district court’s decision to toss the case on constitutional grounds. — Carrie Johnson

157. “A lot of the MAGA, as they call them, but the base. And I think the base is, I think the base is 75% of the country, far beyond the Republican Party.”

Rounding up, Trump won 46% of the vote in 2016 and 47% of the vote in 2020. He has a high floor, but a low ceiling politically. Majorities continue to say they have an unfavorable rating of Trump, which has been consistent for years. No American presidential candidate has ever gotten 75% of the vote in this country, dating back to 1824 since data was kept for popular votes. Lyndon B. Johnson got 61% in 1964, Richard Nixon slightly less than 61% in 1972, Ronald Reagan 59% in 1984. Since then, Barack Obama got nearly 53% in 2008 and 51% in 2012, the first candidate since Eisenhower to win at least 51% of the vote twice.

158. “My sons are members, and I guess indirectly I'm a member, too.”

Trump here is talking about membership in the National Rifle Association. Another family member being an NRA member does not make someone else an NRA member “indirectly.”

159. “She served 24 years for being on a phone call having to do with drugs. You know who I'm talking about. She was great. And she had another 24 years to go. And it was largely about marijuana, which in many cases is now legalized, OK?”

Presumably, Trump is talking about Alice Marie Johnson, who had been convicted on cocaine conspiracy and money laundering charges . Kim Kardashian advocated for Johnson and won a pardon for her from Trump.

160. “They're either really stupid, and I don't believe they're stupid, because anybody that can cheat in elections like they cheat is not stupid.”

More than 60 court cases proved there was not widespread fraud or cheating that would have made any difference in any state.

161. “Lately I've seen where they're trying to sign these people up to vote. And they have to stop. They cannot let illegal immigrants vote in this upcoming election.”

This is a conspiracy not based in fact. Immigrants in the country illegally cannot vote in presidential elections, and there’s no evidence there is an intentional effort to sign them up in mass numbers to sway elections.

162. “If you go to California, and you ask the people of California, do they like the idea of sanctuary cities? They don't like it.”

The subject of sanctuary cities actually mostly splits Californians. Slim majorities have actually said that they favor the sanctuary-state law and are against their cities opting out of the law. Of course, this breaks down along party lines, and since California is heavily Democratic, those results might not be surprising. But it’s more divided than Trump suggests.

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Kamala Harris’ Blunt Reply to Rally Heckler Who Called Out Donald Trump

Kamala Harris was interrupted by a heckler during a speech at a Labor Day campaign rally at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #5 training facility in Pittsburgh.

Speaking after an introduction by Joe Biden , who hailed his decision as nominee in 2020 to select her as his vice president as “the single best decision I made as president of the United States of America,” Harris spent much of her time pleading her case that an administration under her would be more beneficial to workers than her opponent, Donald Trump .

“As we fight to move forward, Donald Trump is trying to pull us backward, including back to a time before workers had the freedom to organize,” she said.

When a member of the crowd shouted, “He’s going to jail,” Harris was quick to reply. “Well, the courts will handle that, and we will handle November, how about that?” she said, laughing, to a chorus of applause.

“We’ll handle November, let the courts handle that other thing, but we’re not going back,” she added, as the crowd chanted.

Member of the crowd: He’s going to jail! Kamala Harris: The courts will handle that. We will handle November pic.twitter.com/KscWf7HrBw — Acyn (@Acyn) September 2, 2024

Last week, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a superseding indictment against the former president in his federal election subversion case, an updated version of allegations against the 78-year-old after the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling. Trump faces four federal charges in the case. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and alleges the case is politically motivated by the Biden administration.

Among his other legal woes, each of the 34 counts of fraud he was found guilty of in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case charges carries a maximum of four years in prison, although a judge could sentence Trump to probation later this month and after the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, his lawyers are hoping to get the sentence delayed and the case dismissed .

Trump, who has kept a notably high profile since Harris took over the 2024 presidential race, did not hit the campaign trail on Sunday or Monday. Instead, he took to Truth Social to wish his supporters a happy Labor Day while taking aim at his opponent.

“Happy Labor Day to all of our American Workers who represent the Shining Example of Hard Work and Ingenuity. Under Comrade Kamala Harris, all Americans are suffering during this Holiday weekend - High Gas Prices, Transportation Costs are up, and Grocery Prices are through the roof. We can’t keep living under this weak and failed ‘Leadership,’” he wrote.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Remarks from 2024 Convocation

As prepared for delivery.

Welcome, members of the Harvard College Class of 2028.

Welcome from every continent save Antarctica. Welcome from each state in the Union—and from DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

Like me, fifty-seven of you hail from the Land of Lincoln. And two of you are named “Alan.”

A very special one of you was a summer Olympian. Thank you for making Harvard proud in Paris.

Your class is 1,650 strong. That number contains multitudes—countless ideas about what these next few years could hold for you—countless identities, ideologies, and interests—passions and pursuits.

The same is true of returning undergraduates, as well as graduate and professional students from across the University. Some of them are here today. They are of many minds about events unfolding in the wider world, and their diversity of perspective is part of what makes this among the richest learning environments you will ever encounter.

Being in this environment—in this community—means having rights and responsibilities.

Those gathered here have the right to express themselves freely—to dissent and protest. But they also have the responsibility to act with each of you—and the meaning of this occasion—in mind. We are convened to welcome you. Each of you should leave this gathering feeling acknowledged and accepted by our community.

What do we stand for at Harvard?

We stand for growing in knowledge and wisdom—not only through intellectual and extracurricular pursuits but through everyday interactions, through disagreement and argument, through conflict and reconciliation. You will learn at least as much from one another as you will from anyone else at Harvard—and you will learn more in difficult moments of tension than in easy moments of understanding. Be prepared to defend your point of view. Be prepared to articulate points of view that are different from your own. Be prepared, most of all, to change your mind.

We stand for seeking, supporting, and sustaining excellence from as broad, as diverse a pool of talent as possible. That is the beauty of the University. It attracts and supports interesting and ambitious individuals with different experiences and perspectives, individuals who challenge one another by virtue of being together in community. We acknowledge and celebrate that beauty—and the beauty of pluralism—with our willingness to encounter beliefs that are not our own, to be curious and respectful, to be genuinely attentive despite our tendency to be pulled in a million directions at once.

It should come as no surprise to you that this work cannot be done well on your phone. Think of how many assumptions you make when those three little bubbles let you know that someone is typing—and then how many more assumptions you make when those three little bubbles stop bubbling. Think of how much time you have devoted to unraveling those assumptions when you discover that you were down a rabbit hole of your own digging. There is no time for that now. Here you have no time to waste. Before the week is out, arrange to sit outside with a person you don’t know well, pick a place together in advance, and—this is essential—leave your phones in your rooms while you get to know each other. Fifteen minutes is enough time.

I think you will discover quickly the virtue of removing distraction. Send me an email and let me know who you meet, how it goes, and what you learn. My address is easy enough to remember: [email protected].

Learning to focus on another person, to listen sincerely and generously, to cultivate compassion and empathy: these are not indicators of intellectual prowess—they are qualities of humanity. You need both in equal measure if you hope to leave Harvard College having done what is expected of you. Open your mind, and your world will expand. Open your heart, and you’ll make lifelong friends.

I still keep in touch with people I met during my first week on campus. A lot has changed since I moved into Claverly Hall in 1973, but there is one characteristic of Harvard people that has always stood out to me—and stands the test of time.

We stand for excellence, embracing “both/and” rather than “either/or.”

What do I mean by that? Here, you will often encounter individuals who don’t accept the notion that they can do only one thing really well. You can be both a mathematician and a competitive cyclist, both a folklorist and a committed journalist, both an engineer and a graceful dancer. Combinations and permutations too numerous to mention often lead to improbable and stunning successes—and testaments to what can be accomplished in a single lifetime.

Everyone you will hear from this afternoon is here to help you realize your own take on “both/and.” We want your initial discomfort at encountering the vast landscape of opportunity before you to yield to wonder at the possibilities. We want you to feel supported in focusing on multiple interests and pursuing multiple goals. We want you to feel confident in following hunches and taking risks—and just as confident in changing course as you become more knowledgeable about who you are and what brings you joy and fulfillment.

Your time is precious. If you invest in people and situations that bring out the best in you, you will become a better version of yourself—and your years here will have been very well spent.

Speaking of your precious time, I will not use a minute more of it.

Welcome, members of the Class of 2028. I cannot wait to learn more about you—and what you learn about one another. I look forward to what you will accomplish as undergraduates both through your chosen work and in your daily dealings. Congratulations on your arrival—we are thrilled that you are here!