At the Democratic National Convention, Real Ameria’s Voice correspondent Ben Bergquam engaged in a fiery yet civil exchange with an attendee who is an actor by profession. The attendee passionately defended his support for Kamala Harris, the party’s current presidential candidate.
Bergquam identified the attendee as Wendell Pierce, the actor known for his role as James Greer on the hit series Jack Ryan. Pierce openly acknowledged the undemocratic nature of Harris’s ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket, even though he tried to explain it all away.
Pierce held an Essence magazine, a magazine for African American women, featuring Harris as an African American woman. Pierce admitted that the party selected Kamala without input from the voters, claiming that Democrat voters chose the people who were at the event and gave them the right to handpick the nation’s choice to run for President.
For some people, the world is just a stage.
However, as the conversation progressed, Bergquam reminded Pierce that Harris’s placement on the ballot did not reflect the democratic ideals the party claims to uphold.
“Even though she didn’t get a single vote in the primary, that was just given to her,” Bergquam stated, highlighting the discrepancy between the party’s rhetoric and its actions.
The discussion grew tense as Pierce’s body language became increasingly animated, his hands gesturing aggressively as he defended the party’s decisions.
“This is a party. So the party gets to decide; that’s how we choose our candidate,” he declared. “The voters don’t like the way the party nominated Kamala Harris, they don’t have an opportunity,” Pierce replied to Bergquam.
Bergquam pressed further on the legitimacy of the nomination process, pointing out that Harris was selected by the party’s elite rather than through a democratic election. Pierce vehemently countered, “First of all, we’re not elite. Everyone in this building is here because of the voters. We represent the voters.”
As the exchange continued, the conversation shifted to broader political issues, including the controversy surrounding January 6th and the role of former President Donald Trump. Pierce passionately argued that Trump was a threat to democracy, vowing to oppose his efforts if re-elected. “I’m going to do everything possible to make sure that the U.S government remains the U.S government. And it doesn’t turn into an autocracy, which he has already said he’s going to do.”
Yet at no time did Pierce demonstrate that he understood precisely what democracy means.
Despite their heated debate, Pierce and Bergquam ended on a note of mutual respect, acknowledging their differences as part of the democratic process. “We may disagree on some things, but the beauty is, this is America. You’re an American. I’m American, right? God bless America,” Pierce concluded, showcasing the spirited but civil nature of political discourse at the convention.
Watch the exchange here:
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