On the pivotal first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Queens Congresswoman Grace Meng was on the schedule in between Governor Kathy Hochul and President Joe Biden.
Hours before her prime time spot, she announced that she was behind the scenes and ready to take the stage at 9:57 ET for what was supposed to be a three minute speech on reproductive healthcare freedom.
Earlier in the day she released a statement that she was honored to be selected as a DNC speaker, “especially on such a crucial issue impacting our nation.”
But last minute, Rep. Meng, along with two other scheduled speakers, were bumped from the schedule. The snafu was attributed to the program running late and organizers not wanting to push the final speaker of the night, President Joe Biden, too far out of primetime.
President Biden delivered his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago at 10:30 p.m. local time, which was 11:30 p.m. in New York.
In a statement to Politico, organizers of the convention blamed “raucous applause for interrupting speaker after speaker” and pushing the event behind schedule.
Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who is a former DNC chair, and musical performer James Taylor, also did not take the stage.
But as the only Asian-American on the official schedule, some took the cut of Meng’s speech more personally. They noted that her voice was especially crucial given that Vice President Kamala Harris stands to be the first Asian-American president.
Eastern Queens State Senator John Liu, who is currently present at the DNC as a delegate, expressed that he was outraged that her prime time spot was canceled. Like many, he was thrilled to see Meng, who has worked to secure the Asian vote in Queens, kick off the convention and rally behind Harris.
“I and countless others were looking forward to hearing @RepGraceMeng last night at the @DNC, the only Asian-American on the published schedule. And I and countless others are outraged that the DNC canceled her last minute,” wrote Senator Liu on X. “DNC better put Grace back on the prime time schedule!”
Several hours after Meng’s originally scheduled time to speak, she released a statement on X regarding the rescheduling of her speech.
“As we saw tonight, Democrats are fired up about electing Kamala Harris as our next President,” stated Rep. Meng on X. “I’ve been rescheduled to speak on another night this week and look forward to championing our VP on the convention stage. Thanks for all the well wishes.”
Meng’s office, as well as the DNC, have yet to share when her speech is rescheduled to.
