McMorrow reflects on speaking at Democratic National Convention

ROYAL OAK — State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, had the opportunity to speak at the Democratic National Convention last week and said it is a memory she will never forget.

McMorrow spoke on Aug. 19 and was on stage for around five minutes. She spoke about Project 2025, which is the Heritage Foundation’s presidential transition plan of action if Donald Trump were to be elected. Trump has said he is not connected to the plan.

“Whatever you think it might be, it is so much worse,” she said in her speech Aug. 19.

McMorrow said she got a call from Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the campaign manager for Kamala Harris, a few weeks before the convention.

“It was a pretty quick call and she asked if I would be willing to consider speaking at the convention, and I don’t think I’ve ever said yes to anything quicker,” she said.

McMorrow said that this was the first time she had spoken to such a large group on a national stage.

“It was surreal. I’ve never spoken to an arena,” she said. “I’ve given speeches here in the state and to groups around the state, but never at an arena. So it was definitely a crazy experience.”

The turnaround from the call from Rodriguez to standing in front of an arena filled with Democratic Party supporters was really fast, according to McMorrow, who said that preparing for the five-minute speech was both exciting and educational.

“The DNC paired me with a speechwriter that was helping all of the speakers on this topic throughout the convention,” she said. “I wanted to make sure it sounded like me and address the issue that I wanted to talk about. But it was really helpful to get that feedback and put the speech together.”

Along the way, McMorrow had the chance to learn from a speech coach how to read a teleprompter, and how to emphasize certain words to catch the attention of the audience.

Connecting with the people of Michigan is one of the main reasons why McMorrow said she loves her position as state senator, and being able to amplify that connection to the national level was a dream that she was glad to live out.

“As a Royal Oaker, I couldn’t be prouder. I was really moved to see every single night there was a woman from Michigan on stage,” she said. “And I think that says a lot about our state and our leaders. It was just really humbling to be a small part of it for sure.”

McMorrow said that on Aug. 26, in the Trader Joe’s in Royal Oak, she had an interaction with an employee that she felt reinforced her role as a leader in Michigan.

“He just stopped me and said how proud he was of me and that I represented him and everybody,” she said. “It’s really moving. Just in voting for me, the first time I got elected, and kind of watching the speech I gave a few years ago and now at one of the largest stages in the country, he just said that it really meant a lot to him as a dad with daughters.”

McMorrow said that in the future she hopes to move up in the political world but does not yet have official plans to do so.

“I’m always somebody who believes in keeping doors open, so that’s what I’m doing right now. I don’t know exactly what is next,” she said.

McMorrow’s speech can be viewed at cspan.org.