Quentin Fulks, deputy campaign manager for Vice President Kamala Harris, has defended the decision to delay President Biden's speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), dismissing suggestions that it was disrespectful. NBC News' Kristen Welker questioned Fulks about the delay, which saw Biden's speech start an hour late and end well past midnight on the East Coast.
Quentin Fulks, a deputy campaign manager for Vice President Kamala Harris, has defended the decision to delay President Biden's speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), dismissing suggestions that it was disrespectful.
NBC News' Kristen Welker questioned Fulks about the delay, which saw Biden's speech start an hour late and end well past midnight on the East Coast.
Biden's Delayed DNC Speech: Harris Campaign Manager Addresses Criticism
"Was that a mistake, what happened?" Welker asked.
Fulks responded, "I don’t think it was a mistake."
Biden's Delayed DNC Speech: Harris Campaign Manager Addresses Criticism
He explained that the team on the ground in Chicago had worked tirelessly to put the convention together and that "any time you're bringing an event like this, and building something with this many people, there are bound to be some things that go a little awry."
Fulks acknowledged that some speeches were cut and a video was eliminated due to the delay, but he assured that the programming would run smoothly on the second night.
Biden's Delayed DNC Speech: Harris Campaign Manager Addresses Criticism
"I really don’t think it’s a big deal. Unfortunately, some people had to be cut, but I think tonight again we’re going to see some flawless programming," Fulks said.
Welker also brought up a comment from a Biden aide who described the delay as "disrespectful."
Biden's Delayed DNC Speech: Harris Campaign Manager Addresses Criticism
Fulks responded, "I hate acknowledging things like that, I don’t think anybody was making any attempt to cut the president out. I think what we saw in the room last night here in Chicago, during this convention, was nothing but love and respect for President Biden."
Convention officials attributed the delay to the enthusiastic audience, explaining that they skipped elements of the program to ensure Biden could speak to the American people as quickly as possible.
Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
In a statement to Fox News, convention officials attributed the delay to the energy of the audience throughout the night.
"Because of the raucous applause interrupting speaker after speaker, we ultimately skipped elements of our program to ensure we could get to President Biden as quickly as possible so that he could speak directly to the American people," the statement read.
Despite the delay, the officials expressed pride in the "electric atmosphere" and the broad coalition supporting the Harris-Walz ticket on and off stage throughout the convention.
