Tuesday's Breakfast Briefing: The stories PR pros need to know on Tuesday, 7.26.2016

By Monday afternoon, seemingly everything that could go wrong for the Democrats at their convention in Philadelphia had gone wrong.

Democratic National Committee chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned and was booed repeatedly as she spoke to Florida’s delegation. Interim chair Donna Brazile was forced to apologize to Bernie Sanders and his supporters for leaked emails that appeared to show favoritism to Hillary Clinton’s campaign during the primaries. And Sanders’ supporters, irate about the leaks, were making noise around the convention site, with many vowing to never support Clinton.

Democrats also wondered if Donald Trump had a powerful new backer in Russian President Vladimir Putin as the FBI said it would investigate foreign involvement in the hacking and publishing via Wikileaks of DNC emails.

However, that was before the Democrats’ line of high-profile speakers hit the stage on Monday night. Sanders called for his backers, some of whom shed tears in the Wells Fargo Arena, to support Clinton, and Michelle Obama delivered a speech praised by both sides of the aisle.

The need-to-know stories from the Democratic National Convention:
Clinton vs. Trump polls varied as the DNC kicked off. A CNN/ORC poll showed a solid convention bounce for Trump, now up 5% over Clinton in a four-way race. FiveThirtyEight.com put the two candidates in a dead heat. An NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll found little bounce for Trump, with Clinton still up a single point.

What to watch Tuesday night: the roll call. The usually staid roll call of states’ delegates will have a unique intensity with Sanders’ outspoken supporters in the crowd. Some could walk out if delegates deliver a unanimous nomination in favor of Cliton. Former President, and prospective "first dude," Bill Clinton is also scheduled to speak on Tuesday night.

Michelle Obama’s speech focused on one question: "Who do you want to be your children’s role model?" The address drew rave reviews from members of both parties. The New York Daily News switched from a protester-focused front cover to one featuring the first lady for its latest edition.

Comedian Sarah Silverman stole the show as she and Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) stalled for time on stage. The comedian and Sanders supporter scolded the Vermont senator’s backers in the crowd, saying they were acting ridiculous.

Twitter warfare: Donald Trump reveled in the early chaos of the convention’s first day on Twitter. However, after he panned Sanders for endorsing his one-time rival, the Vermont senator delivered a swift counterpunch to the Republican nominee on the microblogging platform.