Amid cries of “Yes, she can!”, Barack Obama returned to the scene of past triumphs on Tuesday to pass the mantle of political history to Kamala Harris — and obliterate her opponent Donald Trump.
The former US president delivered the closing speech on the second night of the Democratic National Convention in his hometown of Chicago. Obama drew loud cheers when he delivered a scathing critique of Trump, who succeeded him in the White House in 2017.
“We don’t need four more years of bluster, bungling and chaos,” he told delegates. “We’ve seen that movie before, and we all know the sequel is usually worse. America is ready for a new chapter. America is ready for a better story. We’re ready for a President Kamala Harris.”
It was another energetic evening in the packed arena as America’s first black president called for the election of the first woman, and the first woman of color, to the White House.
Obama spoke 20 years after he first appeared on the political stage at the Democratic convention in Boston. That summer, Harris helped organize a fundraiser for Obama’s bid for U.S. Senate in Illinois. Four years later, she supported him against Hillary Clinton in the presidential primaries, a campaign in which he coined the phrase “Yes, we can!”
The same cry greeted Obama as he took the stage in Chicago on Thursday at 10 p.m. ET and embraced his wife, Michelle. But halfway through his speech, Obama interrupted his teleprompter remarks and improvised, “Yes, she can!” The crowd instinctively chanted “Yes, she can!” in response.
There was a symbolic echo for Democrats who once feared Obama’s election would be a historic aberration but now realize that Trump could be the last gasp of a dying order.
In a nod to his 2004 convention debut, Obama, now 63, joked, “I’m hopeful because this convention has always been very good for kids with funny names who believe in a country where anything is possible.
“Because we have the opportunity to elect someone who has spent her life trying to give people the same opportunities that America gave her. Someone who sees you and hears you and gets up every day and fights for you: the next President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris.”
The crowd roared its approval. Obama went on to honor outgoing President Joe Biden, who was not present, after delivering a farewell address Monday. “History will remember Joe Biden as a president who defended democracy in a moment of great danger,” he said. “I’m proud to call him my president, but I’m even prouder to call him my friend.”
The torch has been passed, he continued, but “despite all the rallies and memes,” the race for the White House remains tight. He suggested that the people who will decide the election are asking a simple question: Who will fight for them.
Obama argued that Trump, the Republican nominee, is not concerned about the issue and emphasized the age of his successor — a point he might not have made if the 81-year-old Biden had still been in the race.
“This is a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he went down his golden escalator nine years ago,” he said. “It’s a constant stream of whining and grievances that have actually gotten worse now that he’s afraid of losing to Kamala.
“The childish nicknames and crazy conspiracy theories. This weird obsession with crowd size.” The crowd erupted. “It just keeps going. I heard someone compare Trump to the neighbor who runs his leaf blower outside your window every minute of the day. For a neighbor, that’s exhausting. For a president, it’s just plain dangerous.”
Trump sees power as nothing more than a means to an end, Obama said, accusing the former president of seeking another tax cut to help his wealthy friends and of killing a bipartisan immigration deal because solving the issue would hurt his campaign.
When the delegates started booing, Obama came up with an old refrain: “Don’t boo. Vote!”
Obama, who argued in his groundbreaking 2004 speech that there is no such thing as a liberal or conservative America, only the United States of America, was criticized by Trump for deliberately trying to pit Americans against each other.
He continued: “Donald Trump wants us to think above all that this country is hopelessly divided between us and them; between the ‘real’ Americans who of course support him and the outsiders who don’t.
“And he wants you to think that you’ll be richer and safer if you just give him the power to put those ‘other’ people back in their place. It’s one of the oldest tricks in politics – from a man whose act has become pretty tired.”
What is striking is that Obama did not address an issue central to Biden’s candidacy: the idea that Trump poses an existential threat to democracy.
But he did draw a vivid contrast between Trump and Harris, describing her as “up to the job” and “someone who has spent her life fighting for people who need a voice and a champion.”
“She had to work for what she had, and she really cares about what other people are going through. She’s not the neighbor who’s operating the leaf blower – she’s the neighbor who’s quick to help when you need help.”
He praised her plans to solve America’s housing crisis, reduce out-of-pocket health care costs, make college more affordable and focus on essential workers.
In a veiled dig at cancel culture, Obama also urged Democrats to show empathy for political opponents. “We must remember that we all have blind spots, inconsistencies, and biases; and that if we want to win over those who are not yet ready to support our candidate, we must listen to their concerns — and perhaps learn something in the process.”
The former president was introduced by Michelle, the former first lady who delivered the most famous line of the 2016 convention when she said, “When they go low, we go high.” This time, she fired up the room with a new willingness to take on Trump.
She said: “For years, Donald Trump has done everything he can to make people afraid of us. See, his narrow, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happen to be black.”
Michelle also teased Trump about his reference on the campaign trail to “black jobs,” which he claims are being taken away from black people by migrants crossing the border into the U.S. “Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s looking for right now might be one of those ‘black jobs’?” she asked, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Also Tuesday night, a list of delegates was drawn up confirming the nomination of Harris and his running mate Tim Walz, who both held a rally in Milwaukee in the crucial state of Wisconsin.
In a speech at the convention, Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, said he “quickly fell in love” with her, adding that she “finds joy in pursuing justice” and “standing up to bullies.”
Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont who ran for the Democratic nomination in 2016 and 2020, laid out a policy wish list that included cutting major dollars from the political process, ensuring universal health care as a human right and raising the minimum wage. “I look forward to working with Kamala and Tim to advance this agenda,” he said.
Highlights from the Democratic Convention:
