Welcome to a special edition of From the Politics Desk, featuring highlights from the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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The Obamas bring a dose of nostalgia and energy to Chicago
By Natasha Korecki
CHICAGO — He once built his political career here, but on Tuesday, former President Barack Obama returned to his birthplace to take on the role of veteran statesman.
“It’s good to be home!” Obama opened with a near-deafening reception at the United Center. “I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pumped!”
That nostalgic reference to Obama’s famous cry “fired up, ready to go” prompted even more cheers.
Closing out the second night of the Democratic National Convention, Obama wove the party’s founding principles with what he saw as a road map for the future. He paid tribute to Joe Biden, his former vice president — one of the few speakers to do so Tuesday night — and said that making that choice was one of the best decisions he’d ever made.
He called on Americans to reject divisions that grow into blind hatred for one another. Obama championed Kamala Harris, listing her accomplishments as California’s attorney general and then as vice president. He said she helped take on pharmaceutical companies and the high price of insulin and lower health care costs.
At the same time, Obama took a swipe at former President Donald Trump, including chiding the Republican nominee for his “weird obsession with crowd size,” he said, gesturing with his hands to indicate something small. It was one of his biggest laugh lines of the night.
“We don’t need four more years of bluster, bungling and chaos,” Obama said to cheers. “We’ve seen that movie before, and we all know the sequel is usually worse.”
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A shift in focus: Former first lady Michelle Obama served as an introduction to her husband. While she is known for her phrase “when they go low, we go high,” Jonathan Allen noted that tonight she shifted to a more direct confrontation with Trump that better fits Harris’ slogan: “When we fight, we win.”
“His narrow and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be black,” Obama said of Trump’s treatment of her and her husband.
She alluded to her hopes that Harris would win — and Trump’s repeated use of the term “Black jobs” — and chided him. “Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s looking for right now might be one of those Black jobs?” she said.
A personal touch: Meanwhile, Doug Emhoff tried to introduce the country to “Momala,” as many Americans are still getting to know the newly named Democratic presidential candidate.
Alex Seitz-Wald writes that the country’s first second gentleman has, with self-deprecating ease, called his wife a “joyful warrior” and a loving co-parent to his children, who forces him every year on their wedding anniversary to listen to the “embarrassing” voicemail he left asking if they wanted to go out on their first date.
“My mother is the only one who thinks Kamala is the lucky one to marry me,” he said with a laugh.
More coverage from the second night of the Democratic convention
The Democratic Party is demonstrating its institutional strength
By Chuck Todd
CHICAGO — One of the persistent jokes on social media among many Democratic activists is to ridicule the media with the meme “Democrats in Disarray.”
This idea stems from an earlier generation of Democrats, who regularly used the media to debate among themselves the right direction for their party, both in policy and campaigning. Republicans, by contrast, kept their internal disputes largely private.
But since the Trump era began, the GOP has been in a constant state of disarray. That makes sense, since Trump has attempted to reshape the GOP in his own image, an image that stands in stark contrast to the belief system of the more traditional GOP brand names of the past 30 years — think Bush, Romney, Cheney, Ryan, McConnell. Aside from beating Democrats on Election Day and cutting taxes, there’s not much Republicans agree on these days. There are massive divisions over trade and economic policy and more fundamental disagreements over the role America should play in global security. On character, the rule of law, and more, the party’s divisions are plain to see.
By contrast, the Trump era has made Democrats more cohesive and, in turn, more pragmatic and publicly united. The one thing that unites the party most is defeating Trump, and it can create clarity of purpose. When Sen. Joe Manchin and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez can both endorse Harris in the same news cycle, you know you have a Democratic Party that is, as an institution, pretty healthy … at least for the time being.
This convention is a display of that institutional strength and discipline. Every living president speaks or is represented (Jimmy Carter’s grandson spoke in place of his ailing grandfather). What’s more, every night features a different president: Joe Biden on Monday, Obama on Tuesday, Bill Clinton on Wednesday — and perhaps a future president on Thursday, with Harris.
Compare that to the Republicans. A Bush has not spoken at a GOP convention since 2012. Before that, a Bush family member had spoken at every Republican convention except one since 1956.
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🗞️ Other top stories from tonight
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👀 Vision for 2025: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he would consider changes to the 60-vote filibuster rule to pass several key bills that would expand voting rights nationwide if Harris is elected and Democrats retain control of the Senate. Read more →
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🤝 This for that: Trump told CNN he would be open to giving Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a role in his administration if the independent candidate withdrew from the race. Read more →
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💰 Follow the money: Wealthy businessman Timothy Mellon and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg wrote eight-figure checks in July to support major Republican and Democratic super PACs, respectively. Read more →
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🗳️ Election night: Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida won his GOP primary, fending off a challenger backed by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Read more →
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✅ On the ballot paper: An initiative proposing to enshrine abortion access in Montana’s constitution is expected to appear on the state’s November ballot. Read more →
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🐄 On the ground: NBC News’ Shaquille Brewster and Kailani Koenig report from Madison, Wisconsin, on how young voters feel about the Democratic presidential ticket now that Harris has replaced Biden. Read more →
That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have any feedback — likes or dislikes — please email us at politicsnieuwsbrief@nbcuni.com
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This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
