Obama night at the DNC: Barack, Michelle rouse crowd for Harris

[August 21, 2024]  By Jeff Mason, Stephanie Kelly and Jarrett Renshaw

CHICAGO (Reuters) -Former U.S. President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama delivered a one-two punch at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, urging Americans to back Kamala Harris in her 11th-hour presidential bid against Republican Donald Trump.

America's first Black president, Obama has thrown his considerable political capital behind Harris as she seeks to make history herself on Nov. 5 as the first woman and first Black and South Asian person to be elected U.S. president.

"We do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse," Obama told delegates on Day Two of the Chicago convention.

"America is ready for a new chapter. America is ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris."

He took aim at Trump, the Republican who followed him into the White House in 2017 and praised President Joe Biden, his vice president who was forced out of the 2024 race by Democratic allies who feared he would lose to Trump in November.

"History will remember Joe Biden as a president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger. I am proud to call him my president, but even prouder to call him my friend," Obama said, eliciting chants of "We love Joe."

Obama was introduced by his wife, Michelle, who tops Democrats' wish list as a future president.

"America, hope is making a comeback," Michelle Obama said, in a nod to Obama's first presidential campaign in 2008.

Pulling no punches, she cautioned that Trump would try to distort Harris' truth, much as he did "everything in his power to try to make people fear us."

"His limited 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," she said to deafening applause.

"Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those 'Black jobs'?" she asked. On the campaign trail, Trump has referred to migrants crossing into the U.S. as taking away "Black jobs."

Trump launched his political career through racist attacks on Obama's citizenship status and has reprised similar attacks on Harris.

At 63, Barack Obama loomed large in the messy deliberations that led Biden to step out of the race last month and endorse Harris, his vice president.

HARRIS MOMENTUM

Harris, 59, has ridden a historic whirlwind in which her campaign has broken records for fundraising and packed arenas with supporters.

Harris joined virtually from a campaign rally in Milwaukee. Delegates in Chicago raised signs saying “FREEDOM” that mirrored those raised by supporters at her Wisconsin rally.

Harris and her vice presidential pick, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, took to the Milwaukee stage in the same venue as last month's Republican National Convention, where Trump formally received his party's nod.

Former U.S. President Barack Obama takes the stage during Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 20, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid

In her speech, Harris criticized Trump for saying he had no regrets about the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had recognized women's constitutional right to abortion. Three Trump-appointed justices joined a 6-3 majority on the high court.

"I do believe, you know, bad behavior should result in a consequence. Well we will make sure he does face a consequence and that will be at the ballot box in November," Harris said.

Democrats see abortion rights as a winning issue in this campaign and Harris had led the charge as vice president.

CROSSING THE AISLE

Republicans who have left the fold since Trump's takeover of their party crossed the aisle on Tuesday night to address the convention, including Trump's former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham and former Trump voter Kyle Sweetser.

Grisham described her journey from a Trump "true believer" to the first senior White House staffer to resign after the Jan. 6, 2021, assault by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol.

Republican Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, remembered the late John McCain, the Republican U.S. senator from his state who made a point of reaching across the aisle.

"I have an urgent message for the majority of Americans who, like me, are in the political middle," he said. "John McCain's Republican Party is gone, and we don't owe a damn thing to what's been left behind."

Conservative voters who dislike Trump have been one of the Democrats' hoped-for prizes. The challenge will be persuading them to get to the ballot box and vote for Harris versus staying home or writing in a presidential candidate.

Outside the venue, a demonstration near Chicago's Israeli consulate briefly turned violent after a group of about 50 separated from the larger protest and pushed against a police line. Several arrests were made, a Reuters witness said.

Protests against the U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza have overshadowed the convention, but most speakers avoided the topic.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders was an exception, telling the audience, "We must end this horrific war in Gaza, bring home the hostages and demand an immediate ceasefire."

(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw, Jeff Mason, Trevor Hunnicutt, Andrea Shalal, Nandita Bose and Aleksandra Michalska in Chicago; Writing by Doina Chiacu and Andy Sullivan; Editing by Heather Timmons and Howard Goller)

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