Obama tells the Democrats to elect Harris as new US President

Former US President Barack Obama tells the Democrats at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that President Joe Biden had passed the torch, it was up to them to fight for an America they believed in and elect Kamala Harris as the next President of the United States.

He also skews her Republican rival Donald Trump whom Obama accused of seeking to divide America.

“It is one of the oldest tricks in politics from a guy whose act has, let’s face it, gotten pretty stale. 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.”

DNC 2024 | Biden passes the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris

Barack Obama on Donald Trump:

“Most of all, Donald Trump wants us to think 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… https://t.co/LQ42JJVSKZ

— Sherwin Bryce-Pease (@sherwiebp) August 21, 2024

Biden received a more than 4-minute standing ovation before he was allowed by the enthusiastic crowd to speak. Here to give a valedictory speech as he handed the reigns to a younger generation of leadership and his No 2, who also put in a surprise appearance to thank the man who elevated her not only to the Vice Presidency but also to her current status as Presidential nominee.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris says, “This is going to be a great week. And I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible president, Joe Biden, who will be speaking later tonight. Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you will continue to do. We are forever grateful to you.”

The DNC also paid tribute to civil rights icon and former Presidential candidate Rev Jesse Jackson Sr who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2017 who took the moment in giving several thumbs-ups to the crowd. Similarly a roaring ovation for former nominee and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who came close to winning the Presidency in 2016, only to lose to the man Harris now seeks to beat this November.

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton says, “Together we put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling. And tonight, tonight, so close to breaking through once and for all. And you know what? On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris raising her hand and taking the oath of office as our 47 president of the United States.”

But this was Biden’s night – an event where he’d hoped to give an acceptance speech for a second run, rather than this goodbye.

US President Joe Biden says, “It’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more. I love my country more. And all this talk about how I’m angry at all those people who said I should step down, that’s not true. [CROWD CHANTING ‘WE LOVE JOE!’] I love my country more and we need to preserve our democracy. In 2024, we need you to vote. We need you to keep the Senate. We need you to win back the House of Representatives. And above all, we need you to beat Donald Trump and elect Kamala and Tim President and Vice President of the United States of America.”

While touting his legislative accomplishments, he promised to be the best volunteer for the Harris-Walz ticket but also took a swipe at the man he replaced in the White House in 2020.

“Violent crime has dropped to the lowest level in more than 50 years, and crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office instead of a convicted felon,” adds Biden.

Monday’s programme also featured the personal stories of several women and their struggles to obtain abortion care after the Supreme Court struck down the federal right in 2022 – a key issue in this election.

Rape survivor from Kentucky, Hadley Duvall says, “I was raped by my stepfather after years of sexual abuse. At age 12, I took my first pregnancy test and it was positive. That was the first time I was ever told ‘You have options.’ I can’t imagine not having a choice. But today, that’s the reality for many women and girls across the country because of Donald Trump’s abortion bans. He calls it a ‘beautiful thing.’ What is so beautiful about a child having to carry her parent’s child?”

Tuesday night will be headlined by former first couple Barack and Michelle Obama and Doug Emoff, the husband to the current nominee.

President Biden was able to bask in the limelight of a convention he didn’t have – in 2020 the country was in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic and gatherings of this nature moved online without all the bells and whistles.

It might not have been the speech he had hoped to give but the appreciation for his decision to exit the race was difficult to ignore. He’ll watch the rest of the convention from his vacation spot in southern California as the focus now fully returns to electing Kamala Harris and breaking that glass ceiling that Hillary Clinton came oh so close to achieving 8 years ago.