Former US President Barack Obama (2009-2017) and his wife, former First Lady Michelle, were the highlights of the second day of the Democratic convention taking place in the city of Chicago, located in the state of Illinois.
On Tuesday (20), both Barack and Michelle spoke at the event that served to formalize Kamala Harris’ candidacy for president. The current American vice president will be the opponent of Republican Donald Trump in the elections on November 5.
Born in Chicago, Michelle was greeted with applause by the thousands of people who attended the event at the United Center gym, where Kamala will speak this Thursday (22) to accept the Democratic presidential candidacy.
The former first lady thanked everyone for their support and said there was something “wonderfully magical in the air,” not just at the gym but across the country, a “sense of family that has been buried for too long.” Michelle described Kamala as the heir to “hope.”
“You know what I’m talking about, don’t you? It’s the anticipation, the energy, the excitement of being back on the eve of a better day,” said Michelle, who also shouted “USA, hope is coming back.”
In doing so, the former first lady alluded to the motto of “hope” that brought her husband, Barack Obama, to the White House in 2008. She also drew a parallel with Kamala’s personal story, who, like Michelle herself, idolized her mother.
With a strong speech against Trump, whom she did not call by name, Michelle provoked more reactions among the public than US President Joe Biden did in his speech on the first day of the convention, on Monday (19).
She urged those present to turn out en masse to vote in November to elect Kamala.
Barack Obama, in turn, said that Kamala will be the “new chapter” of the United States. The former Democratic president expressed confidence in the victory of his party’s candidate in the November elections.
“We don’t need four more years of bluster and chaos. We’ve seen this play out before, and we know the consequences are often worse,” Obama said, referring to the Trump administration. “America is ready for a new chapter. America is ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris,” the former president said.
In his speech, Obama encouraged Americans to focus on what unites them as a country and insisted that despite the polarization, citizens “want the best.”
“The vast majority of us do not want to live in a bitter and divided country,” Obama said.
The former president presented Harris as the candidate who can “unite America” and “fight for the interests of the people,” in contrast to former president and Republican White House candidate Trump.
“As president, she will not only serve her constituents […] She will work on behalf of all Americans,” he said.
Democratic Party delegates formalize Kamala’s candidacy
During this second day of the convention, Democratic Party delegates representing the 50 states of the United States, as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and other territories verbally supported Kamala Harris’ candidacy for president of the country.
The party’s regional representatives thus symbolically sealed the candidacy of the current American vice president, who took the lead on a ticket previously headed by President Joe Biden, who – pressured by influential party members after memory lapses and a disastrous performance in a debate with Republican Party rival Trump – gave up trying for re-election.
The vote by state delegates was symbolic, as was the party convention itself, since Kamala had been proclaimed as the Democratic presidential candidate on August 7, after a virtual vote by the party’s nearly 4,500 delegates, who overwhelmingly transferred to her the support they had given to Biden.
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