Former U.S. President Barack Obama (L) greets former first lady Michelle Obama as he arrives to speak on stage during the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 20, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo: Andrew Harnik)
Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama capped off Tuesday’s events at the DNC, where they laid out differing visions of where America will go under a Harris or Trump presidency.
“We’re not going back” has become a rallying cry for Democrats all across the country since Vice President Kamala Harris announced her campaign for president a little less than a month ago.
On Tuesday, however, the Democratic National Convention glanced back in time by welcoming former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama, who delivered Tuesday’s keynote addresses and laid out the sharply different visions for America’s future that are being offered by Harris and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
“Kamala Harris won’t be focused on her problems – she’ll be focused on yours,” Barack Obama said. “As president, she won’t just cater to her own voters and punish those who refuse to kiss the ring or bend the knee. She’ll work on behalf of every American. That’s who Kamala is.”
“The truth is, Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than a means to his ends. He wants the middle class to pay the price for another huge tax cut that would mostly help him and his rich friends,” the former president continued. “He killed a bipartisan immigration deal that would’ve helped secure our southern border because he thought trying to actually solve the problem would hurt his campaign. He doesn’t seem to care if more women lose their reproductive freedoms since it won’t affect his life.”
He cited Harris’ new proposal to help more Americans become homeowners as evidence of how she would fight to improve everyday people’s lives.
“She knows, for example, that if we want to make it easier for more young people to buy a home, we need to build more units, and clear away some of the outdated laws and regulations that have made it harder to build homes for working people in this country. And she’s put out a bold new plan to do just that,” Barack Obama said.
During her speech, Michelle Obama delivered forceful remarks calling out Trump’s generational wealth and the racism the Obamas have had to deal with over the past 16 years.
“Who’s going to tell him the job he is seeking might be one of those Black jobs?” Michelle Obama quipped about Trump seeking a second term in office. “It’s his same old con: doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better.
“Kamala has shown her allegiance to this nation. Not by spewing anger and bitterness, but by living a life of service and always pushing the doors of opportunity open to others. She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action action of generational wealth,” the former First Lady added.
Instead, she said, Harris’ story was that of most Americans “trying to build a better life.”
“Kamala knows, like we do, that regardless of where you come from, what you look like, who you love, how you worship, or what’s in your bank account… we all deserve the opportunity to build a decent life… all of our contributions deserve to be accepted and valued,” Michelle Obama said. “Because no one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American… no one!”
Trump, meanwhile, would be focused on “gutting our health care… taking away our freedom to control our bodies… the freedom to become a mother through IVF, like I did—those things are not going to improve the health outcomes of our wives, mothers, and daughters,” the former First Lady added.
Doing that, and other things Trump has suggested — like eliminating the US Department of Education — “doesn’t make anybody’s life better,” she said.
“Instead, it only makes us small. And let me tell you… going small is never the answer. Going small is the opposite of what we teach our children. Going small is petty, it’s unhealthy, and quite frankly, it’s unpresidential.”
Tuesday’s events at the convention started with the ceremonial roll call that featured a surprise performance from ‘Lil Jon. Harris also formally accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination from a rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where the Republican National Convention was held.
Both Michelle and Barack Obama encouraged Democrats to work together and as hard as possible over the next 11 weeks to deliver a Harris presidency.
“Kamala Harris is ready for the job. This is a person who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a champion,” Barack Obama said. “Now it is up to all of us to fight for the America we believe in and make no mistake, it will be a fight.”
