Democratic national convention 2020

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      Obama's stark message: America must save itself from Trump | Analysis

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      Barack Obama

      Analysis: The former president issued an unprecedented attack on his successor as he urged voters to rescue their democracy

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      Barack Obama condemns Trump in powerful Democratic convention speech – video

      Just four years ago, amid balloons, confetti, dry ice smoke and giant TV screens, Donald Trump struck an authoritarian tone as he accepted the nomination at the Republican national convention before a frenzied crowd. It prompted warnings of the impending death of democracy, and the end of America’s gloriously chequered 244-year journey. But no one really believed it.
      However, Barack Obama is now clearly taking the fall of Rome theory seriously. No former US president has criticised his successor at a party convention as he did on Wednesday night, and none has warned that his successor “will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win”.
      The medium matched the moment. Gone, in this pandemic era, were the roaring crowds of the 2004 convention, when the young Obama declared, “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America – there is the United States of America,” and of the triumphant conventions in 2008 and 2012 when he made history as the country’s first Black president.
      Nor was there any time for the elegiac long goodbye of 2016 when, with chants of “Four more years!” in Philadelphia, Obama championed Hillary Clinton and offered living proof that democratic norms require even popular leaders to relinquish power.
      In 2020, Obama was back in the city where the US constitution was drafted and signed. But this time he stood alone at a lectern in the Museum of the American Revolution. Usually presidents go into bat for their own legacy, but the message was that the legacy of George Washington and other founding fathers is now at stake.
      Obama’s speeches are often lauded for their poetry but this time his language was cold and muscular, using the word “democracy” 18 times. The man who made famous the slogan “Hope and change” had found that the first of those is not always enough. “I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously,” he said. For a long time the 44th president has declined to use Trump’s name. No more.
      In the special intimacy of a virtual convention, where participants speak directly to you, the viewer, Obama went for the jugular: “For close to four years now, he’s shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.”

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      Barack Obama’s fiery DNC speech in full – video
      In an echo of his wife Michelle’s suggestion in her speech on Monday that Trump is simply incapable of being the president that America needs, Obama said: “Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. And the consequences of that failure are severe.”
      No one made his point more spectacularly than Trump himself, who provided his own form of live-tweeting the speech with baseless interjections such as: “HE SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN, AND GOT CAUGHT!”
      And yet Obama fell into a familiar trap, implying that Trump is a freak case, a one-off, an aberration. He did not dwell on the forces of white identity politics, social media flame-throwing and politics-as-entertainment that empowered Trump – the notion that he was a symptom, not a cause. There has been little of that this week except from the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, who observed:“Donald Trump didn’t create the initial division. The division created Trump. He only made it worse.”

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      Billie Eilish at DNC: ‘Trump is destroying our country and everything we care about’ – video
      Some fear that Joe Biden represents that old status quo. Obama promised that his former vice-president “sees this moment now not as a chance to get back to where we were, but to make long-overdue changes so that our economy actually makes life a little easier for everybody”.
      For the past four years, those warning of an existential threat have been accused of “Trump derangement syndrome” and written off as boys who cried wolf. But the president’s recent attempts to undermine that sacred pillar of all democracies, elections, have concentrated minds.
      The Democratic congressman Jim Clyburn, whose endorsement of Biden was critical to his nomination, told the Axios website in March: “I used to wonder how could the people of Germany allow Hitler to exist. But with each passing day, I’m beginning to understand how. And that’s why I’m trying to sound the alarm.”
      On Wednesday, Thomas Friedman, an influential columnist in the New York Times, warned: “Here is a sentence I never in a million years thought that I would ever write or read: This November, for the first time in our history, the United States of America may not be able to conduct a free and fair election and, should President Trump be defeated by Joe Biden, have a legitimate and peaceful transfer of power.”
      But none carries the weight of Obama who, it seems safe to assume, was expressing sentiments shared by the other living former presidents, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W Bush.
      “Do not let them take away your power,” he said in an entreaty to vote and vote early that has become a theme of this convention as Trump threatens the post office. “Don’t let them take away your democracy. Make a plan right now for how you’re going to get involved and vote … What we do echoes through the generations.”
      In what seems like another age, Obama spoke at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa about the precious gift of democracy. On Wednesday, haunted by history and fearful of the future, he made his plea for Americans to appreciate its value.

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    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      Obama delivers searing attack on Trump and warns of grave threat to democracy

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      Barack Obama

      Ex-president says Trump will try to ‘tear our democracy down’
      Vice-presidential nominee Harris pledges to fight with hope

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      3:27

      Barack Obama condemns Trump in powerful Democratic convention speech – video

      Barack Obama has delivered his most scathing attack on Donald Trump, accusing the US president and his enablers of trying to suppress the vote in November’s election and making the heartfelt plea: “Don’t let them take away your democracy.”
      In the most withering critique by a former president on his successor in modern times, Obama made the case that Trump, a billionaire businessman and celebrity, has not grown into the job of president because he cannot, and instead treats it as a reality TV show.
      His grave address mentioned the word “democracy” 18 times and offered a stark warning: “This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win. So we have to get busy building it up.”
      Obama, the country’s first Black president, spoke on the third night of the virtual Democratic national convention just before Senator Kamala Harris of California became the first Black person to be formally nominated for vice-president by a major party and promised to fight with conviction and hope.
      Obama spoke from the symbolic location of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. The words “Writing the constitution” were displayed on an exhibit wall behind him. The absence of cheering crowds that greeted him at past conventions, including two successful presidential nominations, fitted the sombre occasion.
      This time, Obama argued, the election is not merely a battle of blue versus red but for the survival of democracy itself. “What we do these next 76 days will echo through generations to come,” he said.
      Obama noted that he had sat in the Oval Office with both men who are running for president and said sardonically he had hoped that Trump might “show some interest in taking the job seriously … But he never did.
      “For close to four years now, he’s shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves. Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t.”
      The consequences, he continued, were 170,000 Americans killed by the coronavirus pandemic, millions of jobs lost while the rich get richer, “our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before”.
      Obama also lavished praise on Trump’s challenger Joe Biden, his vice-president, “friend” and “brother”, as well as Biden’s running mate, Harris.
      “Joe and Kamala have concrete policies that will turn their vision of a better, fairer, stronger country into reality,” he said. “But more than anything, what I know about Joe and Kamala is that they actually care about every American. And they care deeply about this democracy.”
      Even as Obama spoke, Trump tweeted angry retorts in all caps.
      Obama said he understood why many people were feeling down on government and were wondering what the point was.
      “Well, here’s the point,” he said. “This president and those in power – those who benefit from keeping things the way they are – they are counting on your cynicism. They know they can’t win you over with their policies. So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter.

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      3:02

      Kamala Harris reflects on vice-presidential nomination at DNC – video
      “That’s how they win. That’s how they get to keep making decisions that affect your life, and the lives of the people you love. That’s how the economy will keep getting skewed to the wealthy and well-connected, how our health systems will let more people fall through the cracks. That’s how a democracy withers, until it’s no democracy at all.”
      He urged: “We can’t let that happen. Do not let them take away your power. Don’t let them take away your democracy.”
      He called on Americans to make plan now on how to get involved and how to vote: “What we do echoes through the generations.”

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      0:53

      Billie Eilish at DNC: ‘Trump is destroying our country and everything we care about’ – video
      Obama apart, the night belonged to Democratic women across generations, from host Kerry Washington to singer Billie Eilish, from House speaker Nancy Pelosi to former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head in Tucson, Arizona, nearly a decade ago yet survived and now found the courage, grit and determination to speak about resilience and even play a French horn.
      In a sign of how much has changed in the pandemic, Harris introduced herself to the nation in a sparsely attended auditorium in Wilmington, Delaware. She was applauded by supporters on a giant video screen. When nominee Joe Biden walked out, he remained physically distanced and could not embrace her.
      Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, sketched out her personal biography. “My mother taught me that service to others gives life purpose and meaning. And, oh, how I wish she were here tonight. But I know she’s looking down on me from above. I keep thinking about that 25-year-old Indian woman – all of five feet tall – who gave birth to me at Kaiser Hospital in Oakland, California.
      She went on: “On that day, she probably could have never imagined that I would be standing before you now speaking these words: I accept your nomination for vice-president of the United States of America.”
      She, too, lambasted Trump but also offered hope. “There’s something happening, all across the country,” she said. “It’s not about Joe or me. It’s about you. It’s about us. People of all ages and colors and creeds who are, yes, taking to the streets, and also persuading our family members, rallying our friends, organizing our neighbors, and getting out the vote.”
      Democrats are seeking to capitalise on a “gender chasm” between the parties. Women support Biden by 56% to 40%, roughly the same as their margin for Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Wednesday night’s programme seemed calculated to ram home that advantage.
      Harris’ nomination also marks the elevation of Black women in a Democratic party that has for decades relied on their electoral power but whose loyalty was rarely reflected in leadership. In the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in May, which sparked a national reckoning on racism, Biden faced pressure to choose a Black woman as his running mate.
      But there was also a rueful look in the rearview mirror. Clinton wore suffragette white just as she did at her triumphant convention in 2016. Instead of the wildly enthusiastic crowds in Philadelphia anointing her as a likely future president, now she was alone at her home in Chappaqua, New York.
      She said of Trump: “For four years, people have said to me, ‘I didn’t realise how dangerous he was.’ ‘I wish I could go back and do it over.’ ‘I should have voted.’ This can’t be another woulda-coulda-shoulda election.”
      Clinton made reference to her own defeat in the electoral college, in spite of winning the popular vote, and fears that Trump will sow chaos and distrust in the process in a bid to claim victory again. “Remember: Joe and Kamala can win three million more votes and still lose. Take it from me. We need numbers so overwhelming Trump can’t sneak or steal his way to victory.”
      Senator Elizabeth Warren, who finished third in the Democratic primary, spoke from the Early Childhood Education Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, which has been closed for months due to the coronavirus pandemic. In another display of party unity, she said: “Joe and Kamala will make high-quality child care affordable for every family, make pre-school universal, and raise the wages for every childcare worker.”

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      18:50

      Barack Obama’s fiery DNC speech in full – video
      Videos produced for the third of the virtual convention included 11-year-old Estela Juarez from Florida, reading a letter she wrote to Trump after her mother – who married a US American marine with whom she had two American children – was deported to Mexico in an indictment of the president’s harsh immigration policies.
      Another montage celebrated this week’s centenary of women winning the right to vote, weaving together footage of women marching throughout American history, including the historic women’s march that came a day after Trump’s inauguration.

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      Hillary Clinton urges voters to prevent Trump from 'stealing way to victory'

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      Hillary Clinton has called on Democratic voters to turn out in “overwhelming” numbers for the November election, arguing such an effort is needed to ensure Donald Trump does not “sneak or steal his way to victory”.Addressing the Democratic national convention on Wednesday from her home in Chappaquiddick, New York, Clinton said she had spoken to a number of Americans who have said they wished they had voted in the last general election, or voted differently.“For four years, people have said to me, ‘I didn’t realize how dangerous [Trump] was.’ ‘I wish I could go back and do it over.’ Or worst, ‘I should have voted,’” Clinton said. “Well, this can’t be another woulda-coulda-shoulda election.”She added: “Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are.”In 2016, Clinton, the first woman nominated for president by a major party, became the fifth presidential candidate to lose the US election despite winning the popular vote. In her address, she endorsed the Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden, and vice-presidential nominee, Kamala Harris.“Don’t forget, Joe and Kamala can win by 3 million votes and still lose. Take it from me,” Clinton warned. “We need numbers so overwhelming Trump can’t sneak or steal his way to victory.”Following a video celebrating women’s suffrage, Clinton, wearing suffragette white, said Trump had taken office “with so much set up for him,” including a pandemic response team.Clinton argued Trump could have been a more successful president “if he had put his own interests and ego aside”.“I wish Donald Trump knew how to be a president because America needs a president right now,” Clinton said.A few minutes into Wednesday’s proceedings, a fundraising email in the US president’s name contained a string of insults. “Just when I thought this pathetic event couldn’t get more CORRUPT, they decide to bring in CROOKED Hillary, Crazy Nancy, Pocahontas, Phony Kamala, and Lyin’ Obama all in ONE NIGHT,” it said.It was a list that included Trump’s favourite nickname from 2016, “Crooked” Hillary Clinton, as well as his racist tag for Senator Elizabeth Warren.Leaning into negative partisanship, the message added: “All of these Radical Democrats HATE me and they HATE YOU. They would love nothing more than to see us FAIL, which is why it’s going to take all hands on deck to make sure that never happens.”In her speech, Clinton said she knew about the “slings and arrows” that vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris will likely face as a Black woman on the ticket.“Believe me: this former district attorney and attorney general can handle them all,” she added. More

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      Kamala Harris to condemn Trump's 'chaos' and 'callousness' in DNC speech

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      Kamala Harris, the daughter of immigrants who has broken racial barriers at every step of her political career, is set to become the first Black woman and first Asian American to accept a major party’s vice-presidential nomination on Wednesday night.In the most consequential speech of her political career, Harris, 55, is expected to urge voters to reject the divisive and destructive leadership of a president who “turns our tragedies into political weapons”.Early excerpts show she will sketch an optimistic vision for a nation whose promise drew her parents from opposite ends of the world decades before.“We’re at an inflection point,” she will say, speaking from a waterfront convention center near Joe Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware. “The constant chaos leaves adrift. The incompetence makes us feel afraid. The callousness makes us feel alone. It’s a lot – and here’s the thing: we can do better and deserve so much more.”At the very beginning of Wednesday’s event, Harris gave a short direct-to-camera speech about the importance of voting in November’s election. She said she knew many of the viewers may have “heard about obstacles and misinformation, and folks making it harder for you to cast your ballot.”She offered directions to viewers on how they could get more information on ways to vote in this election – a short plea underscoring Democrats’ efforts to increase turnout.Harris, only the fourth woman in history to be nominated for a presidential ticket, will share a stage on Wednesday – one hundred years and one day after the ratification of the 19th amendment that guaranteed the women – with Hillary Clinton, the first woman nominated by a major party for the presidency, and Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker and highest-ranking woman in American political history.Born in 1964 to Shyamala Gopalan, a Indian-born American breast cancer researcher, and Donald Harris, an American economist from Jamaica, Harris will recount their political activism and said some of her earliest memories of attending civil rights protests as a toddler.Harris and her sister, Maya, were raised by her mother, who she will say taught her “to walk by faith, and not by sight”.Maya, Harris’s niece Meena, and Harris’s step-daughter Ella Emhoff are expected to nominate Harris on Wednesday night.After graduating from Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, DC, Harris pursued a career in criminal justice. In 2003, she was elected district attorney of San Francisco and the attorney general of California before becoming only the second Black woman to serve in the Senate.It is this chapter of her career that Harris struggled to reconcile during her own presidential campaign, when confronted by progressives over her record as a prosecutor.But on Wednesday, the Democrats mostly celebrated her historic ascensions. Harris’s presence on stage Wednesday was not preordained.During the first Democratic primary debate last year, Harris confronted Biden over his past opposition to school bussing policies and his working relationship with segregationist senators. The attack wounded Biden, who had centered his campaign around the promise to restore the soul of the nation.After her own presidential campaign fizzled and she dropped out of the race late year, Harris returned to the Senate, where she found her voice in the midst of nationwide protests over racial injustice. She joined protesters on the street and delivered a deeply personal speech on the Senate floor about being Black in America. She sponsored police reform legislation and championed a bill to make lynching a federal crime.Harris’s speech caps the third night of the Democrats’ national convention, which moved almost entirely online due to the coronavirus pandemic. Other speakers include Clinton and Barack Obama, who is expected to warn that Donald Trump poses a threat to American democracy. More

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      Democratic national convention day three: Barack Obama & Kamala Harris lead speeches – watch live

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      Democrats stage the third night of their online convention after formally nominating Joe Biden as the presidential candidate for November’s election. The main speakers on Wednesday include Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi
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