Former President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama and second gentleman Doug Emhoff all spoke on Day 2 of the to the Democratic National Convention, a day after the unofficial farewell for President Joe Biden.
Warning of a difficult fight ahead, the former president and first lady called on the nation to embrace Kamala Harris in urgent messages that were at times both hopeful and combative.
“America, hope is making a comeback,” Michelle Obama declared. She then tore into former President Donald Trump, a sharp shift from the 2016 convention speech in which she told her party, “When they go low, we go high.”
“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,” Obama said of Trump.
.@MichelleObama: "Something wonderfully magical is in the air...it's spreading all across this country...a familiar feeling that's been buried too deep for far too long...It's the contagious power of hope...America, hope is making a comeback!" #DNC pic.twitter.com/9eve3v5KuN
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 21, 2024
The former president called Trump “a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago.”
“It’s been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that’s actually gotten worse now that he’s afraid of losing to Kamala,” he charged.
.@BarackObama: "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. America is ready for a new chapter. America is ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris." pic.twitter.com/Og7ZyVe5Or
— CSPAN (@cspan) August 21, 2024
The fiery messages from two of the Democratic Party's biggest stars underscored the urgency of the moment as Harris works to stitch together a broad coalition in her bid to defeat Trump this fall. She is drawing on stars like the Obamas and other celebrities, officials from the far left to the middle, and even some Republicans to boost her campaign.
Catch up on what happened on Day 2 in NPR's DNC live blog.
More from NPR: Here’s who’s speaking on Day 3 of the DNC
