Former president Barack Obama took to his hometown stage on Tuesday night to thunderous applause and cheers, providing the keynote address for the second night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
In a speech that hailed Joe Biden as a hero, blasted Donald Trump as whiny, and praised Kamala Harris as ready on Day 1, Obama’s speech was geared towards rallying the troops, noting at one point that the folks in the crowd not “boo” Donald Trump, but instead go out and vote.
Obama’s speech is noteworthy because of his alleged role in the ouster of his former vice president, and current U.S. president, Joe Biden. Obama, according to multiple reports, routinely tried to advise Biden’s White House and campaign team to do a better job, and when the calls for Biden to step aside became too loud, he allegedly gave his approval for others to push his “friend” out of the race.
BARACK OBAMA: “My first big decision as your nominee turned out to be one of my best. And that was asking Joe Biden to serve by my side as vice president.” pic.twitter.com/bcadWy45Cw
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 21, 2024
The former president’s speech is one of the first notable speeches to focus more on Harris and her policy ideas, as well as her accomplishments as part of the Biden-Harris administration. Most speeches focused more on Trump or Harris’s personal background. But Obama went further, praising her recent policy proposals and painting a picture of an America where “everyone gets a fair shot” under a Harris-Walz administration.
Obama’s presence on the stage showed that, among the Democratic base, he is still a popular and influential figure, and his support on the campaign trail will help rally the troops. However, his presence is a double-edged sword – the very blue-collar, Rust Belt workers Harris needs to win are the same ones who rejected a continuation of Obama’s administration when they rejected Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Towards the end of his speech, Obama lamented the divisiveness in politics – despite his own rhetoric from his time in Washington D.C., where he railed against people who cling to their guns and their Bibles and looked down on Republicans and their voters.
However, as a speech meant to excite Democrats, he clearly did his job, and the media will spend a lot of time fawning over the speech over the next 24 hours.
