Former First Lady Michelle Obama first spoke before her husband President Barrack Obama at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), greeted with a long and loud round of applause as she took the stage.
“Something wonderfully magical is in the air, isn’t it?” she asks the audience.
“You know what I’m talking about? It’s the contagious power of hope.”
She recalls the last time she was in Chicago, her hometown, saying it was to memorialise her mother.
“I still feel her loss so profoundly. I wasn’t even sure I’d be steady enough to stand before you tonight,” she says.
“But my heart compelled me to be here because of the sense of duty I feel to honour her memory and to remind us all not to squander the sacrifices our elders made to give us a better future.”
‘Harris is more than ready for this moment’
Drawing comparisons between her background and how Kamala Harris grew up, she says they both built their lives on the same values.
She says Ms Harris was often told by her mother not to “sit around and complain about things” and so she worked hard to get a law degree and work “for the people”.
“From a middle class household, she worked her way up to become vice president of the United States of America,” she says.
“Kamala Harris is more than ready for this moment. She is one of the most qualified people ever to seek the office of the presidency.”
She adds that Ms Harris has shown her commitment to the US “not by spewing anger” but by “living a life of service”.
“She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward, we will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth,” Mrs Obama says.
“If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top.”
But, she warns that people are going to try to distort Ms Harris’s truth.
‘Who’s going to tell Trump that the job he wants might just be one of those ‘black jobs’?’
Speaking from her and her husband Barack Obama’s experience, she says Donald Trump did “everything in his power” to try to make people fear them.
“His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be black,” she says.
“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘black jobs’?”
Mrs Obama is referring to a comment Mr Trump made at the first 2024 presidential debate, when he said immigrants were “taking black jobs”.
She says he has been “doubling down on ugly, misogynistic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better”.
“America, our parents taught us better than that and we deserve so much better than that,” she adds.
“That’s why we must do everything in our power to elect two of those good, big-hearted people… there is no other choice than Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.”
Pics: Reuters
Obama warns of ‘uphill battle’ ahead
She warns that there are still “so many” people who are desperate for Ms Harris and Mr Walz not to win, and there is an “uphill battle” ahead.
“We cannot get a Goldilocks complex about whether everything is just right,” she says.
“Kamala and Tim have lived amazing lives… I am confident they will lead with compassion, inclusion, and grace.
“But they are still only human. They are not perfect. And like all of us, they will make mistakes.”
She says there are just 77 days to go until the election, and “our fate is in our hands”.
“We did it before and we sure can do it again. Let us work like our lives depend on it.”
‘Do not boo – vote’ – Barack Obama ‘fired up’ as he delivers DNC speech
Following his wife’s impressive performance, former president Barack Obama comes to the DNC stage.
“I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling fired up,” he tells the roaring crowd in his hometown.
“I am feeling ready to go, even if I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama.”
He kicks off his speech with praise for Kamala Harris, saying she has spent her life trying to give people the “same chances as America gave her” and he is hopeful for the future because of the chance to elect her.
Obama’s admiration for his ‘brother’ Joe Biden
Unlike Michelle Obama, he also mentions US President Joe Biden, saying that asking him to serve by his side was one of his best decisions.
“Other than some common Irish blood, Joe and I come from different backgrounds. But we became brothers,” he says.
“History will remember Joe Biden as a president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger.
“I am proud to call him my president, but even prouder to call him my friend.”
As he pauses, the crowd breaks out into chants of “thank you, Joe”.
Mr Obama goes on to say the “torch has been passed” and now it is up to the people of America to fight for what they believe in.
“For all the incredible energy we’ve been able to generate over the last few weeks, this will still be a tight race in a closely divided country,” he adds.
Trump is a ‘billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining’
Moving onto Donald Trump, he describes him as a “78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his gold escalator nine years ago”.
He says he has been full of “constant gripes and grievances” and he has got worse since being afraid of losing to Ms Harris.
Adding a personal anecdote, he recalls hearing someone comparing Mr Trump to a “neighbour who keeps his leaf blower outside your window every minute of every day”.
“From a neighbour, that’s exhausting. From a president, it’s just dangerous,” he says.
“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.”
As he speaks about the Republican presidential nominee, the crowd starts to boo.
“Do not boo, vote,” Mr Obama responds.
‘We are ready for a president Kamala Harris’
He continues to say Mr Trump wants to divide the country, calling it “one of the oldest tricks in politics”.
“We don’t need four more years of bluster and chaos. We’ve seen that movie – and we all know that the sequel’s usually worse,” he adds.
“America is ready for a new chapter. America’s ready for a better story. We are ready for a president Kamala Harris.”
Reiterating what Michelle Obama said in her speech, he tells the convention that Ms Harris is “ready for the job”.
Referring back to his Trump leaf blower anecdote, he says: “She’s not the neighbour running the leaf blower – she’s the neighbour rushing over to help when you need a hand.”
“Kamala Harris won’t be focused on her problems – she’ll be focused on yours,” he adds.
‘I love this guy’
He also takes a moment to mention the Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, saying: “I love this guy”.
Mr Obama says Mr Walz is “the kind of person who should be in politics”.
“He knows who he is and what’s important. You can tell those flannel shirts he wears don’t come from some political consultant, they come from his closet, and they’ve been through some stuff,” he laughs, with the crowd laughing and cheering along with him.
He says together Mr Walz and Ms Harris have kept faith in the story that everyone is created equally and deserves a chance.
“Our job is to convince people that democracy can actually deliver,” he adds.
“We need to chart a new way forward to meet the challenges of today. Kamala understands this”.
Mentioning some of Ms Harris’s policies, he says she has a “bold new plan” to build more homes, expand affordable health care and she will stand up for workers.
The crowd start chanting: “Yes she can, yes she can”.
Pics: Reuters
‘Knock on doors, make calls, talk to friends’ – Obama urges people to ‘do their part’ for the election
As he wraps up his speech, Mr Obama urges everyone to “do their part” over the next 77 days – that’s how long it is until the election in November.
“If we knock on doors and make phone calls and talk to our friends and listen to our neighbours, if we work like we’ve never worked before, we will elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States, and Tim Walz as the next vice president of the United States,” he says.
“We’ll elect leaders up and down the ballot who will fight for the hopeful, forward-looking America we believe in.
“So let’s get to work,” he concludes before leaving the stage, waving to a crowd taking part in a huge round of applause.
@Sky News
