By Melissa Quinn
WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama on Tuesday sought to persuade Americans to leave the “chaos” of former President Donald Trump’s administration behind in pursuit of a “new chapter” ushered in by Vice President Kamala Harris.
Obama received an enthusiastic welcome from Democratic delegates, elected officials and other party luminaries as he delivered a keynote address on the second night of the Democratic National Convention.
The former president sought to draw distinctions between the Democratic ticket of Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and their Republican opponents, warning of what a second term for Trump would bring.
“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,” he said. “America is ready for a new chapter. America is ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris.”
The former president returned to his hometown of Chicago to close out the second night of the convention. A historic president himself, Obama urged voters to support the candidate who herself would shatter barriers as the first woman to hold the presidency if she’s elected.
“We have a chance to elect someone who has spent her entire life trying to give people the same chances America gave her, someone who sees you and hears you and will get up every single day and fight for you: the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris,” he said.
Harris is already a history-making figure as the first woman and first Black and South Asian-American vice president. She became the first Black woman to top a major party’s presidential ticket when Democratic delegates formally selected her earlier this month as their presidential nominee. Harris will address the convention on Thursday, its final night, to accept the nomination.
The former president’s remarks came 20 years after he made an electrifying debut at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston as a state lawmaker from Illinois. He was elected to the U.S. Senate months later and then in 2008, he became the nation’s first Black president.
“I am feeling hopeful because this convention has always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe in a country where anything is possible,” Obama said, reprising a line from his 2004 convention speech.
Seven years after leaving the White House, Obama remains a key figure in the Democratic Party and was quick to endorse Harris after President Biden announced just one month ago his decision to end his bid for a second term in the White House.
Obama’s relationship with Harris spans two decades, as the pair met on the campaign trail during the former president’s Senate run. Harris backed Obama’s presidential campaign, knocking on doors for him before the Iowa caucuses.
But the former president of course has longstanding political ties to Mr. Biden, who served as his vice president during Obama’s two terms in office.
Obama recalled accepting the Democratic presidential nomination 16 years ago and said selecting Mr. Biden as his running mate was one of his best decisions.
“What I came to admire most about Joe wasn’t just his smarts, his experience. It was his empathy and his decency and his hard-earned resilience, his unshakeable belief that everyone in this country deserves a fair shot,” he said.
Obama said Mr. Biden has demonstrated those values during his nearly four years in office.
“History will remember Joe Biden as an outstanding president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger,” he said. “And I am proud to call him my president, but I am even prouder to call him my friend.”
Obama lambasted Trump for what he said are repeated “gripes” and grievances,” and for elevating conspiracy theories and hurling “childish nicknames.”
“Here’s a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down that golden escalator nine years ago,” he said.
Obama sought to paint Trump as a dangerous candidate who is seeking a second term in the White House for his own personal gain, and he accused Republicans of pushing a message of fear. But he said Democrats must demonstrate to voters that government can help them and pursue new ideas to address current challenges.
“Kamala and Tim have kept faith with America’s central story, a story that says we are all created equal, all of us endowed with certain inalienable rights, that everyone deserves a chance that even when we don’t agree with each other, we can find a way to live with each other,” he said.
Obama warned of the nation’s current cultural landscape and said politicians and algorithms created by technology companies have capitalized on divisions to teach Americans to fear one another.
“We live in a time of such confusion and rancor, with a culture that puts a premium on things that don’t last, money, family, status, likes,” he said. “We chase the approval of strangers on our phones. We build all manners of walls and fences and then we wonder why we feel so alone.”
But he pivoted to a message of hope, pointing to a spirit of volunteerism and national pride that he said demonstrates that most Americans do not want to live in a polarized nation.
“We want something better,” he said. “We want to be better and the joy and the excitement that we’re seeing around this campaign tells us we’re not alone.”
The former president said he believes voters yearn to end the divisions that have deepened in recent years and characterized the 2024 election as the key to narrowing them.
“If we each do our part over the next 77 days, if we knock on doors, if we make phone calls, if we talk to our friends, if we listen to our neighbors, if we work like we’ve never worked before, if we hold firm to our convictions, 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 said. “We’ll elect leaders up and down the ballot who will fight for the hopeful, forward-looking America we believe in. And together, we too will build a country that is more secure and more just, more equal and more free.”
Melissa Quinn is a politics reporter for CBSNews.com. She has written for outlets including the Washington Examiner, Daily Signal and Alexandria Times. Melissa covers U.S. politics, with a focus on the Supreme Court and federal courts.
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