Obama gives full-throated endorsement of Harris, slams Trump in DNC speech

Former U.S. president Barack Obama gave an emphatic endorsement of Kamala Harris while slamming his successor Donald Trump during a speech at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday evening.

During the address, Obama depicted Harris as a tough prosecutor and hard-working politician, illustrating her as a champion of working and underprivileged people, while painting his successor Trump as a childish, power-driven chaos mongerer who wedged the country apart to enrich his own interests.

Obama also stressed his longtime friendship with President Joe Biden, who served as his vice-president for eight years, weeks after Obama allegedly played a pivotal role in Biden's exit from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Harris as the nominee. 

Taking the stage to a roar from the crowd (though one not nearly as ferocious as the reception for his wife Michelle, 20 minutes earlier), Obama made reference to his infamous speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, the 16 minutes that propelled his rise to political stardom.

"My first big decision as your nominee turned out to be my best," he said, referring to his choice of his former Senate colleague Joe Biden to serve as his vice-president — echoing a line that Biden delivered about Harris on Monday night during a convention speech.

Amid media speculation that there was lingering bad blood between the two, Obama stressed Biden's record on COVID-19 recovery and the economy, and as a defender of democracy.

But he also referred several times to their close personal relationship: "I am proud to call him my president, but even prouder to call him my friend," Obama said.

Neither Biden, who is on vacation in California, nor Harris, who led a rally in Milwaukee earlier in the day, were present for the speech. 

The former president then turned his attention to Trump, who he described as a "78-year-old billionaire" with a "constant stream of gripes and grievances," mixing strong criticism of Trump's record on taxes, immigration and reproductive rights with lighthearted jabs that played well with an audience of Democrats.

"We have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse," Obama said, positioning a Harris-Walz administration as a "new chapter."

The speech drew subtle parallels between Harris's candidacy and his own. U.S. media has compared the fervour and excitement around Harris to the frenzy that propelled Obama to the presidency in 2008 and then to re-election in 2012. 

In the most stark callback to his own campaign, Obama quipped, "yes she can," which the audience chanted back at him — and he revisited the message of hope that permeated his first campaign. And he wasn't the only one: during a similar moment in Michelle Obama's speech, the former first lady informed the audience that "hope is making a comeback."

The former president positioned Harris and Walz as envoys of that message, and ran through Harris's record as a prosecutor and her tenure as California attorney general, speaking of how she pressed Obama's administration to provide mortgage relief to homeowners.

He made the case for Harris as a champion of young and working people who would make it easier to own a home, limit drug costs, and make college education more accessible.