At the Democratic National Convention, former President Barack Obama and his wife harshly criticized former President Donald Trump, while campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Former President Obama and his wife at the Democratic National Convention
PHOTO: REUTERS
CNN on August 21 quoted former US President Barack Obama as saying that the country does not need another four-year term of former President Donald Trump, while criticizing the policies and personality of the Republican candidate. Speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago (Illinois) on the morning of August 21 (Vietnam time), Mr. Obama criticized Mr. Trump for causing an agreement to prevent illegal immigration to fail in the Senate. In addition, he also criticized Mr. Trump for depriving American women of their rights related to abortion. "We do not need four more years of bragging, clumsiness and chaos, we have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse," he warned. Former President Obama also criticized personally, calling Mr. Trump "a 78-year-old billionaire who has been whining about his problems since he took the golden escalator nine years ago." Mr Trump's complaints "get worse and worse as he fears losing" to Kamala Harris, he said. "Childish nicknames, crazy conspiracy theories, a strange obsession with crowd size," Mr Obama shouted to cheers from the crowd.
Praise Mr. Biden, Ms. Harris
"America is ready for a new chapter. America is ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris," Obama stressed. "This is someone who has spent her life fighting for people who need a voice and an advocate. As you heard from Michelle, Kamala was not born into wealth. She had to work for what she has, and she really cares about what other people are going through," The Guardian quoted Obama as saying.
Mr. Obama speaks at the convention
PHOTO: AFP
He also praised President Joe Biden, who served as his vice president during his two terms (2009-2017). "My first big decision as nominee turned out to be one of the best: asking Joe Biden to be my vice president," Obama said. "This country will remember him as a great president who defended democracy in a very dangerous time," he praised.
"Taking jobs from African Americans"
Earlier, his wife, Michelle Obama, spoke and introduced him. "Every day, he wakes up and thinks about what's good for the country," she said, before the two hugged and waved to the crowd. She criticized Trump's insinuation that Harris and some Democrats were not real Americans. "No one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American, no one," she stressed.
Mrs. Obama at the conference
PHOTO: REUTERS
She also reiterated Mr. Trump's claim that immigrants take jobs from African Americans, and said that it was Mr. Trump who was taking "one of those jobs" when he ran for president. "Who's going to tell him that the job he's looking for might be one of those jobs that's open to African Americans?" Obama said. Harris also said that "hope is back" in the United States, calling her "one of the most qualified people" to ever run for president. The former first lady called on Americans to "stand up for what we know is right." "I don't care where you identify politically , whether you're a Democrat, a Republican, an independent, or neither, this is a time for us to stand up for what we know in our hearts is right, to stand up, not just for our basic freedoms, but for decency and humanity, for basic respect, dignity and empathy for the core values of this democracy," she stressed. Trump did not immediately respond to the statements of Obama and his wife. Earlier on August 19, Mr. Trump gave an interview on CNN and unexpectedly praised Mr. and Mrs. Obama, saying that Mr. Obama was a "nice gentleman". "I think he's a nice gentleman, but he's very weak on trade. If you look at what's happened to our country on trade, it's a disaster," Mr. Trump said, adding that he "respects him and his wife".
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