CHICAGO– Former President Barack Obama and the second gentleman Doug Emhoff will speak on Tuesday on the second day of the Democratic National Conventionwith the party’s attention focused on the vice president Kamala Harris and her confrontation with Republican Donald Trump.
The pivot to the final 76 days of the presidential campaign follows an opening night that was designed to be a elegant farewell to the sitting presidentwho was given a hero’s welcome for stepping aside for Harris.
Biden spoke clearly and energetically, appearing to relish the opportunity to defend his record, stand up for his vice president and attack the US president. TrumpHis delivery was more reminiscent of the Biden who won in 2020 than the mumbling and sometimes incoherent former candidate whose debate performance against Trump in June spelled the demise of his re-election campaign.
Biden reiterated his 2020 theme in his speech that “we are in a battle for the soul of America,” and he emphasized the reason why Harris and her running mate Tim Walz were best prepared to fight this battle.
“Because of you, we’ve had the most extraordinary four years of progress ever, period,” Biden declared. And then he interrupted: “I say ‘we,’ I mean ‘me and Kamala,’” sharing credit for his most popular successes with the vice president to whom he was handing off his political operation.
Harris made a brief, unannounced appearance at the convention Monday to thank Biden for his leadership. She later joined him onstage, where the two spoke and embraced.
“Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all that you will continue to do,” she said. “We are eternally grateful.”
The opening day was delayed by more than an hour, causing a number of scheduled speakers, including musician James Taylor, to be removed from the program. The conference organizers attributed this to the persistent applause for the speakers.
Harris travels to Milwaukee on Tuesday for a rally in the swing state of Wisconsin, before returning to Chicago late in the evening.
Harris’ campaign said Tuesday it will spotlight “trusted messengers” from key struggling states during the remaining three days of the convention. They include Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada; Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sens. Gary Peters and Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan; Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. Speaking from Arizona, Sen. Mark Kelly will speak, along with John Giles, the Republican mayor of Mesa.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper will be the final speaker before Harris accepts the Democratic nomination on Thursday.
