Former first lady Michelle Obama’s Democratic National Convention speech connected her mother’s personal story to the life of Kamala Harris and the aspirations of the American dream, contrasting it with former president Donald Trump’s behavior throughout his political career.
“It’s the contagious power of hope. The anticipation, the energy, the exhilaration of once again being on the cusp of a brighter day,” she said, harkening back to her husband’s successful 2008 presidential campaign. She spent a considerable amount of time during her speech honoring the life of her recently deceased mother and citing it as an example of what the American ideal promises.
“Kamala Harris is more than ready for this moment. She is one of the most qualified people to ever seek the office of the presidency. And she is one of the most dignified, a tribute to her mother, to my mother, and to your mother too. The embodiment of the stories we tell ourselves about this country,” Obama declared.
The Democratic crowd’s enthusiasm for Michelle Obama’s speech came through after almost every punchline, especially when she slammed Trump’s attitude towards former president Barack Obama. Trump notoriously promoted false claims about the former president’s birth certificate during his presidency.
“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. His limited narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be black,” she said, causing the crowd to erupt.
“I wanna know, who is gonna tell him that the job he’s currency seeking might just be one of those black jobs,” she continued, another nod to Barack Obama’s political career, as the first black U.S. president.
“It’s his same old con. His same old con. Doubling down on ugly, misogynic, racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions that will actually make people’s lives better,” she added, before attacking conservatives and Trump’s character.
Towards the end of the speech, Michelle Obama called her Democratic supporters to action and warned them of the brutal campaign ahead for Kamala Harris as her run against Trump marches towards the home stretch.
Michelle Obama closed her speech by introducing her husband for his headline address to close out the second night of the Democratic convention.
‘They Will Prosecute Doctors!’: Tammy Duckworth Claims Republicans Are Coming for IVF
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D., Ill.) used her convention speech to take on “Trump’s anti-woman crusade,’ which she claimed has “put other Americans’ right to have their own families at risk.”
“If they win, Republicans will not stop at banning abortion,” Duckworth claimed. “They will come for IVF next. They will prosecute doctors!”
However, there is no evidence that Republicans are looking to ban IVF. In fact, the GOP platform passed at the party’s own convention last month expressly stated support for IVF.
“We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments),” the platform reads.
Duckworth, meanwhile, told her own story of experiencing infertility and explained that she had used IVF to have her two daughters.
“Look, my struggle with infertility was more painful than any wound I earned on the battlefield so how dare a convicted felon like Donald Trump treat women seeking health care like they’re the ones breaking the law?” she said.
“How dare J. D. Vance criticize childless women on cable news then vote against legislation that would’ve actually helped Americans to start families?” she added.
However, Duckworth’s comments mislead on the bill Vance voted against, the Right to IVF act, which was opposed by most Republicans and criticized as being overbroad and an unnecessary overreach. GOP Senators Ted Cruz and Katie Britt introduced their own alternative bill to protect IVF that failed to advance in the Senate.
Bernie Sanders Pushes Covid-Era Government Expansion as Model for Harris Administration
During a speech at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Senator Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) lauded the Biden-Harris administration’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic – and suggested Democrats could once again expand government powers if they win big in November.
The progressive standard bearer recalled how President Biden and Vice President Harris took office to lead a “nation suffering, a nation frightened, and people looking to their government for support.”
“And within two months of taking office our government did respond,” he said, pointing to several initiatives Democrats passed at that time, including extended and expanded benefits for the unemployed, an expansion of Medicaid, and rent relief and mortgage assistance.
“Now I say all of this not to relive that difficult moment but to make one simple point,” the progressive senator said. “When the political will is there, the government can effectively deliver for the people of our country. And now we need to summon that will again because too many of our fellow Americans are struggling every day to just get by.”
Sanders went on to deliver his usual tirade against the country’s wealthiest citizens. He vowed to tax the rich, take on price gouging, expand medicare, and to increase social security benefits for struggling seniors.He called for action on a number of progressive policy proposals, including universal health care and an increased minimum wage.
“We have accomplished more than any government since FDR but much, much more remains to be done. We must summon the courage to stand up to wealth and power and deliver justice for people at home and abroad,” he said.
Chuck Schumer Accuses Trump of Anti-Semitism as Pro-Hamas Demonstrators Protest Democratic Convention
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday night, accusing former president Donald Trump of holding antisemitic views, at the same time anti-Israel protests have come to Chicago in droves to protest the Democratic convention and the Biden administration’s handling of Israel’s war against Hamas.
“This is a guy who peddles antisemitic stereotypes. He even invited a white supremacist to Mar-a-Lago,” Schumer said, referring to Trump’s dinner with a white nationalist influencer in November 2022.
“Tonight folks, I am wearing this blue square to stand up to anti-semitism, to stand up to all hate. Our children, our grandchildren, no matter their race, no matter their creed, their gender or family, deserve better than Donald Trump’s American carnage,” Schumer said, a reference to Trump’s presidential inauguration speech.
While Schumer implied that Republicans are primarily responsible for the scourge of antisemitism in the U.S., it is progressives on college campuses and within Congress who have taken to hurling slurs at the Jewish state and, in some cases, indulging in outright antisemitic stereotyping in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack. Democratic leaders, including Schumer himself, have proven hesitant to confront the problem of antisemitism within their own ranks, preferring instead to focus on right-wing bigotry.
Protesters, some of whom carried Hamas flags and shouted pro-terrorist slogans, marched outside the convention hall in Chicago on Monday. Many of those protesters baselessly accused Biden and Harris of support the “genocide” allegedly being carried out by Israel in Gaza. Schumer made no mention of the protesters.
Schumer spent most of his speech praising Vice President Kamala Harris’s ambitions for her presidential term and reminding his Democratic colleagues of the importance of winning Senate elections this fall.
“Friends, we’re here to talk about one thing, tomorrow, and building a better tomorrow for all Americans. This November, we can choose a brighter, a fairer, a freer future, or we can re-live the dark night of Trump’s American carnage,” Schumer said to kick off his speech.
“Only one candidate will move America forward, Kamala Harris,” he added.
Schumer praised Harris’s work with Senate Democrats and the legislation Democrats passed during President Joe Biden’s term. He pressed the need for Democrats to win congressional majorities for a potential Harris administration. Democrats currently control the Senate but not the House, and face a difficult map for maintaining the Senate this election cycle.
“I worked with Kamala Harris when she was Senator Harris. I saw a leader who was fearless, who stood up for middle class families like the one she was raised in, who focused on things that really mattered.”
The theme of the second night of the Democratic convention was Harris’s vision for the future, as Democrats sought to contrast her agenda with that of Trump, her 2024 rival.
All of the Democratic delegates from across the country ceremoniously voted for Harris to be the party’s nominee after she clinched the nomination earlier this month in a virtual roll-call vote. The enthusiastic roll-call vote took place before Schumer’s speech and featured many party leaders.
Biden concluded the first night of the Democratic convention with an angry, bumbling speech celebrating his presidential term long after primetime passed for east coast viewers. In July, Biden stepped aside from the presidential race after Democrats openly revolted against his candidacy following his disastrous debate performance.
His speech followed an unexpected appearance from Harris on the DNC stage, a primetime address from failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and a headline-grabbing speech from progressive Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez of New York.