Last updated on August 23, 2024 by BVN
Overview: On the second night of the Democratic National Convention, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Senator Tammy Duckworth and former First Lady Michelle Obama delivered speeches that praised Kamala Harris as a “joyful warrior” and criticized Trump as a “conscientious-obsessing coward.” The main event of the evening was the appearance of former President Barack Obama, who endorsed Harris and criticized Trump as a “crybaby” with “crazy conspiracy theories” and “weird obsessions.” The convention is designed to boost Harris and Walz, who are running for president and vice president, respectively.
Ishena Robinson | URL Media
In addition to an entertaining list of states and delegates (yes, that was Lil Jon representing Georgia singing “Turn Down for What” to a very cheerful crowd), the second night of the DNC continued with a showcase of the stars of the Democratic Party – including arguably two of its brightest minds: Barack and Michelle Obama. The Obamas brought their star power, impressive oratory skills and some witty remarks to build momentum for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz after the high-energy first night of the convention.
But first, Illinois state politicians Governor JB Pritzker and Senator Tammy Duckworth spoke. The latter stressed that the Republican Party is targeting reproductive freedom and posing a threat to families who rely on medical options such as IVF. Senator Duckworth also denounced Trump as a “draft-shy coward,” continuing the trend of convention speakers attacking the Republican presidential candidate without mincing words.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff took a softer tack that evening, describing Kamala Harris as a compassionate person who loves to laugh and is a “joyful warrior” – qualities that, indeed, came across in both praise and criticism of Vice President Harris.
Michelle Obama, always looking fashionable in braids and a structured suit by Monse, called the Harris-Waltz campaign a “chance to defeat the demons of division, fear and hate,” and declared that “hope is making a comeback.” The days of “when they go low, we rise high” appear to be over, as the former first lady took a swipe at Trump by denouncing him directly and indirectly — making references to people who “fail forward,” beneficiaries of “positive discrimination of generational wealth,” and even dropping a crowd-pleasing bon mot that he was in the running for what “might just be one of those black jobs.” Michelle ended her well-received remarks by telling her Democratic colleagues, “We can’t give in to our fears about whether this country is going to elect someone like Kamala instead of doing everything we can to get someone like Kamala elected.”
But the main event of the evening was the appearance of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, whose history-making run Harris hopes to continue as the first Black and South Asian president. Obama paid tribute to his former Vice President Joe Biden and acknowledged that “the torch has been passed” before calling Trump a whiner.
“There are the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories (and) this weird obsession with crowd size,” Obama quipped to loud laughter from the crowd at the United Center. “We don’t need four more years of bluster, stumbling and chaos – we’ve seen this movie before and we all know the sequels are usually even worse. America is ready for a new chapter… and Kamala Harris is ready for the job.”
Black Voice News is a URL Media partner. URL Media is in Chicago covering the 2024 DNC. Follow us on our website and social media at @url-media for on-the-ground community-focused reporting all week!
Original content: Day 1 of the DNC was surprisingly inspiring – here are our takeaways
