Senior Democrats criticized Donald Trump’s “unsteady, unfit and risky approach” Wednesday as they argued Hillary Clinton is far better suited to keep the United States safe.
Advertisement
Another of the president’s biggest applause lines was: “America is already great”. Rather, they said, his goal was to make the case for Clinton’s qualifications while squarely addressing the broader national debate over America’s values and moral character in the wake of Trump’s rise.
“Our strength, our greatness does not depend on Donald Trump”.
To the strains of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”, Obama shared a warm embrace with his would-be successor, capping an all-star night that included appearances by Vice President Joe Biden, Clinton’s running mate Tim Kaine and independent Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of NY. The most notable may have come from Biden, who strode onto the stage with the Rocky theme song playing, then relentlessly jabbed at the GOP nominee’s qualifications, platform, and often divisive message.
“Actually, he has no clue period”, he added, eliciting chants of “not a clue” from the convention hall.
With his last State of the Union address behind him, Obama’s speech in Philadelphia will be one of his final opportunities to define and defend his tenure with a massive audience watching.
Vice President Joe Biden takes the stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Wednesday, July 27, 2016. Yet in a scattershot news conference Wednesday, Trump tried to turn the table on Clinton, saying he believed it unsafe for her to receive national security briefings in light of her well-known email missteps while in office. “I never expected to be here”, he said. “America is already strong”, he declared to cheering delegates.
Their political fates now entwined, President Barack Obama is imploring voters to elect Hillary Clinton to the White House, joining a chorus of Democrats vouching Wednesday night for her readiness to be commander in chief at a time of volatility around the world.
Mostly, though, Democrats were unsparing in the attacks on Trump.
“Tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me”, he said. To her detractors, Hillary’s dishonesty has only been reinforced by the revelations over her use of a private email server in government.
His speech will combine an affirmation of Clinton’s judgment and fortitude with a rebuke of the scare tactics he accuses Trump of deploying.
A son of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Biden appealed directly to the working class white voters who have been drawn to Trump’s populism, warning them against falling for false promises and exploitation of Americans’ anxieties.
“When the middle class does well, the rich do very well and the poor have hope”.
Kaine ladled on the sarcasm Thursday, suggesting that “you’ve got to give a guy a break who’s only been in politics for the last month or two and not that well informed”. “That’s a bunch of malarky”, Biden said. His lack of empathy and compassion can be summed up in a phrase that I suspect he’s most proud of having made famous: “‘You’re fired'”.
And he vilified Trump for his inexperience in global affairs.
“No major party nominee in the history of this nation has ever known less or has been less prepared to deal with our national security”, he said.
Retired Rear Adm. John Hutson sent roars through the crowd when he chastised Trump for denigrating Republican Sen. John McCain’s time as a prisoner of war.
“Donald”, Hutson said, “you’re not fit to polish John McCain’s boots”. He says the economy has rebounded and the world order has been sustained amid so many threats. He derided his fellow New Yorker’s business affairs and his stability. But I know why we’re strong.
Obama says Clinton has been in that room and has been part of the decisions that a president makes. The roar of dissidents was absent outside the AT&T subway station. Merced paused when asked whether she wished he could go for a third term: “I mean, I would love…” she began. “If I lived in a deep blue or a deep red state I might think about writing in Bernie, but we are all united”. Hillary Clinton has a complicated row to hoe if she’s going to dig up the votes she’s going to need to prevail in November.
“Time and again, you’ve picked me up”.
Advertisement
“You’ve got to get in the arena with her, because democracy isn’t a spectator sport”, he said.
