US President Barack Obama has implored voters to help continue his legacy by carrying Hillary Clinton to victory at the polls in November.
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As Hillary Clinton prepared to head into this week’s Democratic National Convention and be nominated as the party’s presidential candidate, her image was dragging behind her.
The fourth and final day of the convention kicks off a 4 p.m.
“When any barrier falls in America, it clears the way for everyone”, she said of being the first female presidential nominee for a major party.
In a direct attack on her rival’s business record, she pointed to contractors who had allegedly lost out when a Trump development was not completed and to a series of Trump products which were not made in the United States but elsewhere.
She told the Convention: “We have to decide if we will all work together, so we can all thrive together”.
Mr Obama said: “It is the nature of democracy that until the votes are cast, and the American people have their say, we don’t know [who will win]”.
He spoke not just as an independent voter, but also as a billionaire who has seen Trump’s business practices up close and personal in NY.
Fresh from accepting the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton’s hitting the road, to shore up support for her White House bid. “They’re angry. He was angry”, Trump said.
Clinton joined Obama on stage after his speech, embracing her former rival. More typical were the sentiments of a 41-year-old woman from California who, when asked what made her angry in American politics, responded, “I am angry that Donald Trump is the Republican nominee for president”.
“It’s true”, she said. “Imagine if you dare, imagine him in the Oval Office facing a real crisis”, Clinton said.
Clinton also offered an olive branch to those who backed her rival Bernie Sanders, telling them their voice had been heard, even as isolated voices of dissent echoed around the Philadelphia sports arena.
“How awesome would it be if they grew up in that world?” she said.
One of her best-received lines came when she talked about her plans to increase gun control.
Aside from marking the end of the Democrats’ convention, Thursday also brings to a close two long weeks of conventions for many politicos, and the formal end of the primary season.
Except for a slight Clinton lead on July 20, Trump has been leading the poll throughout most of the month.
On Tuesday night, hours after she was formally nominated by the roll call and by Bernie Sanders’ move for a voice vote, she spoke via video message from NY.
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Meanwhile, viewership for Trump’s acceptance speech was 9 million more than for any other night of the Republican convention.
