“Yes, she can!”: With a variation of his famous campaign slogan for presidential candidate Kamala Harris, former President Barack Obama has thrilled the US Democratic Party convention. Obama and his wife Michelle praised Harris as the country’s new beacon of hope at the meeting in Chicago on Tuesday evening (local time) – but they also warned their party to prepare for a “close” race against Donald Trump.
“We are ready for President Kamala Harris,” said Barack Obama. “And Kamala Harris is ready for the job.” His newly formulated slogan “Yes, she can!” was repeated in chants by the crowd in the hall – which brought back memories of the euphoria that Obama had once triggered with the slogan “Yes, we can!”.
Michelle Obama’s speech had also drawn cheers from the more than 4,500 delegates. Harris was “more than ready for this moment,” said Michelle Obama, who referred to the candidate as “my girl.” The former First Lady praised Harris as “one of the most qualified people to ever run for president.”
Michelle Obama also used the language of her husband’s previous campaigns, quoting his former slogan “hope.” “There’s something magical and wonderful in the air,” she said. “It’s the contagious power of hope.”
After Barack Obama as the first African-American US president, Harris could become the first woman and African-American to lead the country. The daughter of a black Jamaican and an Indian would also be the first head of state with Asian roots.
On the second day of their meeting, the Democrats confirmed the nomination of the 59-year-old as a candidate for the presidential election in November in a ceremonial vote. Since Harris had already been officially nominated in an electronic vote at the beginning of August, the party convention vote was only symbolic – and was celebrated as a party.
A DJ played songs that were meant to fit the individual states and territories whose representatives were presenting the respective voting results – “Sweet Home Alabama,” for example. Delegates danced. Rapper Lil Jon also made a brief appearance during the voting.
However, Michelle and Barack Obama later warned their party that, despite all the euphoria in the election campaign, there was still hard work ahead. There were still many people in the country who criticized Harris for every action she took, spread “lies” about her and did not want to vote for a woman, said the former First Lady.
Barack Obama said: “Make no mistake: This is going to be a fight.” With all the “incredible energy” that has built up in the party in recent weeks, the election will be a “close race in a sharply divided country.”
The Obamas also launched a series of harsh attacks on Republican presidential candidate Trump. Michelle Obama accused him of spreading “ugly, misogynistic and racist lies as a substitute for real ideas and solutions.” Barack Obama mocked the “childish nicknames” that the former president invents for his opponents, his “crazy conspiracy theories” and “strange obsession” with the size of crowds at campaign rallies.
Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff had also spoken at the convention. In his very personal speech, he said of his wife: “I love that laugh!” This was an indirect reply to Trump, who described his rival’s loud laughter as that of “a madwoman.” His wife brings “both joy and tenacity to this task,” said Emhoff. As the husband of the first woman to hold the office of Vice President, the ex-lawyer is the first “Second Gentleman” in the USA – and could become the first “First Gentleman.”
Harris did not appear at the convention on Tuesday. However, she delivered a greeting to the delegates that was broadcast live from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she held a rally with her vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. On Monday, in a short speech at the start of the convention, she praised the achievements of President Joe Biden, who decided not to run for re-election in July.
The 81-year-old president did not attend the convention after his acclaimed speech on Monday, but is now on vacation in California. Harris will formally accept her nomination for the November 5 election in a speech at the end of the convention on Thursday.
