Obama says US ready for new chapter with 'President Kamala Harris'

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US is ready for a new chapter with "President Kamala Harris,” former President Barack Obama said Tuesday when he took the stage at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, in a show of support for the party’s candidate for the White House.

"America is ready for a new chapter. America’s ready for a better story," he told the crowd.

Describing Harris, he said she “was not born into privilege” and highlighted her history as a prosecutor going after big banks and child sex abusers.

Obama promised Democrats that Harris will be “focused” on their problems and “work on behalf of every American.”

"Yes, she can!" the crowd chanted as Obama called on Democrats to elect Harris as the next president of the US.

Obama said that Harris's running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is an “outstanding partner” who is "the kind of person who should be in politics -- somebody who was born in a small town, served his country, taught kids, coached football and took care of his neighbors."

- Trump is ‘dangerous’

Obama also blasted Harris’s Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, saying that he is “dangerous.”

“The truth is, Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than a means to his ends. He wants the middle class to pay the price for another huge tax cut that would mostly help him and his rich friends,” he continued.

"He doesn't seem to care if more women lose their reproductive freedoms since it won't affect his life."

- Obama praises Biden

Obama said history will remember Joe Biden as a president who “defended democracy at a moment of great danger” while also highlighting the Biden administration's accomplishments, including on the economy and heath care.

“And at a time when the other party had turned into a cult of personality, we needed a leader who was steady and brought people together and was selfless enough to do the rarest thing there is in politics: putting his own ambition aside for the sake of the country,” he said.

- ‘World is watching’

Obama said the rest of the world is watching the US’s November election to see “if we can actually pull it off.”

“No nation, no society has ever tried to build a democracy as big and diverse as ours before – one where our allegiances and our community are defined not by race or blood, but by a common creed,” he said.

“That’s why when we uphold our values, the world’s a little brighter. When we don’t, the world’s a little dimmer, dictators and autocrats feel emboldened, and over time we become less safe.”

Although Obama thinks America “shouldn’t be the world’s policeman,” he said it “can be, must be, a force for good – discouraging conflict, fighting disease, promoting human rights, protecting the planet from climate change, defending freedom.”

“That’s what Kamala Harris believes – and so do most Americans,” he added.

- Michelle Obama says 'hope is making a comeback'

Former first lady Michelle Obama also took center stage Tuesday night in Chicago, where she was raised and where Barack Obama began his political journey.

“Hope is making a comeback,” she said early in her speech, referring to a key slogan from Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.

"Something magically wonderful is in the air...It's the contagious power of hope," she told the crowd at the DNC.

She said both Harris and herself built their lives on the same foundational values.

"Even though our mothers grew up an ocean apart, they shared the same belief in the promise of this country. That’s why her mother moved here from India at 19," she said.

"It’s why she taught Kamala about justice, about our obligation to lift others up and about our responsibility to give more than we take," she added.

She said that Harris worked her way up from a middle-class household to become the vice president of the US.

"Kamala Harris is more than ready for this moment,” she added.