Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago bore witness to a rousing speech by former United States of America (US) President Barack Obama, wherein he endorsed the presidential candidate Kamala Harris and VP nominee Tim Walz and leveled scathing insults at rival candidate Donald Trump.  

Compares Trump to an “annoying neighbour” and calls him a whiner  

The former US President was extremely vocal about the shortcomings of Donald Trump as the President, comparing him to an “annoying neighbor that keeps running his leaf blower outside your window”.  

Obama called the Opposition’s presidential candidate selfish and too focused on his own problems. “Here’s a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago”. He claimed in his speech that Trump sees power as just a “means to his ends” and just a tactic to help himself and his “rich friends”.  

Obama also called out the opposition’s attempts at ridiculing the democrats, referring to the post by Trump and MAGA supporters about the empty seats at the DNC 2024. The ex-president poked fun at the opposition’s presidential candidate saying “There’s the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes (while making a suggestive gesture)” 

Obama also accused Trump of abolishing a bipartisan immigration policy that would have solved the issue of immigration. He claimed that Trump killed the deal solely due to its association with the opposing party saying, “he thought that trying to actually solve the problem would hurt his campaign”. 

“America’s ready for President Kamala Harris”: Obama 

“… America’s ready for a better story. We are ready for the President Kamala Harris,” said the former President endorsing the presidential candidate. He called Harris a person who has been fighting for the betterment of the people throughout her career as a prosecutor and as the Attorney General of California.  

“As a prosecutor, Kamala stood up for children who had been victims of sexual abuse. As an Attorney General of the most populous state in the country, she fought big banks and for-profit colleges, securing billions of dollars for the people they had scammed” he said. 

“She’s the neighbour rushing over to help when you need a hand” said Obama referring to the previous comment calling Trump the “annoying neighbour”.  

Low cost of healthcare, Medicaid and Medicare

The former President pointed out that Kamala Harris’ actions as Vice President are aimed at reducing the cost of healthcare and her battles with the drug companies to cap insulin costs. Private pharmaceutical firms are majorly criticized for pricing insulin at extortionate costs, which is a necessity for diabetic patients. He further pointed out that Harris is running for President with real plans to lower prices of healthcare and protect the government health insurance programs Medicare and Medicaid.  

Obama also claimed that Harris has a plan to enable affordable housing for the youth saying that she knows what needs to be done so that the young people can easily buy a home. 

 Excellent partner in Tim Walz 

“I love this guy” exclaimed Trump when talking about the Vice President nominee Tim Walz. “Tim is the kind of person who should be in politics –  born in a small town, served his country, taught kids, coached football, took care of his neighbors,” said the former US President. Walz is a former high school football coach and governor of the US state of Minesota. He also served in the US Army National guard for 24 years. 

Together, Harris and Walz’s administration will be working towards creating equal opportunities for all citizens of US, claimed the US President in his speech. He expressed his wish for a unified America which Harris and Walz will be striving for in their tenure. He was critical of the opposition’s policies to only focus on antagonizing their rivals instead of working together to reach a mutually beneficial solution.  

“America can be and must be a force for good: discouraging conflict, fighting disease, promoting human rights, protecting the planet from climate change, defending freedom, brokering peace. That’s what Kamala Harris believes and so do most Americans,” he said. 

Watch the full speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUYQYJCdYbA