US election is a battle for America's 'soul': Biden
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More news: Outgoing US President Joe Biden has declared Democrats are in a “battle for the very soul of America”, urging voters to back his successor Kamala Harris.
Speaking to a raucous crowd at the DNC in Chicago on Tuesday, Biden framed his predecessor Donald Trump as a threat to democracy who had emboldened far-right extremists.
Biden said he was motivated to run after witnessing a deadly 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, which he said Trump diminished. Biden described his term in office as “the most extraordinary four years of progress ever, period”, including the most “significant climate law in the history of mankind”, inflation decreasing, and record jobs growth.
What they said: Speaking about Trump, Biden said: “Neo-Nazis, white supremacists [were] so emboldened by the president in the White House. They saw an ally that they didn't even bother to wear their hoods. Hate was on the march in America. Old ghosts in new garments, stirring up the oldest division".
Harris has Trump 'on the run', Clinton tells the DNC
The news: Kamala Harris has Donald Trump “on the run” and will restore national abortion rights removed by the US Supreme Court, says Hillary Clinton.
The context: Clinton, the first female presidential nominee from a major party, insisted Harris, the second, has the “character, experience, and vision to lead us forward” during a major speech to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago.
Her comments came after Harris made a surprise on-stage appearance on night one of the DNC, making brief remarks to thank US President Joe Biden and declare: “When we fight, we win”.
Clinton sought to frame the 2024 election as a chance to restore abortion rights, under pressure since the Supreme Court overturn the Roe Vs Wade decision in 2022.
After she referenced Trump’s 34 felony convictions, many members in the audience chanted “Lock him up”. The chants mirrored those made by Trump supporters during his 2016 election campaign, when he threatened Clinton with prosecution.
Harris replaced Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee, after his disastrous debate performance in June sparked an internal party and donor revolt. She has surged ahead of Donald Trump nationally and cut Biden’s deficit in key swing states, where the race is now neck-and-neck.
Other speakers on night one included New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and NBA-winning Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
Harris and running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will be formally nominated later this week.
What they said: Drawing comparisons between the two nominees, Harris said: “As a prosecutor, Kamala locked up murderers and drug traffickers … Donald Trump fell asleep at his own trial and when he woke up, he made his own kind of history: the first person to run for president with 34 felony convictions”.
The source: The Democratic National Convention
