Obama warns of ‘tight race’ ahead, ‘dangerous’ return of Trump

CHICAGO — Former President Obama warned about the close race between Vice President Harris and former President Trump in November, while bashing his successor as dangerous, chaotic and unsympathetic.

“This will still be a tight race in a closely divided country. A country where too many Americans are still struggling, where a lot of Americans don’t believe government can help, and as we gather here tonight, the people who will decide this election are asking a very simple question: ‘Who will fight for me?’” the 44th president said. “’Who’s thinking abut my future? About my children’s future?’

“One thing is for certain: Donald Trump is not losing sleep over that question,” Obama continued, name-checking his successor.

Obama argued that Trump “hasn’t stopped whining about his problems” and is “afraid of losing to Kamala,” adding that he spreads conspiracy theories and has a “weird obsession with crowd sizes.”

“The other day, I heard someone compare Trump to the neighbor who keeps running his leaf blower outside your window every minute of every day,” he said. “Now, from a neighbor, that’s exhausting. From a president, that’s just dangerous.”

“We do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse,” the former president added.

Obama, who was met with a rock star’s welcome in his home state of Illinois, hailed Harris as a prosecutor, attorney general and vice president. Obama and Harris have a long-standing relationship that stems from her time as California attorney general while he was president.

Discussing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Obama said the vice presidential candidate is an “outstanding partner” to Harris who “knows who he is and knows what’s important.” He joked that the shirts Walz wears don’t come from a political consultant but from his own closet, and “they have been through some stuff.”

The former president touted Harris’s “bold new plan,” which she released last week, that aims to build new housing units and help first time homebuyers. He also noted Harris wants to expand the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, by limiting out-of-pocket costs for Americans.

“We need a president who actually cares about the millions of people all across this country who wake up every day to do the essential, often thankless work to care for our sick and clean our streets and deliver our packages and stand up for their rights to bargain for better wages and working conditions,” he said.

“And Kamala can be that president. Yes, she can,” he said, calling back to his popular campaign catchphrase.

Chants of “yes she can” erupted in the crowd.

Tuesday’s speech was Obama’s first public appearance since he had a private role in some of the pressure on Biden to drop out of the race last month and pass the torch to Harris. Within a week of her candidacy, both Obama and his wife, Michelle, endorsed the vice president.

Obama made a plea for unity of a country that feels “bitter and divided,” arguing that the joy around the Harris campaign has made him believe Americans want something better than the divided nation. He called for “a return to an America where we work together and look out for each other.”

The 44th president followed a powerful speech by his wife, who introduced him. And he walked on stage to U2’s “City of Blinding Lights,” which was his 2008 campaign song. The crowd held up “vote” signs.

Obama opened his speech, happy to be home, and noting the mood, using another campaign callback. 

“I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling fired up. I am feeling ready to go, even if — even if I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama. I am feeling hopeful, because this convention has always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe that anything is possible,” he said.

He started by praising Biden, saying the two “become brothers” and that he admires Biden for his empathy, decency and unshakable belief that everyone in the U.S. deserves a fair shot.

He hailed Biden for taking the U.S. out of the COVID-19 pandemic, creating jobs, cutting health care costs, and for being a steady leader who brought people together.

“History will remember Joe Biden as an outstanding president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger, and I am proud to call him my president — but I am even prouder to call him my friend,” he said, and the crowd chanted, “Thank you, Joe.”