© Quartz/KJNFormer president Barack Obama
Former President Barack Obama criticized President Donald Trump during his Wednesday address at the Democratic National Convention, saying Trump has "no interest" in living up to the expectations of American citizens.
Obama came as the penultimate address of the
DNC's third night, just before Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris. Obama argued Trump has failed to lead the U.S. amid the coronavirus, has threatened the right to vote ahead of the November election, and has failed to live up to the decency of the office of president.
"Donald Trump hasn't grown into the job because he can't," Obama said. "This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that's what it takes to win, so we've got to get busy."
Obama's speech also leaned into a larger message from the DNC's night, urging Americans to vote early by mail if possible, as well as to vote in person. He urged Americans who may be feeling disaffected with the political system to trust it and remember the sacrifices made by earlier civil rights activists under far worse circumstances.
Trump responded to Obama's speech live on Twitter, hitting the former president for revelations regarding the FBI's investigation into Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump also pointed to
Obama's seeming reluctance to endorse Biden's presidential run in the early days of the Democratic primary.
Biden also hit Trump during Obama's speech, quoting the former president's words in reaction to Trump's tweet.
Obama's address was followed soon after by Harris.
Comment: Trump has redefined the job on his own terms. Tear downs for any construct are necessary if they are outdated, misused, or corrupted - regardless of style. In the least, Trump has shaken up complacency and in doing so, has exposed the underbelly of political status quo. There's something to be said for that...
Twitter responds with fawning reactions from supporters, who dubbed the talk "spell-binding," "expertly delivered" and "truly presidential."
Some observers noted that Obama's speech departed from his typical "uplifting promises of hope and change," however, instead focusing on "negativity" and "complaints."
Bitter Hillary gives Americans a warning: Trump and foreign adversaries could again steal the election...
Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton again sounded alarms about election-meddling "foreign adversaries" in her speech to the Democratic convention, while urging voters to take revenge for her bitter 2016 loss to Donald Trump.
Mainstream media showed its bias in the coverage of the convention - describing how Obama "torches Trump like American democracy depends on it". Grab your sick bag...:
Politico's Ryan Lizza was digging out the thesaurus to lavish Obama with superlatives.
Rubin, supposedly the Post's "conservative" blogger, declared that the entire convention was on par with a "superb mini-series," and worthy of an Emmy award.
The Republican Party's own convention kicks off on Monday, but even if the chattering classes have any tears left after this week's affair, it's extremely unlikely that they'll treat the GOP to the same level of sycophantic adulation.
It's also unlikely that viewers felt quite the same way. Biden does lead Trump in most polls, but ratings for the virtual convention are already coming in substantially below those of previous years.
Yeah, yeah, yeah... Whatever.