He wants to “pass the torch to a new generation.” A month after giving up the presidential race, Joe Biden officially handed over the role of representing the Democrats to Kamala Harris at the party’s national convention in Chicago, Illinois, on Monday 19. Greeted by a long and deafening ovation, the President of the United States called for “preserving” democracy, pledging to be the “best volunteer” for Kamala Harris’ campaign against Republican Donald Trump, whom he called a “loser” and a “convict.” “We are fighting a battle for the very soul of America,” he proclaimed, while the Vice President wiped her eyes after hailing an “incredible” president to whom Democrats will be “eternally grateful.”
Party activists had expected to campaign without passion for the octogenarian president, who has been mired in the polls after his failed June 27 performance against Donald Trump.. But her withdrawal has revived hope within the Democratic camp, with Kamala Harris having narrowed the gap with her rival in the polls, who is expected to win in many key states such as Georgia and Nevada. Hillary Clinton, the unsuccessful candidate against Donald Trump in 2016, nevertheless reminded at the same convention that nothing was won. “Don’t let yourself be distracted. Don’t be too complacent,” said the former Secretary of State, calling for the “highest, hardest” glass ceiling to be broken for good by electing a woman to lead the United States.
Personal attacks
On the sidelines of the Democratic convention, pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in Chicago to denounce Biden’s support for Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. The US president said that “these protesters who are out in the streets have a case to make,” while recalling that “many innocent people have been killed, on both sides.” Hours before he was set to take the stage, a group of protesters briefly breached the outer security perimeter protecting the venue, before being pushed back by police.
For his part, Donald Trump, who has planned trips to several decisive states this week, began Monday with Pennsylvania. The former Republican president notably attacked Kamala Harris’ “communist” projects, in reference to the birth bonus and the check for the purchase of a home that the Democratic candidate defends. The latter claimed without any proof that she had staged a “putsch” against Joe Biden, but also that she had a “low IQ”, personal attacks that are difficult to accept in his own camp. Many activists say they are “shocked by Trump’s lack of discipline” towards his new opponent., reports Politico, while the Wall Street Journala conservative newspaper, believes that “Trump should remind voters why they rejected Kamala Harris four years ago [quand elle briguait l’investiture démocrate] and not why they rejected him.”
On Tuesday, August 20, former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle Obama will be the stars of the Democratic convention, while Kamala Harris is expected in Wisconsin, one of the announced “swing states” of the November election. She says she is campaigning for the middle classes and women, in opposition to Donald Trump, the candidate who “fights for billionaires and big business,” she criticized.