The US is ready for a new chapter with "President Kamala Harris," former President Barack Obama said Tuesday when he took the stage at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, in a show of support for the party's candidate for the White House.
"America is ready for a new chapter. America's ready for a better story," he told the crowd.
Describing Harris, he said she "was not born into privilege" and highlighted her history as a prosecutor going after big banks and child sex abusers.
Obama promised Democrats that Harris will be "focused" on their problems and "work on behalf of every American."
"Yes, she can!" the crowd chanted as Obama called on Democrats to elect Harris as the next president of the US.
Obama said that Harris's running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is an "outstanding partner" who is "the kind of person who should be in politics -- somebody who was born in a small town, served his country, taught kids, coached football and took care of his neighbors."
Obama also blasted Harris's Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump, saying that he is "dangerous."
"The truth is, Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than a means to his ends. He wants the middle class to pay the price for another huge tax cut that would mostly help him and his rich friends," he continued.
"He doesn't seem to care if more women lose their reproductive freedoms since it won't affect his life."
Obama said history will remember Joe Biden as a president who "defended democracy at a moment of great danger" while also highlighting the Biden administration's accomplishments, including on the economy and heath care.
"And at a time when the other party had turned into a cult of personality, we needed a leader who was steady and brought people together and was selfless enough to do the rarest thing there is in politics: putting his own ambition aside for the sake of the country," he said.
Obama said the rest of the world is watching the US's November election to see "if we can actually pull it off."
"No nation, no society has ever tried to build a democracy as big and diverse as ours before-one where our allegiances and our community are defined not by race or blood, but by a common creed," he said.
"That's why when we uphold our values, the world's a little brighter. When we don't, the world's a little dimmer, dictators and autocrats feel emboldened, and over time we become less safe."
Although Obama thinks America "shouldn't be the world's policeman," he said it "can be, must be, a force for good-discouraging conflict, fighting disease, promoting human rights, protecting the planet from climate change, defending freedom."
"That's what Kamala Harris believes-and so do most Americans," he added.
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