The sun has set on day three of the Democratic national convention in Philadelphia. Here’s what happened:
- In a wildly applauded appearance interrupted a couple of times by various people shouting “four more years!”, Barack Obama took the stage to ask the country to “do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me”.
- At the end of the speech, Clinton joined the president onstage – her first appearance in person at the convention. The two hugged and the audience cheered a lot.
- Obama said he disagreed with a pessimistic vision of the country’s prospects laid out at the Republican convention last week. He framed Donald Trump as neither a Republican nor a conservative but as a throwback to political doomsayers of old.
- In listing threats to the country, Obama put alongside fascists, communists and jihadists “homegrown demagogues”, certainly a reference to Trump, whom the president said was “not really a facts guy”.
- “Does anyone really believe that a guy who’s spent his 70 years on this Earth showing no regard for working people is suddenly going to be your champion?” Obama said.
- Senator Tim Kaine, Clinton’s running mate, introduced himself to the country and tried out a Trump impression with the refrain: “Believe me!” Everybody said it wasn’t that good but seemed to forgive him for it.
LET HE WHO HAS NOT DONE A TERRIBLE IMPRESSION OF DONALD TRUMP CAST THE FIRST STONE.
— Megan Carpentier (@megancarpentier) July 28, 2016
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Vice-President Joe Biden made a case that Trump wouldn’t look out for the middle class: “He’s trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break. That’s a bunch of malarkey!”
- A few unruly delegates remained. People chanted “no more war” as former defense secretary Leon Panetta spoke. But when Obama tipped his hat to Bernie Sanders, no hand was left unclapped.
- The night saw wrenching testimony from families of victims of gun violence, from Newtown to Orlando. Gabby Giffords gave a heartily cheered speech.
- The night featured Republican criticism of Trump – eg video of Mitt Romney – and a well-received speech from Republican-turned-independent Michael Bloomberg, who told the world that Trump is a con man.
- Multiple speakers hit Trump for asking earlier in the day for Russia to hack Clinton’s emails, in an extraordinary press conference summarized here.
- Award for surprisingly strong performance goes to former candidate Martin O’Malley, who said: “It’s time to put a bully in his place, and a tough woman in hers [pause] – the White House!”
- (He used to write them):
Take about five paragraphs out of that Obama speech and it could have been a Reagan speech. Trust me. I know.
— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) July 28, 2016
