Obama says Trump never took presidency 'seriously'

WILMINGTON, United States, August 23 ------ Kamala Harris was set to accept the Democratic nomination for vice president Wednesday with an appeal for national unity after what she said had been US President Donald Trump's deadly "failure of leadership." Accusing Trump of turning "our tragedies into political weapons," Harris will call on Americans to vote for Joe Biden, "a president who will bring all of us together."

"Donald Trump's failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods," she said, according to excerpts of the speech released earlier. "We're at an inflection point." Harris is making history as the first black woman on a major party's White House ticket. If Biden defeats Trump on November 3, she would likewise become the first female vice president in US history. America's first black president, Barack Obama, was also set to attack Trump as a failure during his speech on the third night of the all-online Democratic convention.

Obama said that on handing over the White House to Trump in 2017, he thought the Republican "might show some interest in taking the job seriously; that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care." "But he never did," Obama said, according to excerpts of his speech released early. As a result, Trump has left America's "worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before," Obama said. Trump responded by telling reporters that Obama had been "a terrible president."

Third night line-up

Former first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Trump, will also address the convention, which has been forced due to coronavirus safety measures to be staged entirely online and on television. Others on the night's program include Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who unsuccessfully challenged Biden for the nomination, and Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives.

Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who has become a gun control advocate after being shot and severely wounded in a 2011 assassination attempt, is also scheduled to speak along with Emma Gonzalez, a survivor of the Parkland school shooting. Young activists are to address the dangers of climate change and a Hispanic family is to discuss the contributions of immigrants to America. Much focus will be on Obama. He took a back seat during the Democratic primaries but is now throwing his still considerable sway behind Biden's campaign. "Tonight, I am asking you to believe in Joe and Kamala's ability to lead this country out of dark times and build it back better," he was set to say in his upcoming speech.

Source: philstar.com