CHARLOTTE – “Imagine it’s January 20, 2025. It is also Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And a Black woman is holding the Frederick Douglass bible. Her name – Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. And placing her hand on that bible is another black woman – Kamala Harris.”
It was powerful imagery by Jamie Harrison, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Harrison was one of many speakers at the Charlotte Convention Center to introduce former President Barack Obama on Friday, October 25 in front of a crowd of several thousand supporters.
“Kamala Harris will be sworn in, and she will vow to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Harris said. It was a sharp contrast to the words of Donald Trump, who called for the termination of the Constitution to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
“What MAGA means is that the greatness of America is in our past. We believe it’s in our future,” Harrison said.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder followed Harrison and talked about the danger of the Trump agenda – Project 2025.
“Imagine Donald Trump back in power,” Holder said. “He would weaponize the Justice Department. He has installed a Supreme Court that thinks it’s OK for the president to violate federal law. He has a fascination with Hitler. This is the kind of America we would have under a second Trump presidency.”
Holder spoke of the importance of voting, reminding the crowd of the sacrifices of our ancestors, who fought and died so we could have the right to vote.
“Tim and Kamala are fighting the fights that matter,” Holder said. “We are not just going to save Democracy; we have the ability to enhance democracy.”
Following Holder was NC Attorney General and Democratic candidate for Governor Josh Stein, who still holds a double-digit lead in the polls over the Republican candidate, Mark Robinson.
“We didn’t need the CNN story to know that Robinson is unfit for Governor,” Stein said. He reminded the crowd that Trump endorsed Robinson, despite Trump’s attempt to distance himself from Robinson since the CNN story aired in September.
“The Republican vision is one of division, violence, and hate,” Stein said, drawing a parallel between his race and the presidential race.
“The stakes could not be higher, and the choice could not be clearer,” Stein said.
When Barack Obama finally took the stage, the expected thunderous applause occurred. The former president then energized a crowd with a critique of Donald Trump that managed to be both funny and serious.
“This man is a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down that escalator,” Obama said. “He wants to sell you stuff, like gold sneakers and Trump bibles. His behavior has become so commonplace that people don’t take it seriously. But that doesn’t mean that a second Trump presidency would not be dangerous.”
Obama talked about Trump’s “concepts of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act, his plans to use the military against “the enemy within”, and his fascination with Hitler.
“When I was president, a lot of people disagreed with me,” Obama said. “It doesn’t mean you go after them, to try and use the military to do your bidding. This is a democracy.”
He talked about how Trump is taking credit for the economy he (Obama) created; his plan to give tax cuts to billionaires, and if elected, how he will surround himself with people as wacky as he is.
“People who know him best, people who served under him say how dangerous he is,” Obama said. He also made a point to emphasize one of the most dangerous things Trump, and his running mate JD Vance, continue to do during their rallies – blame immigrants for everything.
“We are a nation of immigrants, so unless you are Native American, everyone in this country came from somewhere else,” Obama said.
“He thinks rounding up and deporting people is the answer to everything,” Obama said. “His plan is mean and ugly.” He acknowledged the border crisis is real but said Trump’s solution, and the way he plans to execute it, is not the way to solve the crisis. (During Obama’s tenure as president, he deported illegal immigrants, but never presented that action as the way to solve all the problems in the US, nor did he depict all immigrants – legal or otherwise – as criminals, murderers, or people from insane asylums, as Trump does.)
He then launched into a spirited endorsement of Kamala Harris and her qualifications to be the next president. He talked about her accomplishments as a prosecutor, Attorney General, Senator, and Vice President, and said she was more than ready to become the next President.
“Elections are not just about policies, they are about character, Obama said. “We need a leader who sees you and cares about you and thinks about you. Leaders don’t need to be perfect; they need to care.”
Obama also stumped for Stein to become the next Governor and Mo Green to become the next Superintendent of Schools, taking a moment to remind the audience that Stein’s opponent referred to himself as a “Black Nazi”, and Green’s opponent, Michelle Morrow, said that Obama should face a firing squad. He talked about how Trump ignored the pandemic playbook he and his staff put together, and how Trump’s poor response to COVID caused the needless deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
“We need a President who cares about solving problems,” Obama said. “We have people with the kind of character we need to lead us. We don’t need four years of a would-be king. Kamala Harris has spent her life fighting for people. She knows and cares what people are going through. If you elect Kamala and Tim, they will be focused on you.”
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Carla Peay
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