I have one more job tonight yeah one more job you all thank you for all the love but it is now my honor to introduce somebody who knows a whole lot about hope someone who has spent his life strengthening our democracy and let me tell you as someone who lives with him he wakes up every day every day and thinks about what's best for this country please welcome America's 44th president and the love of my life Barack Obama introducing her husband former president Barack Obama and the Embrace on stage the former first lady saying don't wait for an official call from any campaign and said consider this my official ask Michelle Obama is asking you to do something in her words to play a role in this democracy many probably asking how will the former president beat the former first lady and her performance let's [Applause] [Music] listen thank you thank you thank you everybody thank you thank you all right all right all right that's enough thank you thank you Chicago it's good to be home it is good to be home and I I don't know about you but I'm feeling fired up I I I am feeling ready to go even if even if I am the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle [Applause] Obama I am feeling hopeful because this convention has always been pretty good to kids with funny names who believe in a country where anything is possible because we have a chance to elect someone who has spent her entire life trying to give people the same chances America gave her someone who sees you and hears you and we'll get up every single day and fight for you the next president of the United States of America KLA Harris it's been 16 years since I had the honor of accepting this party's nomination for president and I I know that's hard to believe because I have not aged a bit but it's true and and looking back I can say without question that my first big decision as your nominee turned out to be one of my best and that was asking Joe Biden to serve by my side as vice president um other other than some common Irish blood Joe and I come from different backgrounds but we became brothers and as we worked together for eight sometimes pretty tough years what I came to admire most about Joe wasn't just as smarts his experience it was his empathy and his decency and his hard earned resilience his unshakable belief that everyone in this country deserves a fair shot and over the last four years those are the values America has needed most at a time when millions of our fellow citizens were sick and dying we needed a leader with the character to put politics aside and do what was right at a time when our economy was reeling we needed a leader with the determination to drive what would become the world's strongest recovery 15 million jobs higher wages lower healthare costs 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 history will remember Joe Biden as an outstanding president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger and I am proud to call him my president but I am even prouder to call him my friend [Applause] now the torch has been passed now it is up to all of us to fight for the America we believe in and make no mistake it will be a fight for all the incredible energy we've been able to generate over the last few weeks for all the rallies and the memes this will still be a tight race in a closely divided country a country where too many Americans are still struggling where a lot of Americans don't believe government can help and As We Gather here tonight the people who will decide this election are asking a very simple question who will fight for me who's thinking about my future about my children's future about our future together one thing is for certain Donald Trump is not losing sleep over that [Applause] question here's a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he wrote down his golden escalator nine years ago it has been a constant stream of of gripes and grievances that that's actually been getting worse now that he's afraid of losing to Comm there's the childish nicknames the crazy conspiracy theories this weird obsession with crowd [Applause] sizes it just goes on and on and on the other day I heard someone compare Trump to the neighbor who keeps running his leaf blower outside your window every minute of every day now from a neighbor that's exhausting from a president it's just dangerous the the the truth is Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than it 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 killed a bipartisan immigration deal written in part by one of the most conservative republicans in Congress that would have helped secure our Southern border because he thought trying to actually solve the problem would hurt his campaign he doesn't do not boo vote he doesn't seem to care if more women lose their reproductive Freedom since it won't affect his life and most of all Donald Trump wants us to think that this country is hopelessly divided between us and Them between The Real Americans who of course support him and The Outsiders who don't and he wants you to think that you'll be richer and safer if you will just give him the power to put those other people back in their place it it is one of the oldest tricks in politics from a guy whose act has let's face it gotten pretty stale [Applause] we do not need four more years of Bluster and bumbling and Chaos we have seen that movie before and we all know that the sequel is usually worse America's ready for a new chapter America's ready for a better story we are ready for a president Comm Harris and KLA Harris is ready for the job this is a person who has spent her life fighting on behalf of people who need a voice and a champion as you heard from Michelle kamla was not born into privilege she had work for what she's got and she actually cares about what other people are going through she's not the neighbor running the leaf blower she's the neighbor rushing over to help when you need a hand as a prosecutor KLA stood up for children who had been victims of sexual abuse as an attorney general of the most populous state in the country she fought big Banks and for profit colleges securing billions of dollars for the people they had scammed after the Home Mortgage crisis she pushed me and my Administration hard to make sure homeowners got a fair settlement didn't matter that I was a Democrat didn't matter that she had knocked on doors for my campaign in Iowa she was going to fight to get as much relief as possible for the families who deserved it as vice president she helped take on the drug companies to cap the cost of insulin lower the cost of Health Care give families with kids a tax cut and she is running for president with real plans to lower costs even more and protect Medicare and Medicaid and sign a law to guarantee every woman's right to make her own health care decisions in other words KLA Harris won't be focused on her problems she'll be focused on yours as president she won't just cater to her own supporters and punish those who refuse to kiss the ring or bend the knee she'll work on behalf of every American that's who kamla is and in the white house she will have an outstanding partner in Governor Tim walz let me tell you something let me let me tell you something I love this guy Tim is the kind of person and who should be in politics born in a small town served his country taught kids coached football took care of his neighbors he knows who he is and he knows what's important you can tell those those flannel shirts he wears don't come from some political consultant they come from his closet and they have been through some stuff they have been through some stuff that's right together kamla and Tim have kept Faith with America's Central story a story that says we are all created equal all of us endowed with certain liable rights that everyone deserves a chance that even when we don't agree with each other we can find a way to live with each other that's comm's Vision that's Tim's Vision that's the Democratic party's vision and our job over the next 11 weeks is to convince as many people as possible to vote for that vision now it won't be easy the other side knows it's easier to play on people's fears and cynicism always has been they will tell you that government is inherently corrupt that that sacrifice and generosity are for suckers and since the game is rigged it's okay to take what you want and just look after your own that's the easy path we have a different task our job is to convince people that democracy can actually deliver and and in doing that we can't just point to what we've already accomplished we can't just rely on the ideas of the past we need to chart a new way forward to meet the challenges of today and kamla understands this she knows for example that if we want to make it easier for more young people to buy a home we need to build more units and clear away some of the outdated laws and regulations that made it harder to build homes for working people in this country that is a priority and she's put out a bold new plan to you just that on healthc care we should all be proud of the enormous progress that we've made through the afford aable Care Act providing millions of people access to Affordable coverage protecting Millions more from unscrupulous Insurance practices and I noticed by the way that since it's become popular they don't call it Obamacare no more but kamla knows we can't stop there which is why she'll keep working to limit out of pocket costs commin knows that if we want to help people get ahead we need to put a college degree Within Reach of more Americans but but she also knows College shouldn't be the only ticket to the middle class we need to follow the lead of Governors like Tim Walls who said if you've got the skills and the drive you shouldn't need a degree to work for state government and in this new economy we need a president who actually cares about the millions of people all across this country who wake up every single day to do the essential often thankless work to care for our sick to clean our streets to deliver our packages we need a president who will stand up for their rights to bargain for better wages and working conditions and kamla will be that [Applause] President yes she can yes she can yes she can yes she can a Harris Waltz Administration can help us move past some of the tired old debates that keep stifling progress because at their core KL and Tim understand that when everybody gets a fair shot we are all better off they understand that when every child gets a good education the whole economy gets stronger when women are paid the same as men for doing the same job All Families benefit they understand that we can secure our borders without tearing kids away from their parents just like we can keep our streets safe while also building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve and eliminate bias that will make it better for everybody Donald Trump and his well-healed donors they don't see the world that way for them one group's gains is necessarily another group's loss for them Freedom means that the powerful can do pretty much what they please whether it's firew workers trying to organize a union or put poison in our rivers or avoid paying taxes like everybody else has to do well we have a broader idea of freedom we believe in the freedom to provide for your family if you're willing to work hard the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water and send your kids to school without worrying if they'll come home we believe that true Freedom gives each of us the right to make decisions about our own life how we worship what our family looks like how many kids we have who we marry and we believe that freedom requires us to recognize that other people have the freedom to make choices that are different than ours that's okay that's the America KLA Harris and Tim Walls believe in an America Where We the People includes everyone because that's the only way this American experiment works and despite what our politics might suggest I think most Americans understand that democracy isn't just a bunch of abstract principles and and and dusty laws in in some book somewhere it's the values we live by it's the way we treat each other including those who don't look like us or pray like us or see the world exactly like we do that that sense of mutual respect has to be part of our message our politics have become so polarized these days that all of us across the political Spectrum seem so quick to assume the worst in others unless they agree with us on every single issue we we start thinking that the only way to win is to scold and shame and out yell the other side and after a while regular folks just tune out or they don't bother to vote now that approach may work for the politicians who just want attention and thrive on division but it won't work for us to make progress on the things we care about the things that really affect people's lives we we need to remember that we've all got our blind spots and contradictions and and prejudices and that if we want to win over those who aren't yet ready to support our candidates we need to listen to their concerns and maybe learn something in the process a after all if a parent or grandparent occasionally says something that makes us cringe we we don't automatically assume they're bad people we recognize that the world is moving fast that they need time and maybe a little encouragement to catch up our fellow citizens deserve the same Grace we hope they'll extend to us that's how we can build a true Democratic majority one that can get things done and by the way that does not just matter to the people in this country the rest of the world is watching to see if we can actually pull this off no Nation no Society has ever tried to build a democracy as big and as diverse as ours before one that includes people that over decades have come from every corner of the globe one where our allegiances and our community are defined not by race or blood but by a common Creed and that's why when we uphold our values the world's a little brighter when we don't the world's a little dimmer and dictators and autocrats feel emboldened and over time we become less safe we shouldn't be the world's policemen and we can't eradicate every cruelty and Injustice in the world but America can be and must be a force for good discouraging conflict fighting disease promoting human rights protecting the planet from climate change defending Freedom brokering peace that's what KLA Harris believes and so do most Americans now all [Applause] I I I I I I know these ideas can feel pretty naive right now we live in a time of such confusion and ranker with a culture that puts a premium on things that don't last money Fame status likes we chase the approval of strangers on our phones we build all manner of walls and fences around ourselves and then we wonder why we feel so alone we don't trust each other as much because we don't take the time to know each other and in that space between us politicians and algorithms teach us to caricature each other and troll each other and fear each other but here's the good news Chicago all across America in big cities and small towns away from all the noise the ties that bind us together are still there we still coach little league and look out for our elderly neighbors we still feed the hungry in churches and mosques and synagogues and temples we share the same Pride when our Olympic athletes compete for the gold because because the vast majority of us do not want to live in a country that's bitter and divided we want something better we want to be better and the joy and the excitement that we're seeing around this camp campaign tells us we're not alone you know I've spent a lot of time thinking about this these past few months because as Michelle mentioned uh this summer we lost her mom Miss Mary and Robinson and I don't know that anybody has ever loved their mother-in-law any more than I love mine mostly it's because she she was funny and wise and the least pretentious person I knew that and she always defended me with Michelle when I messed up I'd hide behind her but I also think one of the reasons Mary and I became so close was she reminded me of my grandmother the woman who helped raise me as a child and on the surface the two of them did not have a lot in common one was a black woman from right here souths side of Chicago right down the way went to Anglewood High School the other was a little old white lady born in a tiny town called Peru Kansas now I know there aren't that many people from per and yet they shared a basic outlook on life they were strong smart resourceful women full of Common Sense who regardless of the barriers they encountered and women growing up in the 40s and 50s and sick they they encountered barriers they still went about their business without fuss or complaint and provided an unshakable Foundation of love for their children and their grandchildren in that sense they both represented an entire generation of working people who through war and depression discrimination and limited opportunity helped build this this country a lot of them toiled every day at jobs that were often too small for them and didn't pay a lot they willingly went without just to keep a roof over their fam's heads just to give their children something better but they knew what was true They Knew What mattered things like honesty and integrity kindness and hard [Music] work they weren't they weren't impressed with brags or bullies they they they they didn't think putting other people down lifted you up or made you strong they didn't spend a lot of time obsessing about what they didn't have instead they appreciated what they did they they they they found pleasure in simple things a card game with friends a good meal and laughter around the kitchen table helping others and most of all seeing their children do things and go places that they would have never imagined for themselves whether you are a Democrat or a Republican or somewhere in between we have all had people like that in our lives people like comma parents who crossed oceans because they believed in the promise of America people like Tim's parents who taught him about the importance of service good hardworking people who weren't famous or powerful but who managed in countless ways to lead this country just a little bit better than they found it as much as any policy or program I believe that's what we yearn for a return to an America where we work together and look out for each other a restoration of what Lincoln called on the eve of Civil War are bonds of affection an America that Taps what he called the better angels of our nature that is what this election is about and I believe that's why if we each do our part over the next 77 days if we knock on doors if we make phone calls if we talk to our friends if we listen to our neighbors if we work like we've never worked before if we hold firm to our convictions we will elect KLA Harris as the next president of the United States and Tim Walls as the next Vice President of the United States we will elect leaders up and down the ballot who will fight for the hopeful forward-looking America we all believe in and together we too will build a country that is more secure and more just more equal and more free so let's get to work God bless you and God bless you the United States of America