Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama delivered resounding and forceful endorsements of Kamala Harris on Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention, exhorting party supporters across the country to turn out and vote to defeat Donald Trump in November. The couple, the Democratic Party's most popular figures, praised Ms Harris in back-to-back speeches, describing her as a leader prepared for the Oval Office, while also excoriating Trump as a president whose tenure was marked by "bluster and chaos". "America is ready for a new chapter.
America is ready for a better story," Mr Obama said. "We are ready for a President Kamala Harris. And Kamala Harris is ready for the job.
" But the Obamas also warned their party not to lose sight of what remains an extremely tight race amid the enthusiasm for Ms Harris's campaign, stressing the election would be decided in a handful of key swing states. "Make no mistake, it will be a fight,” Mr Obama said. Michelle Obama stressed the point further.
"We need to vote in numbers that erase any doubt," she said. "We need to overwhelm any effort to suppress us." The Obamas' appeal to Democrats to turn out in November exposed a deeper party anxiety about the narrow race between Ms Harris and Mr Trump, who retains a tight hold on his loyal base of supporters across the country.
Ms Harris has a narrow lead in national polling averages but pollsters caution that the race remains a virtual tie in the handful of battle.