CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton returned Wednesday to a place he knows well, the Democratic National Convention stage, to denounce Donald Trump as selfish and praise Kamala Harris as focused on the needs of Americans — firing up his party with his trademark off-the-cuff flourishes.
Clinton was meant to add heft to a third DNC night headlined by vice presidential nominee Tim Walz‘s introduction to a national audience.
“We’ve got a pretty clear choice it seems to me. Kamala Harris, for the people. And the other guy who has proved, even more than the first go-around, that he’s about me, myself and I,” Clinton said.
Democrats are hoping to build on the momentum Harris has brought since taking over the top of the party’s presidential ticket last month. They want to harness the exuberance that has swept over their party since President Joe Biden stepped aside while also making clear to their supporters that they face a fierce battle with Trump.
The nation’s 42nd president and a veteran of his party’s political convention going back decades, Clinton was once declared the “secretary of explaining stuff” by Barack Obama, whose reelection bid in 2012 was bolstered by a Clinton stemwinder at that year’s DNC.
Now 78 — the same age as Trump — Clinton’s delivery was sometimes halting, his movements slower and he mispronounced Harris’ first name twice. His left hand often shook when he wasn’t using it to grip the lectern.
Still, he delivered several homespun lines about the election during a 27-minute speech and urged Democrats to back Harris.
“What does her opponent do with his voice? He mostly talks about himself,” Clinton said. “So the next time you hear him, don’t count the lies, count the I’s.”
Of the Harris-Walz ticket, Clinton implored delegates, “If you vote for this team, if you can get them elected and let them bring in this breath of fresh air, you will be proud of it for the rest of your life.”
“Your children will be proud of it,” he said. “Your grandchildren will be proud of it.”