Bill Clinton has done this before. Dubbed by Barack Obama as the “secretary of explaining stuff,” the former President greeted a familiar crowd Wednesday night when he addressed the Democratic National Convention for the 12th time. Clinton’s speech was at once a generational torch-passing to Kamala Harris and a warning about Donald Trump’s possible return to the White House. He described Harris as “the only candidate in this race with the vision, the experience, the temperament, the will, and yes, the sheer joy to do that on good days and bad days.”
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Clinton has been an effective surrogate for past nominees; he delivered a tour de force for Obama at the 2012 confab in Charlotte. To Democrats, Clinton offers an opportunity now to persuade white working-class voters to support Harris in the “blue wall” states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania—all three of which he won in his 1992 and 1996 campaigns.
Early in his remarks, Clinton sought to brandish Harris’ blue collar bona fides by invoking her stint working at McDonald’s as a student. “I’m so happy when she actually enters the White House because, at last, she’ll break my record as the President who has spent the most time at McDonald’s,” he said, poking fun at his reputation as a regular at the fast-food chain.
Speaking before tens of thousands of delegates at Chicago’s United Center, Clinton drew a stark contrast between the two candidates. “In 2024, we have a clear choice: ‘We the people’ versus ‘me, myself, and I,’” he said. “I know which one I like better for our country.”
He called Trump a “paragon of consistency” who, after eight years as a force in American politics, is “still dividing, blaming, and belittling. He creates and curates chaos. It’s showmanship, but it’s not leadership.” He also castigated Trump as self-interested. “The next time you hear him, don’t count the lies—count the I’s.”
A shrewd explainer of complex policy issues, Clinton largely avoided delving into the details of Harris’ agenda, but said she would deliver “more affordable housing, affordable health care, and affordable childcare,” as well as “more financing for small businesses.” At the same time, he said, Harris would be a steward of maintaining America’s role as the indispensable global superpower. “Do you want to strengthen our alliances and stand up for freedom and democracy around the world?” Clinton asked. “Or a tribute to the ‘late great’ Hannibal Lecter?”
Toward the end of his speech, Clinton encouraged his fellow Democrats to reach out to undecided Americans with empathy and compassion. “Talk to your neighbors,” he said. “Meet people where they are. Don’t demean them. Ask them for their help.” In that vein, Clinton warned the party against the complacency many felt when his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, lost to Trump in 2016.
Multiple recent polls show Harris with at least a 3% edge over Trump nationally, while a New York Times/Siena College survey published over the weekend shows her gaining ground in critical swing states. But it still remains a close race that many are expecting to be a nail-biter. Clinton encouraged Democrats to prepare for an ugly road ahead but to leave nothing to chance. “If America hires Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,” he said, “we will never regret it.”
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