The second night of the Democratic National Convention brought massive crowds and high energy as the party welcomed former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama to the stage.
They headlined a second night of the convention that also featured second gentleman Doug Emoff.
Here are five of the night’s most memorable moments.
Michelle Obama’s speech was the night’s highlight for many, and she left a Democratic crown enthralled with attacks on former President Trump.
The biggest moment in her address was when Obama zeroed in on comments Trump made during his debate against Biden earlier this year in which he claimed immigrants were taking “Black jobs.”
“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us,” Obama said, referring to herself and her husband. “His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black.”
“By the way — Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those “Black jobs?’” she said.
Obama garnered roaring applause throughout her remarks, but the Black jobs moment might have been the bggest.
Barack Obama, known as one of the greatest presidential orators in U.S. history, joked that he was in the unenviable position of having to speak after his wife.
One night after President Biden effectively passed the torch to Harris in his remarks at the convention, Obama made a point to pay tribute to his former vice president.
“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 his 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,” Obama said.
At one point when Obama was referencing Biden, the crowd broke into chants of “thank you, Joe.”
Obama also touched on Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race, saying it was an example of him “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,” he said.
The convention’s roll call resembled a dance party rather than a roll call of all 50 states at a major party’s nominating convention.
Led by DJ Cassidy on stage, every state delivered their delegates to Harris with their own theme songs.
Alabama predictably played “Sweet Home Alabama,” while New Jersey paid homage to Bruce Springsteen with “Born in the U.S.A.”
A number of celebrities made appearances throughout the roll call, including Lil Jon, who hails from Atlanta and came out from the stands to “Turn down for what” during Georgia’s vote.
“Suits” actor Wendell Pierce appeared with Louisiana’s delegation while director Spike Lee stood with New York’s delegation.
Harris was nominated on Aug. 6 through a virtual roll call vote, making Tuesday’s vote symbolic in nature. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) notably delivered the delegates of Harris’s home state to her during the vote.
Emoff recounted during his address how he was set up with Harris on a blind date in 2013.
Emoff recalled how after a “contentious client meeting” “the now-happy client” offered to set him up on a blind date.
“Which is how I ended up with Kamala Harris’s phone number,” Emoff exclaimed.
Emoff said he first dialed Harris’s number at 8:30 a.m. one morning and left a “rambling” voicemail.
“By the way, Kamala saved that voicemail and she makes me listen to it every anniversary,” he said.
Toward his remarks, Emoff noted that Thursday will mark the couple’s tenth wedding anniversary.
“Which means I’m about to hear the most embarrassing voice mail of my life again,” he said. “But that’s not all I’ll be hearing. The same night, I’ll be hearing my wife Kamala Harris accept your nomination for president of the United States.”
Trump’s former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham took to the stage to hit the former president in front the large Democratic crowd.
“I wasn’t just a Trump supporter, I was a true believer. I was one of his closest advisers,” Grisham said.
“Behind closed doors, Trump mocks his supporters. He calls them ‘basement dwellers,’” she said. “He has no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth.”
