Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention had several themes. The roster of speakers highlighted several Republicans who support Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump in this year’s election. The night was also a family affair, with grandsons of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter making appearances. However, the highlight came with Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama closing the night in speeches that set the audience and the internet on fire.

‘The job he’s seeking might be one of those Black jobs?’

The former first lady took the stage first, with remarks that echoed the themes by which her husband won in 2008. She informed the crowd about the return of “a familiar feeling that’s been buried too deep for far too long” and announced, “America, hope is making a comeback!”

Obama passed the torch to Harris, saying, “My girl Kamala Harris is more than ready for this moment. She is one of the most qualified people to ever seek the office of the presidency. And she is one of the most dignified.”

But those expecting the “When they go low, we go high” Michelle Obama were in for a surprise as she went after Trump and contrasted him with Harris, noting that Harris understands “most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward” or “benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth,” a clear shot at Trump trying to present himself as a self-made and successful businessman. “If we see a mountain in front of us, we don’t expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top.”

Obama also warned that Republicans would attempt to attack Harris and “distort her truth” the same way “Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear” the Obamas. She called out Trump for being “threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happened to be Black.” In what might be the line of the night, Obama said of Trump, “Who’s gonna tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might be one of those Black jobs?”

‘We all know that the sequel is usually worse.’

Former President Obama closed the night, declaring himself “the only person stupid enough to speak right after Michelle Obama.” After heavily praising his former vice president, Joe Biden, Obama noted how “the torch has been passed” to Kamala Harris and emphasized how important it was for her to defeat Donald Trump. Obama painted Trump as “a 78-year-old billionaire who hasn’t stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago” and, in a verbal and visual double-entendre, roasted Trump for his “childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes.”

When the crowd booed Trump as Obama condemned the former president for killing a bipartisan border bill to help his campaign, Obama brought back an old admonition to the audience: “Do not boo. Vote.”

Obama doubled down and declared, “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.” Instead, he declared, we are “ready for a better story; we are ready for a President Kamala Harris.”

After contrasting what a Biden-Walz administration and another Trump presidency would look like, Obama concluded his speech by telling the audience, “Let’s get to work.”

The Obamas fired up the Democratic crowd like few have done. With everything at stake with this election, we expect to see the former first couple on the campaign trail in the coming months.

Barack ObamaDemocratic National ConventionMichelle Obama