Obama Compares Trump To An Annoying Neighbor With Leaf Blower, Tells DNC 'America's Ready For A New Chapter'

Former President Barack Obama took aim at his successor Donald Trump during his Tuesday night Democratic National Convention (DNC) speech, while also providing praise for President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election.

What Happened: Barack Obama and wife Michelle Obama were among the keynote speakers for the second night of the 2024 DNC in Chicago.

"America is ready for a new chapter. America's ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris," Obama said, as reported by Politico.

Obama said Trump's act has "gotten pretty stale."

"The childish nicknames and crazy conspiracy theories and weird obsession with crowd size. It just goes on and on. The other day, I heard someone compare Trump to the neighbor who keeps running his leaf blower outside your window every minute of every day."

Obama said Harris is the neighbor that rushes over to help "when you need a hand," not the one using the leaf blower.

The former president praised Harris and her running mate Tim Walz as leaders who "have kept faith with America's central story."

Obama contrasted the Democratic Party's idea of freedom with the Republicans, who he said will let the powerful individuals do whatever they please.

With Harris set to potentially become the first female president in American history, Obama shared how his mother and mother-in-law were “strong, smart, resourceful women.” He said Harris has some of the same qualities and can offer stability to the country.

“I believe that's what we yearn for – a return to an America where we work together and look out for each other.”

Speaking about Biden, who served as his vice president for eight years, Obama praised Biden's decision to step aside in the 2024 election.

"We needed a leader who was steady, and brought people together and was selfless enough to do the rarest thing there is in politics: putting his own ambition aside for the sake of the country."

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Why It's Important: Obama's speech marked his first public comments since Biden exited the race. Although Obama didn't openly urge Biden to withdraw, reports suggest the former president was quietly working behind the scenes to support the party.

A report revealed that actor George Clooney spoke with Obama before writing an op-ed in The New York Times urging Biden to step down, which ignited interest from other key figures calling for the same. According to the report, Obama didn't object to the piece being published

The Obamas were two of the most anticipated DNC speakers, which followed Monday night's opening event with key speeches from Biden and Hillary Clinton.

A Benzinga poll found that many readers didn't plan on watching the DNC this week. Monday's DNC primetime coverage drew 20 million viewers from 13 networks according to a report from Deadline. The total comes in ahead of the 18.1 million viewers posted for the first night of the Republican National Convention. The total also topped the 19.75 million viewers the first night of the 2020 DNC.

With appearances from both Biden and Barack Obama, the DNC featured two former presidents speaking in support of Harris, compared to no former presidents speaking at this year's RNC.

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Photo: Courtesy of Matt Johnson and Gage Skidmore on flickr