President Barack Obama compared Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to terrorists, lumping him and his supporters with the worst elements of society, during his speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia Wednesday.
During his speech, Obama spoke about the greatness of democracy and the American people, before insisting that Trump would fail.
“That’s why anyone who threatens our values, whether fascists or communists or jihadis or home-grown demagogues will always fail in the end,” he said.
The president painted Trump as a “self-declared” dictator who preyed on people’s fears and tried to divide the country.
“Our power doesn’t come from some self-declared savior promising that he alone can restore order as long as we do things his way,” he said. “We don’t look to be ruled.”
He also argued that America was still great, after two terms of his presidency.
“America is already great. America is already strong,” Obama said, adding that America’s greatness “does not depend on Donald Trump.”
Obama insisted that Trump had turned the Republican party into something else entirely, insisting that the party convention last week wasn’t Republican and “sure wasn’t conservative.”
Citing illegal immigration, Obama appeared to excuse illegals for flouting immigration laws to come to America.
“The American Dream is something no wall will ever contain,” he said.
The president also dismissed the idea that race relations between African-Americans and police officers were getting worse, citing “festered” problems that had gone on for decades.
He urged Americans to ignore Trump’s message, calling the upcoming election a serious choice.
“This is a more fundamental choice of who we are as a people,” he said.
Obama’s voice was slightly raspy as he spoke about the achievements of his two terms as president, after taking the stage to his old campaign song “City of Blinding Lights” by U2, as delegates shouted “Yes We Can!” recalling when thousands of Democrats chose him over Hillary Clinton in 2008.
He acknowledged that he beat Clinton in 2008 even though she was “doing everything that I was doing, but just like Ginger Rogers, it was backwards, and in heels.”
“I was worn out,” he admitted, pointing out that Clinton kept fighting back throughout the divisive primary.
On foreign policy, Obama admitted that the fight against Islamic State terrorism wasn’t finished, and that Clinton would take over his unfinished work.
“I know Hillary won’t relent until ISIL is destroyed,” he said. “She will finish the job and she will do it without resorting to torture or banning entire religions from entering our country.”
Obama recalled his 2004 speech that catapulted his national rise to power, saying that he was “filled with faith” in the American people.
He championed his legacy, insisting that he had saved the American economy and successfully passed health care reform, and he bragged once again that he killed Osama Bin Laden. Obama also praised his own achievement of the nuclear deal with Iran and opening up relations with Cuba.
Amid chants of “Yes we can!” and “Four more years!” from the Democratic audience, Obama urged them to “carry Hillary to victory.”
“I’m ready to pass the baton and do my part as a private citizen, so this year in this election,” he said, “I’m asking you to join me to reject cynicism and reject fear and to summon what is best in us to elect Hillary Clinton as the next president of the United States,” he concluded.