What's At Stake

Watch the Obama speech that Professor Laurence Tribe calls "the best of his career."

President Obama praised Joe Biden last night. He hailed Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris as his running mate. But above all, he delivered a warning: that Trump, already a lazy, incompetent, criminal disaster as President, was now an existential threat to U.S. democracy.

Laurence Tribe asks that you “listen to every word” and “take heed.” So please do that. You can watch the full speech above. Or read the full transcript here.

Here are a couple of excerpts:

“They can’t win you over with their policies.”

This president and those in power—those who benefit from keeping things the way they are—they are counting on your cynicism. They know they can’t win you over with their policies. So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter. That’s how they win. That’s how they get to keep making decisions that affect your life, and the lives of the people you love. That’s how the economy will keep getting skewed to the wealthy and well-connected, how our health systems will let more people fall through the cracks. That’s how a democracy withers, until it’s no democracy at all.

We can’t let that happen. Do not let them take away your power. Don’t let them take away your democracy. Make a plan right now for how you’re going to get involved and vote. Do it as early as you can and tell your family and friends how they can vote too. Do what Americans have done for over two centuries when faced with even tougher times than this—all those quiet heroes who found the courage to keep marching, keep pushing in the face of hardship and injustice.

Trump “will tear our democracy down” to win

This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win. So we have to get busy building it up—by pouring all our effort into these 76 days, and by voting like never before—for Joe and Kamala, and candidates up and down the ticket, so that we leave no doubt about what this country we love stands for—today and for all our days to come.

On MSNBC, Nicolle Wallace called Obama’s speech “one for the ages…. it’s something we’ll be talking about for a really long time.”

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