July 21, 2016 will be a historic day in American politics. It is the day Hillary Clinton accepted her party’s nomination to run for president and became the first woman to achieve this feat. The Democratic National Convention held in Philadelphia this week, however, had its fair share of controversies. The most apparent one was Bernie Sanders caving in to vouch for the person he was at loggerheads with for over a year. Not only did this create a furor between Bernie supporters and the establishment, but it also showcased a similar divide in the party we saw last week at the Republican National Convention. Again, the one thing that kept the democratic convention glued together was their common hate for Donald Trump. Speech after speech, the Republican candidate for president was criticized and booed.
President Barack Obama delivered one of the most eloquent speeches I’ve ever heard. He talked about Hillary as a completely different person than the one portrayed by the Republicans and labeled her as a fighter. On Trump, he said, “You know, the Donald is not really a plans guy. He's not really a facts guy, either. He calls himself a business guy, which is true, but I have to say, I know plenty of businessmen and women who've achieved remarkable success without leaving a trail of lawsuits and unpaid workers and people feeling like they got cheated. Does anyone really believe that a guy who's spent his 70 years on this Earth showing no regard for working people is suddenly going to be your champion? Your voice? Hey, if so, you should vote for him.” Comparing his speech to the one he delivered back in 2008, I can say that he still had the same poise and maintained a similar composure. Drawing parallels to the Republican Convention, Obama tried to stitch ties back between Bernie supporters and the Democratic Party, similar to Newt Gingrich’s efforts of bringing the crowd back after Cruz spoke.
Continuing the parallel reasoning, Pat Smith, who spoke at the Republican Convention, blamed Hillary Clinton for the loss of her son during the Benghazi killings. She believes Trump is the only one to bring back law and order in the country. Khizr Khan, whose Muslim son was killed in Iraq while on active duty, begged to differ. While speaking this week at the Democratic Convention, he said, “Donald Trump consistently smears the character of Muslims. He disrespects other minorities, women, judges, even his own party leadership. He vows to build walls and ban us from this country.”
Last but not the least, on the final day of the convention, Chelsea Clinton talked about her childhood as she introduced her mother, Hillary Clinton, who went on to accept the party’s nomination for office. It was a powerful offset to last week’s introduction of Donald Trump by his daughter, Ivanka Trump. Over the last two weeks, we’ve witnessed a plethora of eloquent speeches — from Barack Obama to Chelsea Clinton on the Democratic side to Ivanka Trump and Sheriff David Clarke on the Republican side. Hearing people from different walks of life, both conventions proved to be the perfect prime time events to watch. Stay inspired!
