Top Democratic leaders have hammered Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for being an agent of chaos and that his failed policies would take America backwards.
Democrats used their national convention in Chicago on Wednesday to cast the former president as an existential danger and project Vice President Kamala Harris as the best person to lead the nation.
Harris, 59, will take on former president Trump, 78, in the November 5 election.
Former president Bill Clinton in his address to the Democratic National Convention said Trump -- a paragon of consistency -- is dividing, blaming, and belittling.
“He creates and curates chaos. It's showmanship, but it's not leadership,” he said. On the other hand, he said Harris is the only candidate in this race with the vision, the experience, the temperament and the will.
“Now, how does Donald Trump use his voice? Mostly to talk about himself, his vengeance, vendettas, complaints, and conspiracies. The next time you hear him, don't count the lies, count the I's. He's like the tenor warming up before the opera: me, me, me, me. Kamala Harris is focused on you,” Clinton said.
America faces a “clear choice” between Harris and Donald Trump in November, Clinton said.
“In 2024, we gotta pretty clear choice, it seems to me,” Clinton said. “Kamala Harris, for the people, and the other guy, who has proved even more than the first go-around that he's about me, myself and I.”
“Kamala Harris will work to solve our problems, seize our opportunities, ease our fears, and make sure every single American, however they vote, has a chance to chase their dreams," Clinton, 78, said.
Clinton's wife, Hillary Clinton, lost the 2016 election to former President Trump, the current Republican presidential nominee.
Clinton said he wants America that more joyful, inclusive, and future-focused.
"Where we weather the storms and earn the benefits together. That's the America Kamala Harris will lead. She's already made her first presidential decision, picking a running mate,” Clinton, who served two terms in the White House until January 2001, said.
Clinton riffed on the famous “place called Hope” line he gave at the 1992 Democratic convention to encourage Americans to vote the “president of joy,” Harris, into the White House.
Clinton, who is from Hope, Arkansas, famously said in the 1992 convention, “I still believe in a place called Hope.”
WATCH: I am still younger than Trump, says Bill Clinton
On Wednesday, the former president said: “From a man who once had the honour to be called in this Convention, a man from Hope, we need Kamala Harris - the president of joy - to lead us.”
“Kamala Harris is the only candidate in this race who has the vision, the experience, the temperament, the will, and yes, the sheer joy, to get something done. I mean, look, what does her opponent do with his voice? He mostly talks about himself. So, the next time you hear him, don't count the lies, count the ‘I's.'”
Clinton went on to criticise Trump's “vendettas, his vengeance, his complaints, his conspiracies.”
“He is like the tenors opening up before he goes on stage, like I did, by saying, ‘me, me, me, me, me.' When Kamala Harris is president, every day will begin with you, you, you, you,” Clinton said.
Clinton took a jab at Trump's age.
“Two days ago, I turned 78, the oldest man in my family for four generations. And the only personal vanity I want to assert is I'm still younger than Donald Trump,” he said.
Clinton is just a few months younger than Trump, who turned 78 in June this year.
If Trump wins in November, he would be the oldest president at his swearing-in at 78 years and 219 days, surpassing President Joe Biden's previous record of 78 years and 61 days.
He said Harris and her running mate Tim Walz have improbable, all-American life stories that "could only happen here, with careers starting in community courtrooms and classrooms."
"Two leaders who have spent a lifetime getting the job done. A presidential election is a job interview for the greatest job in the world,” he said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries alleged that Trump was the mastermind of the Republican tax scam, where 83 per cent of the benefits went to the wealthiest one per cent in America.
“Trump failed our country during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump is a chaos agent who is focused on himself, not the American people. Trump tried to destroy our democracy by lying about the election and inciting a violent mob to attack the Capitol,” he said.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said January 6th was a perilous moment for the American democracy.
“Never before had a president of the United States so brazenly assaulted the bedrock of our democracy, so gleefully embraced political violence, so willfully betrayed his oath of office,” she said.
“Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on January 6. He (Trump) did. But let us not forget who saved democracy that day. We did,” Pelosi said.
Senator Chris Coons said hate and division are the oxygen of Trump.
“Trump and J D Vance need it to survive in politics. People are saying they are weird. And they are weird. And even worse, they are weak,” he alleged.
New Jersey Senator Cory Booker said Trump betrays the ideals of America.
“He viciously attacks Democrats and Republicans. His put-downs know no shame: John McCain's military service, Nikki Haley's heritage. Women. People with disabilities. Trans people. Our veterans,” he said.
“His is the politics of smear and fear, not inspiration and elevation. He speaks more of American carnage than American compassion, But in America, you can't lead the people if you don't love the people. Our nominees Kamala Harris and Tim Walz bring joy...They're the living dreams of their ancestors,” Booker said.
