Obamas rouse crowd for Harris at gathering

CHICAGO — Former US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle delivered a one-two punch at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, urging voters to back Kamala Harris in her eleventh-hour presidential bid against Republican Donald Trump.

The first black president of the United States, Obama has thrown his considerable political capital behind Harris as she seeks to make history herself on Nov 5 as the first woman and first black and South Asian person to be elected US president.

"We do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse," Obama said on day two of the Chicago convention. "America is ready for a new chapter. America is ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris."

He took aim at Trump, the Republican who followed him into the White House in 2017, and praised President Joe Biden, his vice-president who was forced out of the race by Democrats who feared he would lose to Trump.

Obama was introduced by his wife Michelle, who tops the Democrats' wish list as a future president.

"America, hope is making a comeback," Michelle Obama said, in a nod to her husband's first presidential campaign in 2008.

She cautioned that Trump would try to distort Harris' truth, much as he did "everything in his power to try to make people fear us".

"Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those 'black jobs'?" she asked. On the campaign trail, Trump has referred to migrants crossing into the US as taking away "black jobs".

Record fundraising

Harris, 59, has ridden a historic whirlwind in which her campaign has broken records for fundraising and packed arenas with supporters.

Four sources familiar with Harris' fundraising effort told Reuters that she has raised about $500 million since she became the Democratic presidential candidate.

The unprecedented money haul had been banked for Harris in the four weeks since she jumped into the race on July 21, the sources said.

Outside the venue, a demonstration near Chicago's Israeli consulate briefly turned violent after some protesters charged at a line of police. The Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild said at least 72 people were arrested.

Protests against US support for Israel's military assault in Gaza have overshadowed the convention, but most speakers avoided the topic.

US Senator Bernie Sanders was an exception, telling the audience, "We must end this horrific war in Gaza, bring home the hostages and demand an immediate cease-fire."

Meanwhile, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr is considering ending his campaign and may join forces with Trump, running mate Nicole Shanahan said in an interview posted online on Tuesday.

Shanahan said that as independents, she and Kennedy ran the risk of drawing support from would-be Trump voters and clearing the way for Harris to win. "Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump," she told Los Angeles media company Impact Theory.

Trump told CNN on Tuesday he would "certainly be open" to Kennedy playing a role in his administration if the latter drops out of the race and endorses him.

Agencies via Xinhua