Obama and Emhoff are to headline the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday

CHICAGO (AP) — Former President Barack Obama and second gentleman Doug Emhoff will speak Tuesday on the second day of the Democratic National Convention, turning the party’s attention toward Vice President Kamala Harris and her faceoff against Republican Donald Trump.

The pivot toward the presidential campaign’s final 76 days follows an opening night that was designed to give a graceful exit to the incumbent president, who was greeted with a hero’s welcome for stepping aside for Harris.

Speaking clearly and energetically, Biden appeared to relish the chance to defend his record, advocate for his vice president and assail Trump. His delivery was more reminiscent of the Biden who won in 2020 than the mumbling and sometimes incoherent one-time candidate whose debate performance against Trump in June sparked the downfall of his reelection campaign.

Biden, in his remarks, repeated his 2020 theme that “we’re in a battle for the very soul of America,” and pressed the case for why Harris and her running mate Tim Walz were best prepared to wage it.

“Because of you, we’ve had the most extraordinary four years of progress ever, period,” Biden declared. And then he interjected, “I say ‘we,’ I mean ‘me and Kamala,’” sharing the credit for his most popular successes with the vice president to whom he handed over his political operation.

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