With humor and hope, Obamas warn against Trump, urge Democrats to 'do something'

The NPR Network will be reporting live from Chicago throughout the week bringing you the latest on the Democratic National Convention.

Barack and Michelle Obama, Chicago’s favorite power couple, declared “hope is making a comeback” with Vice President Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket

The former president and first lady headlined the second night of the Democratic National Convention, delivering a message of exhilaration at the possibility of electing the first woman in history to the White House – and the critical importance, they added, of preventing former President Donald Trump from securing a second term.

“We want something better. We want to be better,” Obama said. “And the joy and excitement we’re seeing around this campaign tells us we’re not alone.”

They also warned, from firsthand experience, of the battle ahead to elect Harris – a path marred by what the former president called the “bluster, bumbling and chaos” of Trump on the campaign trail.

“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us,” Michelle Obama said of Trump’s campaign in 2016. “His limited and narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who also happened to be Black.

“Who’s going to tell him that the job he’s currently seeking might just be one of those ‘Black jobs’?” the former first lady quipped to raucous applause.

‘Her story is your story’

As the opening act to her husband’s keynote address, Michelle Obama was welcomed by a raucous crowd that cheered her loudly throughout her remarks.

The former first lady said hope has, until recently, been in short supply.

Her