Bill Clinton is a deeply flawed man, but despite this, he has maintained his celebrity-like status in the Democratic Party. On Wednesday night, he spoke to a roaring crowd, taking jabs at Donald Trump’s age and pointing out the necessity of moving on – not just from Trump but toward a younger generation.
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He opened his speech by commenting on his age—he had just turned 78—and knocking Trump for being older than him.
Clinton’s speech highlighted one of his strengths within the Democratic Party – he has always been better than most of his party at speaking to regular people and highlighting the need to connect with regular people. Clinton also attempted to lay out the case that Harris was much better suited for the job than Trump.
The former president’s strength with working class voters will be hailed as one of the most important parts of his Wednesday night speech. Harris has struggled with those voters, and frequent attacks on her running mate’s misrepresentations about his military career can make it difficult to reach a lot of those voters. But Clinton’s speech proved that someone in the party is still able to talk to them.
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Like Obama the night before, Clinton praised Harris for policy positions she has begun taking, arguing that she would be a champion of the people with policies meant to “lift up” Americans in need.
But Clinton’s speech differed from Obama’s in that he spoke openly to independent voters and Republicans who are skeptical of Trump, urging them to join him in voting for Harris, while on Tuesday Obama attacked Republicans.
Yes, Clinton’s speech was full of spin and dishonest takes about Trump, but he was careful not to attack Republicans in the same way Obama did. Clinton knows that Harris will need center-right independents and Republicans who don’t like Trump in order to win, and he made a play for them. That is something Obama is incapable of doing.