Barack Obama, Kamala Harris headline day 3 of Democratic National Convention

Barack Obama, America’s first black president, will deliver the keynote address at the third day of the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday. The day will also see Kamala Harris, the first black woman on a major party ticket, getting the formal nomination to be Joe Biden’s running mate.

Former first lady Hillary Clinton, who lost the 2016 presidential election to Republican Donald Trump, Biden’s November opponent, is also featured on the program of a convention being held almost entirely online for the first time.

Others on the bill include Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, and former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who has become a gun control advocate after being shot and severely wounded in a 2011 assassination attempt.

The highlights of the event are expected to be Obama’s speech and Kamala Harris accepting the nomination to be the Democratic vice-presidential candidate.

Biden served as the vice-president during Obama terms from 2009 to 2017. The former president had taken a back seat during the crowded and hotly contested Democratic primaries, but is expected to play a major role in the election campaign. Biden will face current President Donald Trump in the November elections.

In a fund-raising message ahead of his speech, Obama said voters faced a choice between the “politics of cynicism” and “politics of hope.”

“The Republican Party made its choice long ago, and we’re seeing the consequences of it every day,” Obama said.

“They have no answers for the COVID-19 pandemic that has stolen the lives of more than 170,000 Americans and shuttered countless businesses — just excuses and blame.

“Joe understands that when times get tough, we don’t give up — we get up,” Obama said.

“And so it’s time for us all to get up, right now, and stand with Joe in this fight for the soul of America.”