Bill Clinton warns Dems not to underestimate Trump: 'We’ve seen more than one election slip away'
Former President Bill Clinton stressed the need for national unity by supporting Vice President Kamala Harris and warned his fellow Democrats not to underestimate former President Donald Trump.
In his speech Wednesday evening at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Clinton said that if elected president, Harris would help all Americans "however they vote."
"Just think what a burden it has been on us to get up day after day after day after day buried in meaningless hot rhetoric when there's so many opportunities out there," said Clinton, a Democrat who served in the White House from 1993-2001. "We have to find a way to go forward together where 'we the people' make our union more perfect."
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Clinton said Harris would "protect everybody's right to vote, whether or not they voted for her. They were citizens and they deserve the right to vote."
Clinton warned Democrats about underestimating Republican presidential nominee Trump, who defeated his wife, Hillary, in the 2016 presidential election.
"We've seen more than one election slip away from us when we thought it couldn't happen," he said. "When people got distracted by phony issues or [got] overconfident."
"This is a brutal, tough business," he added. "You should never underestimate your adversary. And these people are really good at distracting us, at triggering doubt, at triggering buyer's remorse."
Clinton urged Democrats "to talk to all your neighbors" in advance of the election, "to meet people where they are" and not "demean them" even when there is disagreement.
"Treat them with respect, just the way you'd like them to treat you," the former president added. "Ask for their help and then follow our leader Kamala and ask them, 'How can I help you?'"
Clinton referenced comments Trump made last month in which he promised a group of conservative Christians that if he was elected, "you don't have to vote again" because "we'll have it fixed so good, you're not going to have to vote."
"I know a lot of these folks," Clinton said regarding Trump's supporters. "Most of them are really good people. But some of them think that they are bound to dominate America politically, economically and socially, and they have to use politics to do it, and they should rig the system."
His wife, Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, gave a speech on the convention's first day, arguing that a Harris presidency will create a "new chapter in America's story."
"Women fighting for reproductive healthcare are saying, 'keep going,'" Hillary said. "Families building better lives, parents stretching to afford child care, young people struggling to pay their rent, they're all asking us to 'keep going.'"
"Progress is possible but not guaranteed. We have to fight for it and never ever give up. There is always a choice: do we push forward or pull back?"
