Trump, GOP attack Barack Obama, Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton after night 3 of DNC
President Donald Trump and his Republican supporters were largely united in their responses to night three of the Democratic National Convention, where former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton called on voters to reject Trump and Sen. Kamala Harris accepted her historic vice presidential nomination.
The president and his allies painted Clinton as a sore loser and assailed Obama as a hypocrite, while labeling Harris a "phony" for agreeing to run alongside former Vice President Joe Biden after attacking his record on race during the Democratic primary campaign.
Unlike the first two nights of the convention, where Trump's only immediate reaction was a series of retweets, the president fired off a couple of direct responses to Obama and Harris during their addresses.
Here's a look at what Trump, his campaign and Republican officials had to say about the Democratic speakers:
Former President Barack Obama
Trump set the tone for the responses to his predecessor's speech with a tweet. Ahead of the start of Wednesday's convention events, Trump welcomed Obama and Clinton back "to the field of battle." The post included a campaign ad that implied Obama had subverted the traditional peaceful transition of power because of an investigation into the Trump campaign and Russia's election interference.
During his speech, Obama said American democracy was at stake in the November election and that the Trump administration "has shown it will tear our democracy down if that's what it takes to win."
Trump and his surrogates fired back that Obama's concerns were hypocritical because of his own administration's attempts to "sabotage" and "undermine" Trump's presidency.
"HE SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN, AND GOT CAUGHT!" Trump tweeted.
"Hearing the guy who spied on the administration that would replace him talk about our democracy and our values after he broke a 240 plus year tradition of the peaceful transition of power is truly amazing," said his oldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
"Obama and Biden spied on @realDonaldTrump’s campaign. Then they tried to cover it up. Drain the swamp!" tweeted Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
"Barack Obama talked about this fact of how he was this great moral leader, except he forgot to mention he spied on the Trump campaign," said Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski. "It was the first time in 240 years of our nation's history there wasn't a peaceful transition of power from one president to the other. Barack Obama forgot to mention those things."
Probes into the handling of the Russia investigation have found the FBI used misleading information to obtain a surveillance warrant for former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page and a former FBI lawyer is expected to plead guilty to falsifying documents used in that application.
But no evidence has been uncovered that Obama or Biden acted improperly or directed the investigation.
And as for the allegation Obama did not allow a peaceful transition of power: Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2017 without resistance and with Obama in attendance.
Obama also spoke fondly of his relationship with Biden, calling him a "brother." But Trump questioned the strength of Obama's support in a tweet.
"WHY DID HE REFUSE TO ENDORSE SLOW JOE UNTIL IT WAS ALL OVER, AND EVEN THEN WAS VERY LATE?" Trump came back, again in all caps. "WHY DID HE TRY TO GET HIM NOT TO RUN?"
Trump is correct that Obama waited until April 14 to endorse Biden, after his former running mate was a lock to secure the nomination. Obama did not want to endorse Biden sooner because he wanted the primary process to play itself out and for voters to choose without him tipping the scales, a source told Paste BN in February.
Obama did urge Biden not to run in 2016 because he had already agreed to support Clinton and Biden was mourning the death of his son, Beau Biden.
Kamala Harris
Harris gave a largely positive speech that focused on her biography as she became the first Black woman and the first Asian American woman to become the vice presidential nominee of a major political party.
She also touted Biden as a president who would unify the country to overcome the challenges posed by the coronavirus, economic inequality and racial injustice.
But her praise for Biden rang hollow with Trump who tweeted, "BUT DIDN’T SHE CALL HIM A RACIST??? DIDN’T SHE SAY HE WAS INCOMPETENT???"
"NEVER FORGET: Kamala Harris called Joe Biden a segregationist before political opportunism and the limelight sidelined her previously candid criticisms," tweeted White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn was incredulous that Harris could ignore Biden's record on race, referring to a 1977 quote in which Biden expressed fears about desegregation creating a "racial jungle" in schools, as well as his recent comments portraying Black Americans as a monolithic voting bloc and asking a Black journalist if he was a "junkie."
"When you look at this speech that she gave tonight, it just reinforces that she's an opportunist and that she's a phony," said Black Voices for Trump board member Paris Dennard.
Harris attacked Biden during the Democratic primary debates for his opposition to federally mandated busing to integrate schools more than 40 years ago and powerfully declared she was one of the students who benefited from the program Biden had opposed.
But many of Harris' supporters pointed out that in the world of politics it is not uncommon for rivals to become allies, even after stinging criticism. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called Trump a "race-baiting, xenophobic bigot" in 2015 before becoming a defender of the president. McEnany herself accused Trump of "racist" and "hateful" comments that same year.
Other critics attacked Harris as being too far left for mainstream America.
"Joe Biden’s selection of Kamala Harris to be his VP pick solidified the left-wing’s takeover of Joe Biden and the Dem Party," read a tweet from the RNC's official account.
Hillary Clinton
Trump's 2016 opponent said Wednesday she wished he "had been a better president" but he was never able to put "his own interests and ego aside."
The former secretary of state decried the president's immigration crackdowns, his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and warned, "If Trump is reelected, it will get even worse."
Clinton stressed the need for Democrats to get out and vote, reminding them Biden and Harris "can win 3 million more votes and still lose" in reference to her popular vote victory in 2016. She also invoked Russia's efforts to sway the 2016 election against her, imploring voters "to make sure we, not a foreign adversary, choose our president."
Republican critics chided Clinton, suggesting she has not been able to let go of her defeat by Trump.
Trump retweeted a post from Graham, who said Clinton and Obama "give sore losers a bad name."
"Hillary Clinton still can't get over her loss in 2016. It’s just sad," McDaniel said.
The Trump campaign's "rapid response" team said in an email that Clinton "refused to accept the results of the election and even said President Trump was an illegitimate president, doing the Kremlin’s bidding by undermining our democracy and sowing division."
During a September 2019 interview with CBS "Sunday Morning," Clinton said, "Trump knows he's an illegitimate president."
Others said Clinton's appearance at the DNC served as a reminder of why they were glad Trump beat her four years ago.
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and chair for Students for Trump asked people to retweet his post "if you’re thankful Hillary Clinton is NOT President of the United States right now!"
"Hillary Clinton’s spiel at that sorry excuse for a DNC convention only reinforces we made the right decision in 2016 and will again in November!" tweeted conservative commentator Tomi Lahren.
Contributing: David Jackson, John Fritze and Kevin Johnson