‘Decency and respect are on the ballot’: Oprah appearance surprises Democratic convention

• Democratic stars took to the stage to push for a Kamala Harris US presidency.
• Oprah Winfrey made a surprise appearance.
• The Democratic convention also featured Republicans who have turned against Donald Trump.

A litany of Democratic luminaries, joined by Republican deserters, took centre stage on Wednesday night to urge Americans to elect Kamala Harris president and stave off a return of Donald Trump to the White House.

“Next time you hear him, don’t count the lies. Count the I’s,” former US president Bill Clinton, 78, told a cheering crowd in Chicago on Day Three of the Democratic National Convention, his 12th such event.

Media personality Oprah Winfrey joined Clinton and others to press the case that while Trump was for himself, Harris was for the country. Delegates sprang to their feet, cheering loudly when she entered the stage, a surprise addition to the programme.

“I’m calling on all you independents and all you undecideds,” Winfrey said, describing herself as an independent. 

“Decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024.”

READ | ‘I’m feeling fired up!’ Obama energises crowd for Kamala Harris at Democratic convention

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate in the race against the Republican Trump, was due to make his first high-profile national address. 

He was joined by a star-studded lineup of politicians and musicians.

Vice President Harris emerged as the 2024 Democratic candidate last month following US President Joe Biden’s exit from the 5 November race and brought the lesser-known Walz to the national stage only 15 days ago.

American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder performed, actor Mindy Kaling joked about cooking with her friend Kamala.

Singers John Legend and Sheila E were due to perform a tribute to the late music star Prince, who was born in Walz’s home state Minnesota and died in 2016, campaign officials said.

Each night of the convention has featured Republicans who have turned against Trump, who was president from 2017-2021.

On Wednesday, the Democrats put the spotlight on 6 January 2021, with a video that showed Trump exhorting supporters to be strong and fight before they stormed the US Capitol to try to block Biden’s 2020 victory.

The delegates sat in stunned silence, a sharp contrast to their roars and applause throughout the night.

Olivia Troye, who quit her White House national security job under Trump after 6 January, said the Republican candidate was laying the groundwork to undermine the 2024 election.

Geoff Duncan, the former lieutenant governor of Georgia, spoke directly to the camera to tell fellow Republicans watching from home that they needed to “dump Trump”.

He said:

Democrat Nancy Pelosi, who was House speaker on that day, said: “Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on January 6: He did. But let us not forget who saved democracy that day: We did.”

Walz, 60, who has been praised by Democrats for his support of Harris and other women, will talk about growing up on a Nebraska farm, his family and freedoms that Democrats say are under attack from Trump, who is making his third major-party run for the White House.

The Minnesota governor’s jovial manner belies a sharp tongue that he quickly turned on Trump and his running mate, JD Vance. 

Democrats eager to coalesce behind a candidate they consider more viable than Biden, 81, have donated a record $500 million to the fledgling campaign led by Harris.

Harris, 59, will address the gathering on its final night on Thursday.

US singer-songwriter John Legend performs onstage on the third day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

AFP

Biden’s support for Israel’s assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza, one of the most divisive issues in the party, has not featured prominently at the convention. 

Health officials say the offensive has killed more than 40 000 people.

The parents of Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, received a standing ovation and chants of “Bring Them Home” when they took the stage. 

Goldberg-Polin, 23, was among more than 200 hostages taken by Palestinian Hamas militants in their 7 October attack on Israel.

“Bringing the hostages home is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” Polin said.

Leaders of the Uncommitted National Movement, which mobilised nearly 750 000 voters during the primary elections to protest US support for Israel’s war in Gaza, have lobbied the DNC for months to include a Palestinian speaker in its programme.

A handful of allies began a sit-in outside the convention centre to protest the exclusion, vowing not to move until they get a speaking slot.

Walz’s keynote address follows rousing appearances by Democratic powerhouses including former US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle and Hillary Clinton, a former presidential candidate, US senator and secretary of state.

Walz has brought a folksy charm to the campaign trail, describing himself and Harris as “joyful warriors” focused on a brighter future and accusing Republicans of stoking fear and division.

Harris campaign officials are counting on Walz’s Midwestern roots and plain-spoken style to appeal to some of the white men in rural areas who voted for Trump by huge margins in the last two elections – and help deliver battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Independent candidate Robert F Kennedy is hoping to cut a deal with Trump whereby he would quit the race in exchange for a job in a new Trump administration, a super PAC supporting Kennedy told Reuters. 

Kennedy’s endorsement could help Trump in an election that opinion polls show is likely to be close. Trump met with Kennedy in July to discuss a possible endorsement.

Polls showed Biden trailing Trump before the Democratic president ceded the party’s top spot to Harris; polls now show her besting her Republican rival in several of the states that will decide the election.