Obama urges Americans to get behind Clinton, slams Trump

DEMOCRATS FOR HILLARY

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton joins US President Barack Obama onstage after his remarks on the third night of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, July 27, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

Senior Democrats and former national security figures lined up earlier on Wednesday to describe Trump as unable to steer America through the dangerous waters of today's world.

By contrast, many prominent Republicans, alarmed by Trump's provocative comments on illegal immigrants and Muslims, were absent from the party convention that nominated Trump for the White House in Cleveland last week.

Trump has proposed temporarily banning Muslims from entering the country and building a wall on the border with Mexico to stop illegal immigrants.

After his convention Trump got a boost in opinion polls. He had a 2-point lead over Clinton in a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Tuesday, the first time he has been ahead since early May.

On Wednesday night, US Senator Tim Kaine accepted the party's nomination as Clinton's vice presidential running mate and in a speech described billionaire Trump as "a one-man wrecking crew" who cannot be trusted in the Oval Office.

Trump, who has never held public office, offered his critics fresh lines of attack on Wednesday, urging Russia to find and release tens of thousands of emails that Clinton did not hand over to US officials as part of a probe into her use of a private email system while she was secretary of state. Clinton has said those emails were private.

Speaking to the convention, US Vice-President Joe Biden said Trump was an opportunist who had no clue about how to make America great or to help working families.

Drawing chants of "Not a clue" from the floor of the convention, Biden took Trump, a reality TV host, to task for his trademark slogan, "You're fired."

"He's trying to tell us he cares about the middle class. Give me a break. That's a bunch of malarkey!" Biden said.

New York media mogul Michael Bloomberg, a Republican-turned-independent, assailed fellow billionaire Trump in a speech of his own, calling Trump's presidential bid a "con" and ripping into his history of bankruptcies and lawsuits.

"Trump says he wants to run the nation like he's running his business? God help us," Bloomberg, a former New York City mayor, said to roaring applause. "I'm a New Yorker and I know a con when I see one."

Trump has hammered Clinton as untrustworthy and cast America as a place where security threats abound and law and order are breaking down.

Clinton waged another hard-fought primary battle this year, beating off an unexpectedly strong challenge from the left by Bernie Sanders, a US senator from Vermont.

Democratic leaders have sought to tamp down lingering bitterness among some die-hard Sanders supporters, and move past unruly displays of dissent that marked the convention's first day on Monday.