His wife Michelle gave a transformative speech to the US Democratic National Convention on Monday; and last night it was the turn of US president Barack Obama to provide a thunderbolt to the party as it gathered to nominate Hillary Clinton for the White House.

Obama spoke for 45 minutes at the DNC in Philadelphia last night in a valedictory speech that ripped into Republican nominee Donald Trump and forcefully reminded people why Hillary should be the only choice come election time in November. "I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman  - not me, not Bill [Clinton] - more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as President of the United States of America," Obama declared to thunderous applause. https://twitter.com/ReutersPolitics/status/758546557297827842 But what everyone watching wanted to hear was Obama's take on the Donald Trump phenomenon - and boy, he didn't hold back, saying that Trump was just peddling in fear, and calling him a "demagogue". He said:

"'The Donald' is not really a plans guy.  Not really a facts guy, either.  He calls himself a business guy, which is true, but I have to say, I know plenty of businessmen and women who’ve achieved success without leaving a trail of lawsuits, and unpaid workers, and people feeling like they got cheated. "Does anyone really believe that a guy who’s spent his 70 years on this Earth showing no regard for working people is suddenly going to be your champion?  Your voice?  If so, you should vote for him.  But if you’re someone who’s truly concerned about paying your bills, and seeing the economy grow, and creating more opportunity for everybody, then the choice isn’t even close."

https://twitter.com/OmarBaddar/status/758500632697249792 He continued:

"Donald Trump calls our military a disaster.  Apparently, he doesn’t know the men and women who make up the strongest fighting force the world has ever known.  He suggests America is weak.  He must not hear the billions of men, women, and children, from the Baltics to Burma, who still look to America to be the light of freedom, dignity, and human rights.  He cosies up to Putin, praises Saddam Hussein, and tells the NATO allies that stood by our side after 9/11 that they have to pay up if they want our protection.  Well, America’s promises do not come with a price tag. "America is already great.  America is already strong.  And I promise you, our strength, our greatness, does not depend on Donald Trump."

Earlier in the evening, US vice president Joe Biden said Trump "didn't have a clue" what he was doing, a line that brought the house down. https://twitter.com/Sarah_Boxer/status/758472554583511041 This was Trump's tweeted response to Obama's takedown. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/758492727583576064 Coming back to his praise of Hillary, Obama recalled how tough a competitor she was for the Democratic nomination in 2008. https://twitter.com/JoshElliott32/status/758499350851031041 Obama also sought to neutralise Clinton's critics, who say that she's inauthentic and too politically slippery, flip-flopping on issues over the years such as the Iraq war and marriage equality.

"Look, Hillary’s got her share of critics," he said. "She’s been caricatured by the right and by some folks on the left; accused of everything you can imagine – and some things you can’t.  But she knows that’s what happens when you’re under a microscope for 40 years.  She knows she’s made mistakes, just like I have; just like we all do.  That’s what happens when we try."

https://twitter.com/katiecouric/status/758500312227471360 Obama finished his speech with a highly emotional call to action.

"Time and again, you’ve picked me up.  I hope, sometimes, I picked you up, too.  Tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me.  I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me.  Because you’re who I was talking about twelve years ago, when I talked about hope – it’s been you who’ve fueled my dogged faith in our future, even when the odds are great; even when the road is long.  Hope in the face of difficulty; hope in the face of uncertainty; the audacity of hope!"

Hillary surprised the president by joining him on stage at the very end. https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/758507855519453186 Don't know about you, but we could watch this gif forever: https://twitter.com/CNN/status/758508841470492672 Watch the full speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZ-PhmL18ow The Los Angeles Times has provided a transcript of the speech. Nicely played, Mr President.