As the final act of the night, minutes before 11 o'clock, President Barack Obama made his way to the podium in his cool and easy basketball-player gait, waving and smiling and washing in the glow of an adoring crowd.
US presidential candidates like nothing better than basking in the glow of high-profile and celebrity endorsements.
At this week's Democratic National Convention there may as well have been a red carpet leading up to the stage with Hollywood royalty, in the form of Meryl Streep, and TV stars Eva Longoriaand Lena Dunham adding some celebrity sparkle to Hillary Clinton's campaign.
But Presidential hopeful Donald Trump appears to be getting the thumbs up from some questionable characters.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to be a big fan of Donald Trump. Photo / AFP
In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been variously accused of trampling on the human rights of his citizens and covertly invading his neighbours, said Trump was, "a very bright and talented man" and "the absolute leader of the presidential race."
Now Trump can add that stronghold of democracy and free speech, North Korea, to his list of supporters.
A column in Tuesday's DPRK Today, a mouthpiece for the repressive regime, piles praise on the presidential hopeful, calling him "wise" and the right choice for Americans.
"It turns out that Trump is not the rough-talking, screwy, ignorant candidate they say he is, but is actually a wise politician and a prescient presidential candidate," said the column, written by a China-based Korean scholar identified as Han Yong Muk.
It described his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, as "thickheaded Hillary" over her proposal to apply the Iran model of wide sanctions to resolve the nuclear weapons issue on the Korean peninsula.
Will voters go with Meryl Streep's advice and back Clinton or North Korea's and vote Trump? Photo / AP
Trump instead has told Reuters he was prepared to talk to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to stop Pyongyang's nuclear program, and that China should also help solve the problem.
DPRK Today also said Trump's suggestion that the US should pull its troops from South Korea until Seoul pays more was the way to achieve Korean unification.
The North has for years called for the withdrawal of US troops from the South as the first step toward peace on the Korean peninsula and demanded Washington sign a peace treaty to replace the truce that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.
Democrats have seized on Trump's apparent admiration for President Putin.
On Wednesday, Trump appeared to call on Russian intelligence agencies to find and reveal 30,000 of Hillary Clinton's deleted emails.
It earned the Republican contender a stinging rebuke from President Barack Obama who on Thursday said, "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."
Being lauded by Pyongyang will do nothing to mollify the Presidential wannabe's critics.
