Biden was more confident, assured and purposeful than he has ever appeared in his public life. Joe Biden reacts during the Democratic National Convention at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, on Aug. 19. ", "After all this time, the President still does not have a plan," Biden continued. "Make no mistake. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and his running mate Kamala Harris make their first campaign appearance together in Delaware. In vowing to purge the fear, darkness and disease he sees personified by. Biden Aides Say He’s Ready for Trump Debate Attacks on Hunter, Pelosi Says ‘Just About There’ on Stimulus; Senate Hurdle Awaits, Russian Hackers Targeted Government and Aviation, U.S. Says, Postal Service Vows to Live Up to Its Motto: Campaign Update. And that's how they met as students in the streets of Oakland marching and shouting for this thing called justice in a struggle that continues today," she said. At the 2012 convention, for instance, he and his staff were still editing his speech 30 minutes beforehand from an arena skybox as producers were hounding them for a draft for the teleprompter. This must be an American moment.". Where Trump has rejected intelligence about Russian bounties on the heads of American soldiers, Biden promised never to turn a "blind eye" to the threats US men and women in uniform are facing. One from India and the other from Jamaica in search of a world-class education. Now is the time … "Because of Trump's failures of leadership our economy has taken one of the biggest hits out of all the major industrialized nations with an unemployment rate that has tripled as of today," the senator from California said. Our live coverage has ended. “He always does a great job talking about those topics.”. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden lambasted President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday, … ", He said she is "a child of immigrants" who "knows personally how immigrant families enrich our country as well as the challenges of what it means to grow up Black and Indian-American in the United States of America. He argued that America is engulfed in a "perfect storm" of four simultaneous crises: the worst pandemic in 100 years, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the most compelling call for racial justice since the Civil Rights Era and the climate crisis. He later apologized. They were all socially distant, yet for the first time in five months, the Democrats' enthusiasm was on full display, along with the sense of community that is so rare in these times. ", "This is our moment," he said in closing. The nominee will speak live at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, without a packed house of supporters after the coronavirus forced Democrats to turn their convention into a largely virtual event. first Black and South Asian American woman, Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, and his running mate Kamala Harris hosted their, Both of them will formally accept the Democratic nominations during the party's convention held virtually. Joe Biden spoke at a rally in Davenport, Iowa where he spent much of the time hammering Donald Trump over his continued personal attacks and conspiracy theories against him and his son, Hunter Biden. On Tuesday night, the president’s allies on Twitter seized on a screenshot of a moment in which Biden was not looking directly at a camera to suggest he didn’t know where he was. ", He continued: "And this morning, all across the nation, little girls woke up, especially little Black and brown girls that feel overlooked and undervalued in their communities, but today — today just maybe they’re seeing themselves for the first time in a new way as president and vice presidents.". But 'Momala' will always be the one that means the most.". The speech comes as Biden’s edge over Trump has steadied at around 7 percentage points nationally, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls. "This is our mission. "For love is more powerful than hate. Throughout the night, Biden's friends and allies presented him as the opposite of Trumpism: a man of character and decency who tries to understand the story of everyone he meets, a stark contrast to a man known for a splenetic, vengeful personality. As Biden spoke during the event in Delaware, the senator from California sat in a chair at a distance. Instead, donning black masks to underscore the importance of staying safe in the pandemic, they walked outside to the parking lot to celebrate. The final hour before the 2012 speech, he added, “was the most stressful hour of my life.”. “It’s the oddest presidential cycle any of us have ever seen and may ever see.”, Nominee to address delegates on third try for the White House, Speech will be restrained by virtual nature of the convention. Biden’s delivery at virtual events has at times been flat, and the lack of an audience can prevent podium-pounding moments or the chance to revel in applause. We will choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege," the former vice president said. By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Veronica Rocha, Fernando Alfonso III and Mike Hayes, CNN. That changed Thursday night, as he stood in darkness in Wilmington, Delaware, before walking to his lectern as the lights bathed him in light, stagecraft intended as a metaphor for his campaign's main theme. ", "This is our moment. Speaking directly into the camera as though he were addressing voters in their living rooms, he was in full command of his remarks, sustaining eye contact so it rarely looked as though he was reading the words off the teleprompter. Terry McAuliffe, Democrat of Virginia and a close ally of Mr. Biden’s. Joe Biden will set the tone for a bruising general election battle against President Donald Trump as he accepts the Democratic nomination Thursday in a speech … "The current President has cloaked America in darkness for much too long. I expect him to connect with a whole bunch of people who are watching.”, Read More: Democrats Make Biden’s Nomination Official in Virtual Roll Call. “He has always come through at big moments,” said Democratic strategist Mike Lux, who worked on Biden’s first presidential campaign, which began and ended in 1987. Light is more powerful than dark. It's time for us, for We the People, to come together.". Earlier this year, I said I'd do whatever Joe asked me to do. Please enable JavaScript for a better experience. The California Democrat said she was "incredibly honored by this responsibility" and that she was "ready to get to work." If Joe Biden becomes the 46th American President, his speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday night will be seen as the … Marking the solemnity of the pandemic, there was no balloon drop. It will become clear in November whether the Democratic vision spelled out at the convention -- one of diversity, inclusion, empathy and vows to tackle difficult challenges like racism and climate change -- will be embraced by voters in a deeply polarized America. The President's mismanagement of the pandemic has plunging us into the worst economic crisis since the great depression," Harris said. “I think people feel him when he speaks. I think that’s one of the things that aids him. I will be an ally of the light, not of the darkness. And this is a battle that we, together, will win.". "If you want a vision of your life under Biden presidency, think of the smoldering ruins of Minneapolis, the violent anarchy of Portland, the bloodstained sidewalks of Chicago, and imagine the mayhem coming to your town, and every single town in America," the President warned. In many ways, Biden, against a backdrop of American flags, spoke as though he was already president, deploying the body language and dignity of the office that Trump has spurned in order to stay true to the disdain for government that he has shown since the beginning of his upstart 2016 campaign. He called out the President's naiveté about the coronavirus, while acknowledging that there is not easy way to stop the pandemic that has led to the deaths of some 170,000 people. "Everything we care about, our economy, our health, our children, the kind of country we live in, it's all on the line. While Trump has offered encouraging words to those who would sow hate and division -- like the white supremacists who marched with torches in Charlottesville, Virginia -- Biden said it was at that exact moment that he felt compelled to run for the presidency, and he said it should be a call to action for other Americans. Biden said the country needs "a president and a vice president willing to lead and take responsibility. Earlier: Obama’s Plea for Biden: Emotional Evocation of Civil Rights Era, His campaign says he has a well-honed speechwriting process. the destiny of a man and his nation converged. Where Trump has obsessively rewarded his base, Biden -- like a throwback to an earlier age --. Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. "I am ready to get to work," she said. Hope is more powerful than fear. Too much division," Biden said, dispensing with the usual preamble of an acceptance speech to deliver a stark opening on an empty stage. Analysis by Stephen Collinson and Maeve Reston, CNN, Updated 1810 GMT (0210 HKT) August 21, 2020. And so now I'm asking you to do the same.". e stutter that he overcame as a boy. Biden supporters argue that his oratory skills are often discounted and that he’s delivered when he must, including during his vice presidential debates against Sarah Palin in 2008 and Paul Ryan in 2012, and the 1987 Senate hearing in which conservative judge Robert Bork was denied a Supreme Court seat. “The times dictate a different type of speech,” said former Gov. He works with longtime adviser Mike Donilon, along with other writers, channeling the message that his campaign is a “battle for the soul of the nation.”. Biden's work to overcome that stutter was movingly epitomized in a convention video. We're reeling from the worst public health crisis in a century. During her speech, Sen. Kamala Harris discussed the importance of family in her life, referencing the nickname her kids have for her: "Momala", She said, "I've had a lot of titles over my career and certainly vice president will be great. Former Vice President Joe Biden said he asked Kamala Harris to always tell him the truth and "to be the last voice in the room.".