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2020 race: Jill Biden speaks of Joe’s humanity, Bill Clinton attacks Donald Trump

After Bill Clinton savaged Donald Trump, Jill Biden made an emotional call for ‘compassion’ for a ‘broken’ country.

Cameron Stewart and Anne Barrowclough
14 min read
8:55AMAugust 19, 2020.
Updated 2:45PMAugust 19, 2020
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The DNC’s First Virtual Convention: Some Takeaways

Welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of the Democratic National Convention, being held by remote for the first time in US political history. Jill Biden has closed the convention with an address calling for a ‘broken’ country to be healed.

Cameron Stewart 1.30pm: Clinton lashes Trump , Jill Biden calls for compassion

Former US president Bill Clinton has launched his strongest attack on Donald Trump, saying he is a president who refuses to accept responsibility for his failures and for the chaos he has sown across America.

Mr Clinton was speaking on day two of the four day Democratic National Convention - a day when Mr Biden officially became the party’s 2020 presidential nominee.

“Donald Trump says we’re leading the world. Well we are the only major industrialised economy to have its unemployment rate triple.,’ the 73 year old Mr Clinton said in a speech from his New York home. “At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command centre. Instead it’s a storm centre. There’s only chaos. Just one thing never changes - his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. The buck never stops there,’ Mr Clinton said.

Mr Clinton portrayed Mr Trump as a leader who spent his days watching TV and sending tweets. He warned that if he was re-elected, Americans would have another four years of a president who would use his office to ‘blame, bully, belittle’ in contrast to Mr Biden who he said would be a ‘go-to-work president, a down-to-earth, get-the-job-done guy.”

Mr Clinton was one of another roll-call of prominent Democrat identities to speak at the virtual convention ranging from 95 year old former president Jimmy Carter and 30-year-old left-wing firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Mr Biden’s wife Jill, who may become First Lady in January, gave her most high profile speech yet during which she became emotional at times as she described the compassionate nature of her husband.

She talked about how he handled the loss of his wife and baby daughter in a car crash and, later in life, his son Beau to brain cancer.

“There are times when I couldn’t imagine how he did it - how he put one foot in front of the other and kept going. But I’ve always understood why he did it...he does it for you,” she said.

“How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole. With love and understanding - and with small acts of compassion. With bravery. With unwavering faith.”

Dr Biden was speaking from Brandywine High School in Wilmington, Delaware where she once taught and she spoke of how so many American children cannot go to school today because of the mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic.

“You hear the anxiety that echoes down empty hallways. There’s no scent of new notebooks or freshly waxed floors. The rooms are dark and the bright young faces that should fill them are confined to boxes on a computer screen,” Dr Biden said.

“We just need leadership worthy of our nation, worthy of you...to recover from this pandemic and prepare for whatever comes next.”

“With Joe as president these classrooms will ring out with laughter and possibility again.’

The two hour virtual program included a roll-call from delegates in all 50 states which culminated in Mr Biden formally becoming the party’s presidential nominee for the first time after two previous unsuccessful attempts.

The program also included a video highlighting the friendship that formed between Mr Biden and long-time Republican and former presidential candidate, the late John McCain. Mr McCain, who died in 2018, fell out with Mr Trump in the final years of his life and became the president’s highest profile Republican critic. The program also included former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell who endorsed Mr Biden.

Mr Carter, the oldest living president, said Mr Biden had “the experience, character, and decency to bring us together and restore America’s greatness.”

“Joe is that kind of leader, and he is the right person for this moment in our nation’s history. He understands that honesty and dignity are essential traits that determine not only our vision but our actions. More than ever, that’s what we need,” Mr Carter said.

Meanwhile Mr Trump on Wednesday hit back at former First Lady Michelle Obama after she stole the first day of the convention with a scathing attack on the president, accusing him of sowing chaos and division and of not being up to the job.

“Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country. He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head,” Ms Obama said.

Mr Trump described the speech as ‘very divisive’ and said it should not have received such ‘fawning’ media coverage.

“She was over her head,” the president Trump. “And frankly, she should have made the speech live, which she didn’t do. She taped it. … If you gave a real review, it wouldn’t be so fawning. I thought it was a very divisive speech, extremely divisive.”

Earlier in a tweet Mr Trump said Barack Obama’s poor performance was the reason that he was president.

“Somebody please explain to @michelleobama that Donald J. Trump would not be here, in the beautiful White House, if it weren’t for the job done by your husband, Barack Obama,” he tweeted. “Biden was merely an afterthought, a good reason for that very late & unenthusiastic endorsement.”

How day two of the Democratic Convention unfolded

Anne Barrowclough 1.00pm: Jill Biden: Joe will heal a broken country

Jill Biden has given a remarkable speech for her husband, concentrating on the importance of her family and the adversity the Bidens have had to fight through.

Dr Biden avoided directly criticising Donald Trump, but compared America with the “broken” family she first met when Joe Biden and his sons were still grieving the loss of his first wife and daughter in a car accident.

Joe and Jill Biden; Jill spoke emotionally about her husband.
Joe and Jill Biden; Jill spoke emotionally about her husband.

Speaking at the Brandywine High School where she used to teach, Dr Biden said she had wondered, at the age of 26, “how do you make a broken family whole.”

“The same way you make a nation whole,” she answered herself. “With love and understanding and small acts of kindness. With bravery, and unwavering faith.

“It’s what so many of us are doing right now.”

Dr Biden spoke after a video of family life, with her daughter Ashleigh and granddaughters speaking of her strength and sense of fun. The video portrayed the Bidens as a down to earth, resilient family like other ordinary AMericans.

Dr Biden said that as a mother, and grandmother, she was “heartbroken” at the suffering Americans are going through in the coronavirus pandemic, at the “magnitude of this loss, the failure to protect our communities. I’m left asking how do I keep my family safe.”

But she said she didn’t believe the country was divided. Despite what they were going through, “we are finding our hearts still beat with kindness and compassion. That’s the American Joe is fighting for right now.

“Joe will bring us together and make us whole,” she said.

Anne Barrowclough 12.40pm: ‘Trump only interested in defending himself’

John Kerry has given a stinging appraisal of Donald Trump’s presidency, saing Mr Trump was interested in defending no one but himself.

Mr Kerry, Secretary of State under Barack Obama, said the US “deserves a president who is looked up to, not laughed at.

“Donald Trump won’t defend our country or our troops. The only person Donald Trump is interested in is defending himself.”

Joe Biden, he said, “knows we are exceptional becuase we do exceptional things.

“This moment is a fight for the security of the US and the world. Only Joe Biden can make America look like America again.”

Mr Kerry was followed by Colin Power, Secretary of State under George W. Bush. “We are a country divided and we have a president doing everything in his power to keep it that way,” he said.

Anne Barrowclough 12.30pm: ‘I promise to protect you’

Joe Biden has vowed to protect Americans’ healthcare, telling them “We are ging to make sure we don’t lose that ACA (Affordable Care Act’.

In an emotionl series of videos, Americans talked of their experience eith personally suffering devastating illnesses or watching their loved ones suffer, and their fear when Donald Trump tried to repeal Obamacare.

Mr Biden spoke of how his son Beau, who died of cancer in 2015, got the best of care throughout his illness because he had insurance.

“As Beau lay dying in bed, I remember thinking ‘what in God’s name would I do if the doctor walked in and said I’m sorry, you’ve run out of insurance, you will have to suffer your last few months alone,” he said.

“I’m going to protect you like I tried to protect my own family.”

Anne Barrowclough 12.10pm: Virtual roll call across the US

The normal roll call of delegations from around the US pledging support for the presidential nominee has been replaced by a virtual roll call to officially nominate MR Biden for president, filmed in every state and territory.

One advantage of this format is that instead of the hours long roll call of the conventional convention, the televised roll call, named “Roll Call Across America,” can be crammed into just half an hour.

The roll call is planned to capture the party’s diversity, with former presidential candidates, politicians and party leaders speaking alongside healthworkers and economists. New York Times security guard Jacquelyn Brittany was the first person to nominate Mr Biden, speaking of “My friend Joe Biden.”

“I take powerful people up my elevator all the time,” said Jacquelyn. “In the short time I spent with Joe Biden, I could tell he really saw me,” she said. “I knew, even when he went into his important meeting, he’d take my story with him.”

Themes include climate change, the coronavirus crisis, gun violence, voter suppression, immigration, racial justice,and healthcare.

Anne Barrowclough 11.45am: Clinton: Under Trump there’s only chaos, division

Bill Clinton has attacked Donald Trump as a president who would rather watch TV than govern the country, and whose record is one of dishonesty and division.

The former president blamed Donald Trump for America’s coronavirus crisis, saying: “We have four per cent of the worl’s population, 25 per cent of Covid rates.”

He went on: “Donald Trump says we’re leading the world. Well we are the only major industrialised economy to have its unemployment rate triple. At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command centre. Instead it’s a storm centre. There’s only chaos. Just one thing never changes – his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. The buck never stops there,’ Mr Clinton said.

“Now you have to decide whether to renew his contract or hire someone else. If you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he’s your man. Denying, distracting, and demeaning works great if you’re trying to entertain and inflame. But in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards.”

In contrast, he said, Joe Biden “wants to build an economy far better suited to our changing world.

“It’s Trump’s “Us vs. Them” America against Joe Biden’s America, where we all live and work together. It’s a clear choice. And the future of our country is riding on it.

Shortly before Mr Clinton spoke, former president Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn addressed the convention

“Joe has the experience, character and decency to bring us together and restore America’s greatness,” said Mr Carter.

Anne Barrowclough 10.45am: Black security guard to nominate Biden

An African American security guard at the New York Times will reportedly officially nominate Joe Biden as presidential candidate today.

Jacquelyn Brittany, 31, famously blurted “I love you” to Mr Biden in December as she escorted him to an editorial board meeting at the paper, in his failed attempt to gain the Times’ endorsement.

Members of the media outside the Democratic National Convention at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware. Picture: AFP.
Members of the media outside the Democratic National Convention at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware. Picture: AFP.

Mr Biden snapped a selfie with the guard’s phone and the picture, and video of her declaration, went viral.

Jacquelin (Brittany is her middle name, she refused to give her surname) will become the first person to put Mr Biden’s name into nomination. She told The Washington Post she has followed Mr Biden since he became Barack Obama’s running mate. “I just like Joe. I’ve always liked him,” she said.

“He’s been through so much. And he doesn’t show it on the outside. He may feel it on the inside — and I’m that type of person,” she added.

Jacquelyn said.

Two of Biden’s rivals, Elizabeth Warren and Amby Klobuchar got the Times endorsement but when asked about that snub, Mr Biden said: “I got something better. I got to meet Jacquelyn,” he said in Waukee, Iowa.

Agencies 10.00am: First night viewing figures 28pc down on 2016

US viewing figures for the first day of the DNC were 28 per cent down on the first night of the party’s convention in 2016.

Only 18.7 million people tuned in to watch the opening day of the convention, compared with 26 million four years ago, according to Nielsen figures. The 2016 convention in Philadelphia nominated Hillary Clinton as their presidential candidate in front of huge audiences. In contrast, only a few Democrats have travelled to Milwaukee, the official site of this year’s convention.

MSNBC delivered the most viewers on cable, with about 5.1 million from 10pm to 11.15pm ET, according to Nielsen figures provided by the networks. CNN delivered about 4.8 million viewers and Fox News delivered about 2.1 million.

About 2.4 million people tuned in to watch the convention on ABC, the most of any broadcast outlet. The NBC broadcast network drew about 2.3 million viewers, and CBS drew about two million.

Dow Jones

Agencies 9.20am: Postal service to suspend changes until after election

The US Postal Service is to halt changes blamed for slowing mail delivery until after the November election, changing course in the wake of the political firestorm President Donald Trump ignited when he acknowledged he wanted to undermine the agency.

Mr Trump has called into question the reliability of mail-in voting at a time when a large share of voters are expected to use absentee ballots as a safer option amid the COVID-19 the pandemic.

Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Trump ally who took over the position in June, has been under intense pressure from Congress amid the reforms he has been implementing.

“There are some longstanding operational initiatives -- efforts that predate my arrival at the Postal Service -- that have been raised as areas of concern as the nation prepares to hold an election in the midst of a devastating pandemic,” Mr DeJoy said in a statement on Tuesday.

“To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded.”

A group of protestors hold a demonstration in front of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's home in Greensboro, North Carolina. Picture: AFP.
A group of protestors hold a demonstration in front of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's home in Greensboro, North Carolina. Picture: AFP.

Mr Trump last week said he was opposed to more funding for the cash-strapped USPS, acknowledging the funds would be used to help process votes.

“They need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots,” Mr Trump told Fox News on Thursday.

“But if they don’t get those... that means you can’t have universal mail-in voting.”

His comments came after DeJoy presided over the removal of mail collection boxes and processing equipment as well as cutting overtime pay, which a union leader told AFP has slowed mail delivery nationwide.

He also reshuffled senior management, and the USPS warned most states that it could not guarantee on-time delivery of mail in ballots.

Democrats in Congress seized on the changes and the president’s remarks to claim the White House was plotting to undermine confidence in the post office and help Mr Trump’s bid for a second term.

“Pure Trump. He doesn’t want an election,” Joe Biden said last week.

AFP

Anne Barrowclough 9.10am: Trump hits back at ‘divisive’ Obama

Donald Trump has criticised Michelle Obama’s convention speech, accusing the former First Lady of being “very divisive.”

Mrs Obama told the DNC on day one of the virtual convention that the president was wrong for the country and “clearly in over his head.”

“He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is,” she said.

Mr Trump hit back on Tuesday night (AEST), saying: “Frankly, I wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for Barack Obama…because they did a bad job, Biden and Obama. And if they did a good job I wouldn’t be here. I’d be building buildings someplace and having a good time.”

He tweeted: “People forget how divided our country was under Obama/Biden. The anger and hatred were unbelievable. They shouldn’t be lecturing to us.”

Cameron Stewart 8.30am: Bill Clinton to launch a stinging attack on Trump

The second day of the four day Democratic National Convention will feature speakers encompassing Democrat identities from vastly different eras as well as one of the party’s favourite sons in Bill Clinton.

The former president will be the biggest name speaker alongside the woman who may become First Lady next January, Jill Biden.

Day two, which will see the party formally nominate Mr Biden for the presidency, will focus on the theme of leadership, will also feature short speeches from 95-year-old former president Jimmy Carter and 30-year-old left-wing firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

The control room for the Democratic National Convention at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Picture: AFP.
The control room for the Democratic National Convention at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Picture: AFP.

Ms Biden’s speech is expected to portray the human side of her husband, the 77-year-old former Vice President. She will talk about how he handled the loss of his first wife and baby daughter in a car crash and, later in life, his son Beau to brain cancer.

“There are times when I couldn’t imagine how he did it – how he put one foot in front of the other and kept going. But I’ve always understood why he did it … he does it for you,’ she will say.

Ms Biden will speak from Brandywine High School in Wilmington Delaware when she once taught and her speech will touch on the fact that so many American children cannot go to school because of the mismanagement of the coronavirus pandemic. “You hear the anxiety that echoes down empty hallways. There’s no scent of new notebooks or freshly waxed floors. The rooms are dark and the bright young faces that should fill them are confined to boxes on a computer screen,” Mrs Biden will say.

Mr Clinton is expected to launch a stinging attack on Donald Trump.

“Donald Trump says we’re leading the world. Well we are the only major industrialised economy to have its unemployment rate triple. At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command centre. Instead it’s a storm centre. There’s only chaos. Just one thing never changes – his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. The buck never stops there,’ Mr Clinton will say.

Other speakers to appear on Wednesday’s (AEDT) two hour program include former Secretary of State John Kerry, former Acting Attorney Sally Yates and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/2020-race-jill-biden-speaks-of-joes-humanity-bill-clinton-attacks-donald-trump/news-story/4197ea4c87d87cd9ff2db077c57edcd6