NewsBite

Democratic National Convention Day 4: Joe Biden accepts party’s nomination in crucial speech

Joe Biden has pledged to lead the US through its ‘season of darkness’ by bringing a divided nation together.

Cameron StewartCameron Stewart
Joe Biden accepts the Democratic Party nomination for US president. Picture: AFP.
Joe Biden accepts the Democratic Party nomination for US president. Picture: AFP.
10 min read
8:53AMAugust 21, 2020.
Updated 4:53PMAugust 21, 2020

The fourth and last day of the DNC has now completed, with Joe Biden accepting the party’s nomination.

Joe Biden has pledged to lead America through its “season of darkness” by bringing a divided nation together to restore jobs, dignity and respect with a dramatically different style of presidency.

In a strong and often emotional speech to accept his nomination as the Democratic presidential nominee, Mr Biden laid out a vision of an America that he said would be “generous and strong, selfless and humble.”

He said Donald Trump had taken the country to a dark place, through mismanagement of the coronavirus, a collapsed economy and through deliberate division.

“United we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America...the current president’s cloaked American darkness for much too long,” Mr Biden said in an address from his hometown in Wilmington, Delaware.

“Too much anger, too much fear, too much division. Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness. This is not a partisan moment, this must be an American moment,’ Mr Biden said.

Joe Biden delivers his acceptance speech. Picture: Getty Images.
Joe Biden delivers his acceptance speech. Picture: Getty Images.

Mt Biden’s speech, the most important of his long political career, attacked Mr Trump’s style of leadership saying he ‘takes no responsibility’ and ‘fans the flames of hate and division.’

“He’ll wake up every day (in a second term) believing the job is all about him, never about you.”

“Is that the America you want for you, for your family, your children?” he said. “I see it differently -- one that’s generous and strong, selfless and humble. It’s an America we can rebuild together.”

Mr Biden, who is not a natural orator, delivered his speech crisply without gaffes, balancing sharp criticism of the president with an optimistic vision of the future.

He accused Mr Trump of “unforgivable” mismanagement of the coronavirus which has cost more than 170,000 American lives.

“Our current president has failed in his most basic duty to the nation, he’s failed to protect us…that is unforgivable,’ Mr Biden said. “(It is) by far the worst performance of any nation on earth.”

He said that if Mr Trump was re-elected: “Cases and deaths will remain far too high. More mom and pop businesses will close their doors and this time for good. Working families will struggle to get by and, yet, the wealthiest 1% will get tens of billions of dollars in new tax breaks.”

Mr Biden’s speech barely mentioned foreign policy or China, however he said: “America will not turn a blind eye to Russian bounties on the heads of American soldiers” under his leadership.

“Nor will I put up with foreign interference in our most sacred democratic exercise, voting,” he said. “I will be a president who will stand with our allies, and friends, and make it clear to our adversaries that the days of cozying up to dictators are over.”

Mr Biden spoke of his ambition to reduce economic inequality, combat climate change, address systemic racism and protect healthcare.

He said his economic plan would be ‘all about jobs, dignity, respect and community.’

“The choice could not be more clear,” he said. “No rhetoric is needed.”

After several days of high profile attacks on Mr Trump from Democrat identities such as Michele and Barack Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton, Mr Biden also struck a more positive tone as he laid out a vision for his presidency.

Prior to his acceptance speech, the convention played a video about Mr Biden’s life and about his family, including the tragic loss of his first wife and infant daughter in a car crash and his rise to become a long-time Senator and eventually Vice President. A tribute was played to his son Beau who died of brain cancer in 2015 and the video included comments from Mr Biden’s surviving son Hunter who was at the centre of the Ukraine controversy and resulting impeachment proceedings.

Hours before Mr Biden spoke, Mr Trump was in the swing state of Pennsylvania where he warned voters that Mr Biden was trying to ‘destroy the American way of life.’

“If you want a vision of your life under (a) Biden presidency, think of the smoldering ruins in 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,” Mr Trump said.

“Joe Biden is a puppet of the radical left movement that seeks to destroy the American way of life. They don’t want energy, they don’t want guns, they don’t want religion. The only thing they’re not abolishing is taxes.”

“At stake in this election is the survival of our nation, it’s true,” Mr Trump said. “Because we’re dealing with crazy people on the other side. They’ve gone stone cold crazy.”

The final night of the convention, hosted by actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, also included a tribute to civil rights hero and congressman John Lewis who passed away recently.

Others who spoke on the final day included former Democrat presidential aspirants Pete Buttigieg, Cory Booker and Andrew Yang as well as two of the shortlisted candidates for Biden’s running mate, Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Senator Tammy Duckworth.

(Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia)

How Day Four of the Democratic Naitonal Convention unfolded

Anne Barrowclough 1.20pm: Biden; Trump had one job. He failed

Mr Biden targeted Mr Trump through much of his speech, saying he failed at protecting the American people - his number one job as president.

“Character is on the ballot, compassion is on the ballot, decency, science, democracy. They’re all on the ballot. Who we are as a nation. ... And the choice could not be more clear,” he said

He also paid tribute to Baraack Obama, telling the former presidenet: “Thank you, Mr. President. You were a great president. A president our children could and did look up to. No one’s going to say that about the current occupant of the White House.”

Moving on to his economic plan, Mr Biden reflected on lessons he learned from his father, , who told him that the importance of a job is about “being able to look your kid in the eye and say it’s going to be OK, and mean it.”

“I’ve never forgotten those lessons. That’s why my economic plan is all about jobs, dignity, respect and community,” he said.

Mr Biden spruiked his “build back better” plan, which would seek to inject stimulus spending into the economy to create union jobs in clean energy and manufacturing and would seek to create jobs in what his campaign has called the “caregiving economy.”

“And yes, we’re going to do more than praise our essential workers. We’re finally going to pay them,” he said.

Anne Barrowclough 1.05pm: This is an American moment: Biden

Joe Biden has vowed to start fighting the coronavirus crisis on the first day of his presidency if he is voted in. Accepting his party’s nomination, Mr Biden said he would mandate mask wearing, develop and deploy rapid testing - with immediate results - and produce medical equipment in the US.

He said he would “take the muzzle off our experts” so the public could get the “unvarnished truth” about COVID-19 and other issues.

At the start of his speech, Mr Biden called on Americans to leave “the path of shadow and suspicion” of Donald Trump’s presidency, and choose a different path.

“The current president’s cloaked American darkness for much too long,” Mr Biden said.

“Too much anger, too much fear, too much division. Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness. It’s time for us — for we the people — to come together,” Biden said.

In a message of unity, he said the election was “not just about winning votes, it’s about winning the heart and soul of America.

“It’s not a partisan moment, it’s an American moment.”

Anne Barrowclough 12.25pm: ‘Why the hell would you hire Trump again?’

Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg has savaged Donald Trump, targeting his failure on the economy as well as the coronavirus. The billionnaire former presidential candidate used his own business expertise to attack Mr Trump.

“I’m not asking you to vote against Donald Trump because he’s a bad person but because he’s done a bad job,” he said. “Would you rehire or work for someone who’s run their business into the ground?” he said. “If the answer is no, why the hell would you hire Trump for another four years?

“He drove his companies into bankruptcy six times.

“This time, we are all paying the price.”

Mr Bloomberg spoke after Pete Buttigieg, the only gay candidate in US history to win a major party’s presidential primary, praised Mr Biden’s support for same sex marriage - despite Barack Obama refusing to offer his public support.

“The very ring on my finger — a wedding we celebrated here where I’m standing — reflects how this country can change,” Mr Buttigieg said.

Anne Barrowclough 11.50am: Tribute video to John Lewis

The Democratic National Convention has featured a tribute video to John Lewis, the civil rights icon who diedin July of cancer.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms introduced the tribute video, paying tribute to Mr Lewis’ work championing voting rights for minorities and reminding suppporters: “Our vote can be our voice.”

“From day one, John Lewis was a role model for the members of Congress, whether they were freshmen or here a long time, because he brought with him a kind of heft, weightiness, of purpose,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in the video.

Anne Barrowclough 11.35am: Trump’s inexplicable claim

As actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus (of Veep fame) opened the convention by parodying some Republicans’ mkspronunciation of Kamala Harris name, Donald Trump accused the Democrats of demanding an “ID card with a picture” from anyone wanting to get into the DNC - even though the convention is a virtual event.

“To get into the Democrat National Convention, you must have an ID card with a picture ... Yet the Democrats refuse to do this when it come to your very important VOTE! Gee, I wonder WHY???” Mr Trump tweeted.

It was unclear what the president was talking about. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Democratic National Convention’s events have been all virtual, with speakers and other guests appearing remotely.

Anne Barrowclough 10.45am: Video released ahead of Biden speech

The Biden campaign has released a clip of the video that will introduce Joe Biden ahead of his speech today when he accepts the Democratic nomination, spruiking him as a leader who has experienced personal financial hardship and has already helped lead a nation through economic turmoil.

The video begins by referencing the time his father told him as a child that he had lost his job, a moment Mr Biden speaks about often on the campaign trail.

“For the first time, Joe saw the heavy burden on a father, and it was a lesson he would never forget,” a narrator says as a photo of a young Biden flashes on the screen.

Moving on to the 2008 GFC, the narrator continues: “The country was losing tens of thousands of jobs a day,”noting that there were three votes needed to pass the economic rescue package and Mr Biden succeded in bringing them in by “sympathetic listening” and willingness to compromise.

“When the law finally passed, the president tapped his partner to run the program,” the narrator says of Mr Biden’s implementation of the Economic Recovery Act.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris tweeted her support for Mr Biden ahead of his speech, sayng “Go get ‘em”.

Staff writers 9.15am: Trump: Biden abandoned Pennsylvania (at age 10)

Donald Trump has accused Joe Biden of having “abandoned” Pennsylvania years ago - because his family moved from that state to Delaware when Mr Biden was 10 years old.

In a rally in the key state hours before the opening of the DNC’s last day, Mr Trump said of his rival: “He left. He abandoned Pennsylvania. He abandoned Scranton (Mr Biden’s birthplace). He was here for a short period of time, and he didn’t even know it.”

Mr Trump spoke outside Mariotti Building Products, a family-owned business in Old Forge, just outside Scranton.

“If you want a vision of your life under [a] Biden presidency, think of the smoldering ruins in 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,” Mr Trump told the crowd, describing the Democrats as the party of “mobs and criminals.”

Cameron Stewart 8.45am: Most important speech of Biden’s career

Today is the finale of the four day Democratic National Convention, with Joe Biden making his acceptance speech for the Democratic Presidential nomination.

It will be the most important speech of Mr Biden’s long political career as he seeks to make the case to the nation as to why voters should choose him over Donald Trump in the November 3 poll.

After several days of high profile attacks on Mr Trump from Democrat identities such as Michelle and Barack Obama and Bill and Hillary Clinton, Mr Biden is expected to strike a more positive tone as he lays out a vision for his presidency.

During a meeting with the party’s Hispanic caucus on Thursday (AEST), Mr Biden said he intended to show how “the Democratic Party is coming together to unite our country, to stand up for working people and to deliver the promise of this nation to all Americans, particularly those who have been denied its full promise for much too long.”

Others speaking today include former Democrat presidential aspirants Pete Buttigieg, Cory Booker and Andrew Yang as well as two of the short-listed candidates for Biden’s running mate, Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Senator Tammy Duckworth.

The Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, will be among the musical performers as the first ever virtual presidential nominating convention reaches its conclusion.

More Coverage

Trump is to blame for deaths: ObamaTrump is to blame for deaths: Obama
Cameron Stewart
Big beast delivers distorted narrativeBig beast delivers distorted narrative
Greg Sheridan
Biden’s tactics work until a turnoverBiden’s tactics work until a turnover
Karl Rove
Gloves off: Barack goes for the throatGloves off: Barack goes for the throat
Cameron Stewart
Cameron Stewart
Cameron StewartChief International Correspondent

Cameron Stewart is the Chief International Correspondent at The Australian, combining investigative reporting on foreign affairs, defence and national security with feature writing for the Weekend Australian Magazine. He was previously the paper's Washington Correspondent covering North America from 2017 until early 2021. He was also the New York correspondent during the late 1990s. Cameron is a former winner of the Graham Perkin Award for Australian Journalist of the Year.

Cameron Stewart

Add your comment to this story

To join the conversation, please Don't have an account? Register

Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout

More related stories

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/democratic-national-convention-day-4-joe-biden-accepts-partys-nomination-in-crucial-speech/news-story/a8b874099021e58749810a2d6f64cc76