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Joe Biden has taken the stage at the DNC to pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris to rapturous applause.
He was introduced by First Lady Jill Biden and his daughter Ashley Biden.
“Let me ask you, are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?” Biden asked the crowd.
This comes after Hillary Clinton returned to the Democratic National Convention on Monday night, eight years after she was the nominee in 2016.
In a fiery speech, Clinton said, “My friends, when a barrier falls for one of us, it falls and clears the way for all of us. So for the next 78 days, we need to work harder than we ever have.”
Harris made a surprise appearance at the convention ahead of Biden’s speech.
“Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you will continue to do. We are forever grateful to you,” Harris said.
Harris has enjoyed an astonishing boom in popularity since Biden made his historic decision not to pursue another term in the White House a month ago in the wake of his disastrous debate performance against Trump in Atlanta on June 27.
‘Democracy has prevailed. And now democracy must be preserved.’
‘You can’t say you love your country only when you win,’ Biden says
President Joe Biden referenced the January 6 insurrection in his speech at the Democratic Convention on Monday night.
“My fellow Americans, nearly four years ago, in winter, on the steps of the Capitol on a cold January day, I raised my right hand and I swore an oath to you and to God, to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution and to faithfully execute the office of the president United States,” Biden said. “In front of me was the city surrounded by the National Guard. Behind me, a capital that two weeks before [was overrun] by a violent mob. But I knew then, from the bottom of my heart … there is no place in America for political violence.”
“You cannot say you love your country only when you win,” he added.
‘My kids keep me humble’
‘The original girl dad’
Ashley Biden introduced her father at the DNC on Monday night, calling him the “original girl dad.”
She told the DNC the story of her eighth birthday when he rode the Amtrak from DC just to sing happy birthday to his daughter before going back to Washington.
“When I look at Dad, I see grace, strength, and humility. I see one of the most consequential leaders ever in history,” she said.
Who are Joe Biden’s children? Ashley Biden set to introduce her father at the DNC
President Joe Biden has fathered four children from two marriages — though only two of his children are still alive today.
Biden had three children with his first wife, Neilia Biden, whom he married in 1966. In order of birth, they were Joseph Robinette III, known as Beau; Robert Hunter; and Naomi Christina, known as Amy.
On December 18, 1972, Neilia was driving with the three children to buy a Christmas tree when their car was hit by a tractor-trailer. Both Neilia and Naomi Biden were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Naomi was just over a year old at the time.
The two boys survived but with serious injuries. Less than a month later, Mr Biden was sworn into the Senate on January 3, 1973 at the hospital where his sons were recovering.
First lady recalls moment she saw Biden ‘dig deep’ and decide to drop out
First Lady Jill Biden started her remarks by noting that she has been married to President Joe Biden for almost half a century.
“There are moments when I fall in love with him all over again,” she said.
She went on to praise him for “all he’s accomplished in the name of something bigger than himself.”
“Weeks ago … I saw him dig deep into his soul and decide to no longer seek reelection and endorse Kamala Harris,” she added.
‘Joe Biden helped us get back up again’
Delaware Senator Chris Coons took to the stage at the DNC to praise his longtime friend, President Joe Biden.
“Joe Biden’s mom had a saying, ‘You are defined by your courage, and you are redeemed by your loyalty’,” he began. “Four years ago, I had the honor of helping introduce Joe Biden to our national convention, I spoke about Joe’s faith, his love of family, his determination to restore the soul of our nation.
“Back in 2020 America was nearly flat on our back from a deadly pandemic, an economic collapse, and then in January, an assault on our democracy, all of this because the drama and chaos of our former president have knocked us down.
“But folks, Joe Biden’s courage, Joe Biden’s faith in us, Joe Biden’s determination to heal the soul of our nation gave us hope and gave us confidence. Someone who has himself been knocked down by life time and again, Joe Biden knows the grit and determination of the American people. He believed in us. Joe Biden helped us get back up again.”
‘Donald Trump is a plague on the American conscience’
‘America, we’re going to win’
Warnock calls on Democrats to unify as he slams Trump
Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock told the DNC that a “vote is a kind of prayer for the world we desire for ourselves and for our children and our prayers are stronger when we pray together.”
“Together, we flipped the Senate, held the house, and we sent Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House,” he added. “Together, we vaccinated our citizens, we fortified our cities and our towns, and we stood by our small businesses. Together, we set out to heal the land, a nation besieged by a deadly pandemic and beset by the awful and divisive rhetoric of a man too small for the office entrusted to him.”
Source: independent.co.uk
