5 highlights from DNC: ‘mermaid queen-king,’ capitalism’s 'destruction,' God omitted in pledge
Biden accuses Trump of choking America in ‘darkness’
The 77-year-old former Delaware senator took the convention stage Thursday night after an introduction from his family and a short video detailing his life, tragic family losses and political career.
Much like many other speakers at the convention this week, Biden wasted little time in criticizing President Donald Trump.
The former vice president, who served under President Barack Obama, painted a dark image of a country struggling its way through the coronavirus pandemic with a president who “takes no responsibility, refuses to lead, blames others, cozies up to dictators and fans the flames of hate and division.”
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“Ella Baker, a giant of the civil rights movement, left us with this wisdom: ‘Give people light and they will find a way,’” Biden said as he opened his speech. “‘Give people light.’ Those are words for our time. The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long. Too much anger. Too much fear. Too much division.”
Biden vowed that if he is entrusted with the presidency, he will “draw on the best of us, not the worst.”
“I will be an ally of the light not of the darkness,” Biden, who is Catholic, asserted. “It's time for us, for we the people, to come together.”
He also proclaimed that while he is a Democratic candidate, he will be “an American president.”
“I will work as hard for those who didn't support me as I will for those who did,” he promised. “That's the job of a president. To represent all of us, not just our base or our party. This is not a partisan moment. This must be an American moment.”
On what he's learned from losing his first wife and two children, he said, "As God’s children, each of us have a purpose in our lives. We have a great purpose as a nation, to open the doors of opportunity to all Americans, to save our democracy. To be a light to the world once again."
A majority of polls show Biden with a lead over Trump.
“This campaign isn't just about winning votes. It's about winning the heart, and yes, the soul of America,” Biden said. “Winning it for the generous among us, not the selfish. Winning it for the workers who keep this country going, not just the privileged few at the top. Winning it for those communities who have known the injustice of the ‘knee on the neck.’ For all the young people who have known only an America of rising inequity and shrinking opportunity.”
While many have criticized Trump’s behaviors and attitudes, Biden declared that “character,” “compassion,” “decency” and “science” are on the ballot in 2020.
“Who we are as a nation. What we stand for. And, most importantly, who we want to be,” Biden stressed. “That's all on the ballot.”
