Former US Vice President Joe Biden has formally accepted the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination to take on incumbent President Donald Trump in the November 3 election.
His acceptance speech came on the last day of the four-day Democratic National Convention on Thursday night, which also marked 33 years since he made his first bid for the White House, reports ABC News.
“It’s with great honour and humility, I accept this nomination for president of the United States of America,” the 77-year-old said while speaking from a mostly empty event centre in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
“It is time for us, for we, the people, to come together. And make no mistake, united we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America. We will choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege.
“I’m a proud Democrat and I will be proud to carry the banner of our party into the general election.
“But while I’ll be a democratic candidate, I will be an American president. I’ll work hard for those who didn’t support me, as hard for them as I did for those who did vote for me. 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.”
Biden also said that Trump has “cloaked America in darkness for much too long” and has unleashed “too much anger, too much fear, too much division”.
If Trump is re-elected, Biden said: “(Coronavirus) 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 per cent will get tens of billions of dollars in new tax breaks”.
The “assault on the Affordable Care Act will continue until it’s destroyed”, he added.
Trump has “failed in his most basic duty” to protect Americans from the virus, said the former Vice President.
Biden also took a moment during his nomination acceptance speech to thank former President Barack Obama saying: “You were a great president.”
Before his acceptance speech, Biden was introduced by a video that went through the former Vice President’s life, and career, and highlighted his role as a father, husband and political leader.
His children, Ashley Biden and Hunter Biden, also spoke.
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