Biden vows to end 'season of darkness' as he accepts the Democratic presidential nomination – as it happened

In case you missed it: here is the biographical video that the DNC played before Joe Biden delivered his acceptance speech tonight.

The video, narrated by actress Octavia Spencer, tells the story of Biden’s life and career up to this point.

The convention played a video tonight featuring several of Joe Biden’s former primary rivals explaining what they admire about the nominee.

But convention viewers quickly noted the video did not include every former Democratic presidential candidate.

Former candidates like former housing secretary Julián Castro, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and author Marianne Williamson were not featured in the video.

The exclusion of certain candidates prompted the Daily Show to re-envision the video as a Zoom call with the forgotten candidates left in the waiting room.

Throughout the convention, Joe Biden has spoken about his grief over losing his son Beau Biden in 2015.

Tonight, the DNC aired a video paying tribute to Beau, featuring lines from Barack Obama’s eulogy to Biden’s son. “He did in 46 years what most of us couldn’t do in 146,” Obama said. “Some folks may never know that their lives are better because of Beau Biden, but that’s OK. “Certainly for Beau, acclaim was never the point of public service.”

Beau Biden was a close friend of Kamala Harris, and both Harris and Joe Biden mentioned that Beau had introduced them to each other – and that they had bonded in shared grief over his death.

After Beau died of cancer, Joe Biden spearheaded an Obama administration “moonshot” to cure the diseases.

Joe Biden’s speech tonight was about 25 minutes long, making it the shortest Democratic acceptance speech since at least 1984.

Biden’s speech was about half the length of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 acceptance speech and 40 minutes shorter than Bill Clinton’s 1996 speech.

The length of Biden’s speech may be related to the abbreviated nature of this year’s virtual convention.

Past conventions have had several hours of programming each day, while this year’s only has two hours each day, potentially requiring the nominee to make some cuts to his speech.

Luke Skywalker has weighed in. The Rebel Alliance backs Biden for president.

(To be clear, actor Mark Hamill, who portrayed Luke in the Star Wars movies, has backed Biden for a while - and headlined a virtual fundraiser for the candidate in June.)

– Maanvi Singh

Joe Biden quoted two of his favorite writers – Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and the Irish poet Seamus Heaney – in tonight’s speech.

“Faith sees best in the darkness,” Biden said, repeating a Kierkegaard quote that he said gave him solace after the death of his son Beau. Light and darkness were the themes of the Democratic nominee’s speech. “I will be an ally of the light not of the darkness,” he told supporters.

And Biden quoted these lines from Heaney:

History says,

Don’t hope on this side of the grave,

But then, once in a lifetime

The longed-for tidal wave

Of justice can rise up,

And hope and history rhyme”

– Maanvi Singh

Gabrielle Giffords, the former US congresswoman of Arizona who sustained brain damage after she was shot, delivered one of the most memorable speeches at yesterday’s DNC event. Today she thanked another DNC presenter who like her, struggled with speech, for his courage.

Giffords spent “countless hours” practicing to deliver one of the longest speeches she’s had to deliver since she was shot, per a spokesperson. “Today, I struggle with speech but I have not lost my voice. America needs all of us to speak out, even when you have to fight to find the words,” she said in an address that appealed for an end to gun violence.

Thirteen-year-old Brayden Harrington, who spoke tonight, had bonded with Biden on the campaign trail over their joint struggles with stuttering.

– Maanvi Singh

Joe Biden has given the acceptance speech he’s been waiting decades to deliver.

After two failed presidential bids – one involving an embarrassing plagiarism scandal – the 77-year-old has finally realized his dream.

Thirty-three years ago, Biden was tasked with delivering a rather somber speech.

The then-senator of Delaware called journalists to a press conference on Capitol Hill to announce he would no longer seek the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, following accusations that he plagiarized a speech by the British Labour leader Neil Kinnock and inflated his academic record.

“I made some mistakes,” Biden told reporters. “But now, the exaggerated shadow of those mistakes has begun to obscure the essence of my candidacy and the essence of Joe Biden.”

Despite the ignominious end to his first White House bid, Biden expressed optimism about his political future. “There will be other opportunities for me to campaign for president,” Biden said. “This country’s going to be lifted up, and I’m going to play a big part in doing it.”

Now, after another failed presidential campaign and two terms as Barack Obama’s vice-president, Biden is finally getting the chance to realize his long-held dream. On Thursday, Biden formally accepted the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination – a moment he has was waited more than three decades for.

“United we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America,” Biden pledged. “It is with great honor and humility that I accept this nomination for president of the United States of America.”

Tonight, Joe Biden chose not to name Donald Trump in his speech, instead opting to call Trump “the current occupant of the office” and “this president”.

The rhetorical choice worked effectively to minimize Trump, and focus supporters instead on how Biden and Harris, if they win, plan to respond to the pandemic and the economic crisis that Trump will have left in his wrath.

Months after the coronavirus pandemic hut the US, “ after all this time, the president still does not have a plan,” Biden said. Pitching himself, he added: “Well, I do.”

– Maanvi Singh

In his address, Biden several times mentioned young people. They’re a demographic that he’s trying to court – especially since about two-thirds of younger voters went for Bernie Sanders in the primaries.

“One of the most powerful voices we hear in the country today is from our young people,” Biden said tonight. “They’re speaking to the inequity and injustice that has grown up in America. Economic injustice. Racial injustice. Environmental injustice.”

But younger, progressive Democrats have been pushing Biden to back them up by adopting more ambitious policies to address economic, racial, and environmental injustice. Young climate activists this week criticized the Democratic National Committee this week for quietly removing language from the official platform calling for an end to subsidies and tax breaks for fossil fuel companies.

While Biden has a reliable base in Democrats over 45, he’ll still have to work ahead of the elections to energize younger voters.

– Maanvi Singh

Biden’s speech is getting a lot of praise, and not just from Democrats. In a panel discussion that will no doubt enrage Donald Trump, Fox News hosts Chris Wallace and Brett Baier were very positive about Biden’s address.

Karl Rove called it an “excellent speech” and even Laura Ingraham, who is the host of one of Fox News’ opinion shows and staunchly Republican, praised it – and in the middle of a segment with Donald Trump Jr. It didn’t seem to go down too well with him at all.

After Joe Biden concluded his speech, Kamala Harris and her husband joined the Bidens to watch the DNC’s fireworks display over the Chase Center.

It was no balloon drop, but a number of commentators applauded the DNC for adding an element of pageantry to the virtual event.

This was one of Joe Biden’s strongest speeches – stayed on-script, but delivered emotion and passion. He never mentioned Donald Trump’s name, but nonetheless indicted his opponent’s record as president.

For Trump and his campaign, who have sought to denigrate Biden, 77, as too old and senile to take on the presidency, setting expectations low proved to be a tactical error. All Biden had to do was practice the speech, and deliver it clearly, to disprove Trump – everything else was icing.

Trump, who appears to have been watching along, tweeted a relatively tame criticism:

– Maanvi Singh

Joe Biden closed his nomination acceptance speech by once again framing his candidacy as a fight for the soul of the nation.

“This is our moment to make hope and history rhyme,” Biden said. “This is our moment. This is our mission.”

After he finished the speech, Biden was joined on stage by Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Harris’s husband.

Joe Biden said he believed the country was ready to address systemic racism, amid nationwide protests over the police killing of George Floyd.

“Will we be the generation that finally wipes out the stain of racism from our national character?” Biden said. “I believe we’re up to it. I believe we’re ready.”

Biden recounted meeting Floyd’s daughter the day before he was laid to rest, and she told Biden her father had “changed the world.”

Joe Biden outlined his plans to combat coronavirus and protect Social Security and Medicare, before pivoting to discussing his running mate.

“I’m not going to have to do it alone because I’ll have a great vice president at my side,” Biden said.

The Democratic nominee described Kamala Harris as “a powerful voice for this nation.”

“Her story is the American story. She knows about all the obstacles thrown in the way of so many,” Biden said. “But she’s overcome every obstacle she’s ever faced.”

Joe Biden accused Trump of having “failed in his most basic duty to the nation” through his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.

“He’s failed to protect us,” Biden said. “And, my fellow Americans, that is unforgivable.”

Biden then offered his condolences to the loved ones of the more than 170,000 Americans who have died of the virus.

“I have some idea how it feels to lose someone you love,” Biden said, an apparent reference to his late son Beau, who has been repeatedly mentioned tonight.

“They’ll always be with you,” Biden told grieving families. “You’ll always hear them.”

Joe Biden said the US is “facing four historic crises all at the same time. The pandemic...the economic crisis...racial injustice and the undeniable realities and the accelerating threats of climate change.”

Biden has been pushed by progressives to adopt more ambitious policies on healthcare, policing, and climate change since he became the presumptive nominee. Here, evoking FDR – who shepherded big, systematic change with his New Deal, the spirit of which progressive Democrats adopted in their Green New Deal for climate change – Biden is promising big solutions, without the big plans that progressives want to seem him adopt.

– Maanvi Singh

Joe Biden noted that America has been hit much worse by coronavirus than many other countries.

The Democratic nominee criticized Trump for repeatedly suggesting that the virus will one day just vanish.

“I have news for him: no miracle is coming,” Biden said.

Biden pledged to enact his national strategy to get the virus under control on day one of his presidency.

“In short, we’ll do what we should have done from the very beginning,” Biden said.

Like other convention speakers, Joe Biden underscored the incredible importance of this presidential election.

“All elections are important. We know in our bones this is more consequential,” Biden said. “This is a life-changing election.”

Biden argued that character, compassion and democracy were all on the ballot in November.

There’s been a few emotional moments so far tonight, but none have been quite as poignant as Brayden Harrington’s speech.

Harrington met Biden in New Hampshire, where “he told me that we were members of the same club: we stutter.” He’s now here at the DNC, giving a specially prepared speech now Biden has helped him find his voice.

You can watch his speech here:

There has been an outpouring of support and admiration for Harrington:

Joe Biden thanked Steph and Ayesha Curry for endorsing him, after the NBA star and his family filmed a video explaining their support for the Democratic nominee.

Among the speakers tonight is Joe Biden’s youngest son, Hunter, who has been a long-time source of Republican ire and conspiracy.

Ahead of Joe Biden’s speech, the Trump campaign released an advert attacking his business links to China, and portraying Joe Biden as being soft on the country. The ad, Politico reported: “Focuses on a 2013 trip the Bidens took to Beijing and intersperses clips of Joe Biden promoting Chinese development. It accuses Hunter Biden of using his father’s position to garner favorable financial deals. Trump called on China to investigate Hunter Biden last year.”

Hunter Biden, an investor and lobbyist who served on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company, has long been an obsession for Trump.

It was the president’s urging of Ukraine to investigate Hunter Biden – there is no evidence that Biden committed any crime – that led to Trump being impeached last year, and this ad splurge suggests Biden’s son will remain in focus as the election looms.Also slated to speak is Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden, who launched an ethically produced clothing company in 2017 and is expected to campaign on her father’s behalf until November.

Mike Bloomberg’s appearance tonight was also stung progressives, who have criticized the diminished role of young, diverse Democrats during the convention.

The billionaire former mayor’s doomed presidential run ended after he spent more than $500m, with little to show for it in terms of delegates won.

His self-funded run also renewed scrutiny of his record on policing — his stop-and-frisk policy in New York disproportionately targeted men of color – and his offensive about women and minorities.

– Maanvi Singh

On the last night of the Democratic National Convention, progressives remain critical that Republicans have been included more than young, progressive Democrats.

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who was allotted a minute to symbolically nominate a fellow democratic socialist Bernie Sanders for the presidency. It was a procedural speaking role, that her supporters complained was less than what was provided to Republicans, including former Ohio governor John Kasich and former Secretary of State under George W. Bush Colin Powell.

Julian Castro, the only Latino candidate in the Democratic presidential primary, was excluded from the events. In an interview with NPR, he said that the initial schedule he saw for the DNC didn’t “reflected this beautiful, diverse coalition, this big tent that Democrats have put together over these last few years”.

– Maanvi Singh

Mike Bloomberg is speaking at the DNC tonight, but, much like former Republican governor John Kasich, Bloomberg is not a universally popular choice.

This week CNN reported that a group of staffers from Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign have called on the DNC to drop the billionaire from the schedule, citing his treatment of campaign staff.

Bloomberg, a former New York City mayor, threw hundreds of millions of dollars into his attempt to win the Democratic nomination but is being sued by a number of staffers who allege they were promised to be paid until November. Six former staffers wrote a letter to DNC chair Tom Perez ahead of the convention, CNN reported, saying they: “do not believe that there is a place on the convention stage for people like Mike Bloomberg who make a mockery of workers’ rights -- a fundamental value that unites all Democrats”. Aside from Bloomberg’s alleged treatment of workers, he has been criticized for not dipping deep enough into his pocket to support Biden.

After dropping out of the presidential race in March, Bloomberg suggested he would spend heavily to defeat Trump in November. He has donated to progressive groups since then, but despite Bloomberg lavishing $1bn on his own presidential run – which yielded 55 delegates out of more than 4,000 – he has yet to donate to Biden.

Actress Julia Louis Dreyfus has landed a number of digs against Trump as she hosts the final night of the Democratic convention.

Dreyfus predicted that Trump would soon be tweeting about how she is a “washed-up, horse-face, no-talent has-been with low ratings.”

Dreyfus said, “Well, with all due respect, sir, it takes one to know one.”

Daniel Strauss reports from Washington:

Donald Trump is giving a freewheeling interview to Sean Hannity on Fox News during the last night of the Democratic National Convention, but said that he plans to watch Joe Biden’s presidential nomination acceptance speech later tonight.

“I will, I’ll be watching,” Trump said in response to a question from Hannity. Trump called into Hannity’s show. He then pivoted to bashing Michelle Obama’s speech earlier in the week, saying there was “a lot of hate” in the former first lady’s address and “she had certain numbers wrong and certain interesting numbers were way off.” Trump added “she had a lot of hate, a lot of anger.”

It’s not clear which numbers Trump was referring to. Trump commonly paints women of color as “angry,” a racist trope. In 2016 when Melania Trump delivered her speech to the Republican National Convention she was criticized for plagiarism after she used certain lines that were word for word the same as one of Michelle Obama’s speeches.

Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin addressed the convention from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the convention was originally supposed to take place before coronavirus derailed both parties’ plans.

Baldwin recounted how she has experienced being rejected from health insurance companies because of preexisting conditions.

“We all have stories like this,” Baldwin said. “Stories about a time when the system was rigged against us. When we were counted out, left out, pushed out. ...

“Each story begs this simple, fundamental question—a question that gets to the heart of the choice in this election: what kind of country do we want to be?”

Baldwin argued Joe Biden would help bring the country to the future Americans want, including a future without coronavirus.

Comedian Sarah Cooper surprisingly addressed the Democratic convention, and she criticized Trump’s attacks on voting by mail.

The convention first played one of Cooper’s viral videos parodying Trump’s baseless claims about voting by mail.

“I’ve heard Donald Trump say some pretty unhinged things,” Cooper said. “Whether you plan to vote by mail or in person with a mask, it is your vote, and it is your right. Don’t let Donald Trump take that away from you.”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is overseeing tonight’s event, and is the first host to be approaching it like a late-night monologue, with jokes and wisecracks throughout.

She’s made fun of Fox News not pronouncing Kamala Harris’ name correctly by flipping the tables on Mike Pence (“Mika Pints?”). She’s also had a dig at three familiar bogeymen for Democrats, saying “If we all vote there is nothing Facebook, Fox News or Vladimir Putin can do to stop us.”

Given her national treasure status due to hit sitcoms Seinfeld and Veep, many people are enjoying Louis-Dreyfus’ jokes regardless of how hammy they are, although not everyone is impressed:

Congresswoman Deb Haaland, one of the first Native American women to serve in Congress, delivered her convention speech with an eye toward our country’s problematic history.

“The promise of this country is older than our constitution,” Haaland said. “I am a symbol of our resiience.”

Haaland noted Native Americans did not get the universal right to vote until the 1960’s. “I know we can’t take our democracy for granted,” Haaland said. “We must work for it -- by getting involved, by registering voters, by voting.”

Amy Klobuchar and her husband, John Bessler are watching the DNC from home — but it seems they’ve brought the spirit.

– Maanvi Singh

Singer John Legend and rapper Common delivered a stirring rendition of their song “Glory” following the video about the life and legacy of civil rights icon John Lewis.

The Guardian’s Lauren Gambino is in Delaware, at the Chase Center in Wilmington, where Biden will accept the Democratic nomination tonight.

The Chicks performed the national anthem at the DNC tonight.

The country trio recently changed their band’s name to The Chicks from the Dixie Chicks, excising a word associated with the Confederate-era south as Black Lives Matter protests across the nation triggered a national reckoning with race.

The group hasn’t shied away from politics. In 2003, Natalie Maines – one of The Chix –told an audience that then-president George W Bush was from Texas, like the band, expressing opposition to the Iraq War.

The band was swift, in today’s parlance, canceled. Their songs were dropped from country radio stations, fans destroyed copies of their Dixie Chicks CDs and staged anti- Dixie Chicks protests. The impact was lasting - years later, networks refused to air a documentary about the band.

– Maanvi Singh

Delaware Senator Chris Coons gave a faith-based endorsement of Joe Biden, saying he was the right leader to bring together Americans of all faiths.

“Joe knows that it’s faith that sustains so many ordinary Americans who do extraordinary things,” Coons said. “We need a president who brings people of all faiths together to tackle our challenges.”

The convention then played a video of Biden answering a question at a televised town hall about how his Catholic faith helped him persevere after he lost his eldest son, Beau, in 2015.

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang addressed the convention, and he endorsed Joe Biden as the right leader to guide America through its uncertain future amid a global pandemic.

“You might know me as the guy who ran for President talking about MATH and the future,” Yang said. “Unfortunately for all of us, that future is now.”

Yang emphasized that the country’s recovery would only be possible with “a change of leadership and new ideas.”

“Our future is now, and it is daunting. But I ask you tonight to join me to help Joe and Kamala fight for the promise of America, turn the page for our country, and lead us forward to a future we will actually be proud to leave to our children,” Yang said.

He then turned things over to actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who is guiding tonight’s program.

Donald Trump went on a short Twitter rant ahead of the final night of the Democratic National Convention, arguing – without evidence – that Democrats are pushing voters to get mail-in ballots to cheat in the November elections.

In a trio of tweets, Trump - again without evidence - tweeted that Democrats needed a picture ID to get into the Democratic National Convention but opposed picture IDs for requesting mail-in ballots.

Trump also tweeted about the federal law enforcement operation he authorized, which has deployed officials from different agencies to cities around the country. Those deployments resulted in large protests and clashes between activists and law enforcement officials.

Trump seemed likely to try and counter-program the final speeches of the last night of the Democratic convention, by being interviewed on Fox news when Joe Biden is due to formally accept the party’s presidential nomination.

The convention played a video entitled “This Time Next Year” in which Democrats shared where they hoped the country would be in a year’s time.

“This time next year, I hope the virus is in check,” said historian Jon Meacham.

Democratic Senator Doug Jones said he hoped America will have “chosen unity over division” by next year.

Gold Star father Khizr Khan said he hoped “America will be coming together, not splintering apart” in 2021, and progressive activist Ady Barkan expressed a desire for “a government that is accountable to us.”

The video concluded with vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris saying, “This time next year, I want to see Joe Biden in the Oval Office.”

Global heating is making wildfires in California more frequent and more extreme. As Newsom said: “The hots are getting hotter, the dries are getting drier - climate change is real.” An unusually dry winter, followed by a dry, hot, springtime and heatwaves this summer have desiccated fire-fueling vegetation into kindling for the fires raging across California today.

– Maanvi Singh

“Mother nature has joined this conversation around climate change,” California Governor Newsom said, as wildfires continued to sear through the state, forcing thousands from their homes amid a heatwave and the coronavirus pandemic.

As the flames edged toward the Silicon Valley city of San Jose, they blackened the skies and spewed up what was perhaps some of the worst air quality in the world. Ash blanketed many Bay Area neighborhoods, and health officials asked residents to stay indoors, warning that the combination of smoky air and Covid-19 make those with respiratory conditions doubly vulnerable.

About two dozen major blazes and several smaller fires have eaten through brushland and dense forests, wildlands in the Sierra Nevada, southern California, and regions north, east and south of San Francisco.

The coronavirus pandemic has also complicated the government’s ability to safely evacuate and shelter residents. The Red Cross has tried to secure hotel rooms for evacuees who are unable to stay with family or friends. “Providing shelter at traditional evacuation centers is not our first option this year,” said Jim Burns, a spokesman for the American Red Cross. California has been struggling to get a handle on a recent surge in coronavirus cases, and crowded shelters could exacerbate the spread of Covid-19 among evacuees.

Here’s the latest:

– Maanvi Singh

The convention played a video highlighting Joe Biden’s “moonshot” effort to cure cancer while serving as Barack Obama’s vice president.

Biden took up the effort after his eldest son, Beau Biden, died of brain cancer at the age of 46.

In her Tuesday speech, Jill Biden described the anguish of losing Beau, and she argued her husband’s continued public service after that tragic loss underscored his commitment to the country.

Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez kicked off the final night of the convention by acknowledging the unprecedented nature of this year’s virtual convention.

Perez said this was not the convention that Democrats had planned to hold, but he noted the virtual event may be a “more accurate reflection” of the state of our country than any traditional convention possibly could be.

Democrats probably couldn’t ask for a better backdrop as Joe Biden accepts the presidential nomination, considering one of Trump’s former advisers was indicted on fraud charges earlier today.

Federal prosecutors say Steve Bannon used money from his anti-immigrant group “We Build the Wall” on personal expenses. Bannon appeared in court this afternoon, and he pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Democrats will almost certainly draw attention to the ongoing theme of the president’s advisers facing criminal charges during the convention tonight.

A few of Joe Biden’s former primary rivals are scheduled to speak tonight, before Biden accepts the presidential nomination.

Businessman Andrew Yang, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker are all expected to deliver remarks tonight.

According to excerpts released by the DNC, Buttigieg, who is openly gay, will celebrate the country’s progress on LGBTQ rights in recent years.

“Just over ten years ago, I joined a military where firing me because of who I am wasn’t just possible—it was policy,” Buttigieg will say. “Now in 2020, it is unlawful in America to fire anyone because of who they are or who they love. The very ring on my finger reflects how this country can change.”

Buttigieg will also explicitly mention the Black Lives Matter movement, which is noteworthy considering Buttigieg struggled to attract support from voters of color during the Democratic primary.

“Every American must now decide,” Buttigieg will say. “Can America be a place where faith is about healing and not exclusion? Can we become a country that lives up to the truth that Black lives matter?”