Former vice president Joe Biden formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Aug. 20 during a speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.
The Democrats formally elected the former vice president as their candidate on Aug. 18, months after he had become the presumptive nominee. Biden will face President Donald Trump in the election on Nov. 3.
“I’m a proud Democrat and I’ll be proud to carry the banner of our party into the general election. So it’s with great honor and humility that I accept this nomination,” Biden said in a speech broadcast as part of a convention held virtually due to concerns about the spread of COVID-19.
“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’s speech capped off the four-day 2020 Democratic National Convention, which featured speeches from the biggest names in Democratic politics, including former president Barack Obama, former president Bill Clinton, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), among others.
Biden, 77, criticized Trump for the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and blamed him for the economic impact of the numerous shutdowns meant to mitigate the spread of the disease. The Democratic candidate suggested that things would only get worse if Americans reelected the incumbent Republican president.
“If this president is re-elected, we know what will happen. Cases and deaths will remain far too high. More mom and pop businesses will close their doors for good. Working families will struggle to get by, and yet, the wealthiest one percent will get tens of billions of dollars in new tax breaks,” Biden said.
The vice president said he would make wearing masks mandatory nationwide. His other proposals for handling the pandemic were similar to those already carried out by the Trump administration.
The Trump campaign responded to Biden’s acceptance speech with a statement focused on the major far-left proposals in the Democratic opponent’s platform.
“By accepting his party’s nomination tonight, Joe Biden has formally become a pawn of the radical leftists,” Tim Murtaugh, Trump 2020 communications director, said in a statement.
“Biden supports raising taxes by $4 trillion and forcing a government takeover of healthcare that will lead to the elimination of your employer-provided health insurance,” Murtaugh added. “He would kill 10 million energy jobs with the Green New Deal and bow to anti-police activists in cutting funding for law enforcement. He will sacrifice public safety and jobs for Americans by granting amnesty, taxpayer-funded healthcare, and work permits to 11 million illegal aliens.”
Biden devoted only a brief portion of his speech to policy proposals but provided little in terms of specifics. He promised to lower “premiums, deductibles, and drug prices by building on the Affordable Care Act” and vowed to protect the Affordable Care Act and protect social security and Medicare.
The 2020 campaign is Biden’s third run for president. He ran against Obama in 2008 and dropped out from the 1988 presidential race after being mired in controversy.
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