Democrats make it official and nominate Joe Biden for president

Democratic National Convention

The roll call vote to nominate Joe Biden for president is going in alphabetical order at the convention, but Delaware, Biden's home state, passed so that it can be the decisive state to nominate Biden.

Gov. John Carney and Sen. Tom Carper are expected to appear for Delaware.

The roll call vote to formally nominate Joe Biden for president has begun at the Democratic National Convention. 

The roll call vote will be held with people from all 57 states and territories appearing over video. The range of Democrats set to nominate Biden includes elected officials, including a number of his 2020 opponents, to activists like a fisherman from Alaska, a farmer in Kansas and a bricklayer in Missouri.

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The New York Times security guard Jacquelyn Asbie. Democratic National Convention

The New York Times security guard who blurted "I love you" to Joe Biden in an elevator -- and delivered the former vice president his first viral moment of the 2020 campaign -- officially nominated him for president on Tuesday night.

Jacquelyn Asbie, whose elevator conversation with Biden on the way to an editorial board meeting proved much more potent for the Biden campaign than the newspaper's actual endorsement (it backed Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar), played the ceremonial role of kicking off the vote on Biden's nomination.

In a brief but heartfelt speech, she said she felt in their short interaction that "my life meant something to him."

Asbie continued: "That’s because Joe Biden has room in his heart for more than just himself. We’ve been through a lot, and we have tough days ahead. But nominating someone like that to be in the White House is a good place to start. That’s why I nominate my friend, Joe Biden, as the next president of the United States."

Her nomination of Biden was seconded by two of his home-state allies in Delaware's congressional delegation: Sen. Chris Coons, who said that "he’s always brought that same personal concern he showed for Jacquelyn to getting things done as our senator and then as President Obama’s vice president." And Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, who said Biden "restored decency to our government and integrity to our democracy."

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Democratic National Convention

She only had a little more than a minute, but she fit a whole lot in it.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wasn’t given much time to address the country, as she seconded Sen. Bernie Sanders’ nomination, but in those 95 seconds she offered a poetic accounting of the progressive movement’s aspirations – and offered her “fidelity and gratitude” to those in the fight alongside her.

This “mass people’s movement,” she said, is dedicated to addressing the “the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny, and homophobia,” and building “reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past.”

It is a movement, Ocasio-Cortez said, “that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few at the expense of long-term stability for the many, and who organized a historic, grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy.”

That campaign, now over, is Sanders’. But the crises he described during his campaign and Ocasio-Cortez spoke about on Tuesday night, are very much alive.

Caroline Kennedy and Jack Schlossberg. Democratic National Convention

President John F. Kennedy’s grandson Jack Schlossberg echoed his grandfather’s famous words — “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” — when speaking about Joe Biden during the Democratic National Convention. 

Schlossberg said this election is a defining one for his generation. 

“Times have changed. But the themes of my grandfather's speech — courage, unity and patriotism — are as important today as they were in 1960. And once again, we need a leader who believes America's best days are yet to come,” he said.  

Kennedy’s daughter and Schlossberg’s mother, Caroline Kennedy, said she was able to see Biden “in action” when she was US ambassador to Japan. 

“He stepped off Air Force Two wearing his aviator glasses and a big smile, radiating American optimism and generosity. I saw a leader who was tough but fair,” she said.

Sen. Chuck Schumer. Democratic National Convention

With the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty in New York, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer emphatically said that the Democrats must retake the Senate in November. 

The New York senator went on to lay out the policy goals that would be accomplished under a Biden presidency and a Democratic majority in Congress. 

"We will make health care affordable for all. We'll undue the vicious inequality of income and wealth that has plagued America for far too long and we'll take strong decisive action to combat climate change and save the planet," Schumer said. "We will protect voting rights, fight systemic racism in the criminal justice system and in our economy, and restore a Supreme Court that looks out for people not corporations. We'll rebuild our infrastructure and make sure every home from inner city to rural America has broadband. We will save the post office and once and for all defeat Covid-19, this evil disease. And beckoned by the lady behind us, we will reform our immigration system so that immigrants yearning to breathe free will at last become American citizens."

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Former Democratic Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton used their speeches to tout Joe Biden's legacy on health care and economic proposals.

Carter called Biden "the right person for this moment in our nation’s history. He understands that honesty and dignity are essential traits that determine not only our vision but our actions. More than ever, that’s what we need."

Meanwhile, Clinton said Biden is "committed to building America back again."

The only surviving child of former President John F. Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy, and her son John Schlossberg also delivered remarks tonight.

"Sixty years ago in a crowded stadium in LA, my father accepted the Democratic nomination for president. He challenged Americans to look to the future and join him on a journey towards a new frontier," Kennedy said.

"It was a call to the young at heart, regardless of age or party. Times have changed, but the themes of my grandfather’s speech: courage, unity, and patriotism, are as important today as they were in 1960. And once again, we need a leader who believes America’s best days are yet to come. We need Joe Biden," Schlossberg said.

Former President Barack Obama is set to speak during the convention's programming tomorrow night.

Former President Bill Clinton. Democratic National Convention

Bill Clinton, one of the four men still living who understands what it takes to be President, lambasted the current occupant of the White House in his convention speech on Tuesday, questioning Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and casting his White House as a chaotic “storm.”

Clinton describes running for president as the “world’s most important job interview” and puts the onus on voters to “decide whether to renew (Trump’s) contract or hire someone else.”

Clinton added: “Just one thing never changes -- his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame. The buck never stops there.”

Then Clinton, whose speech was under five minutes, a notable departure for a man who has delivered speeches longer than 40 minutes at multiple Democratic conventions, pivoted to Biden and his work on the economy.

Clinton, after lauding Biden’s work to reverse the impacts of the Great Recession in 2009, then tried to encapsulate the decisions in this election: “It’s Trump’s “Us vs. Them” America against Joe Biden’s America, where we all live and work together. It’s a clear choice. And the future of our country is riding on it.”

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Delaware's U.S. Senator Joseph Biden points out a friend in the crowd at the Padua Academy to President Jimmy Carter during a fundraiser on February 20, 1978. Bettman Archive/Getty Images

Former President Jimmy Carter touted Joe Biden as one of his earliest and most important allies after he was elected to the presidency in 1976 in a speech Tuesday night.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter called Biden a friend and praised his character in speeches in which the Carters appeared by voice, rather than on camera.

"For decades, he has been my loyal and dedicated friend," the former president said. "Joe has the experience, character, and decency to bring us together and restore America’s greatness. We deserve a person with integrity and judgment, someone who is honest and fair, someone who is committed to what is best for the American people."

Rosalynn Carter pointed to Biden's efforts to extend support to caregivers, which is a focal point of Biden's economic platform.

"Joe knows well, too well, the sorrows and struggles of being a family caregiver, from Joe’s time as a young widower thrust into single parenthood with a demanding job to he and Jill caring for their own parents and their son Beau at the end of their lives. He knows caregiving is hard even on the good days," she said.

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