Published 12:49 IST, August 19th 2020
US Election 2020: Democrats officially nominate Joe Biden as presidential candidate
US Democrats officially nominated Joe Biden as their presidential candidate at Democratic National Convention on August 18 for 2020 polls scheduled in November.
- World News
- 2 min read
US Democrats officially nominated Joe Biden as their presidential candidate at Democratic National Convention on August 18 for 2020 elections scheduled in November. The former vice-president formally became Democratic nominee in a pre-recorded roll call vote from delegates in all 50 states after failing to win the White House bid in 1988 and 2008.
The largely virtual DNC urged independents and frustrated Republicans to join the movement in order to oust US President Donald Trump from the office. Party veterans including 95-year-old Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton argued for Biden, warning that the current administration has created a mess due to its incompetence.
Jill Biden, the wife of the Democratic nominee, made a strong pitch for his husband and called upon the countrymen to rally around him ahead of the elections. Jill said that the nation wants an honest leadership to unite the people and recover from this pandemic. She added that Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris will work every day to make the nation better.
“And if I have the honour of serving as your First Lady, I will too,” Jill said soon after the formal nomination.
'Democracy at stake'
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders told the virtual Convention that authoritarianism has taken root in the country under the Trump administration, pledging to work with moderates as well as conservatives to preserve “this nation from a threat that so many of our heroes fought and died to defeat.” He said that over 30 million people have lost their jobs and many have lost their health insurance since the pandemic began.
The 78-year-old Democrat was the last primary challenger to Biden before endorsing the former vice president in April, in a rallying call to defeat Trump. He accused the US President of undermining the Postal Service by trying to prevent people from voting, adding that he even threatened to delay the elections.
(Image: AP)
Updated 12:49 IST, August 19th 2020
