Democrats nominate Biden for president, vowing he will end Trump 'chaos'

Democrats, including former US presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, have nominated Joe Biden for president, promising he will end Republican President Donald Trump’s “chaos”.

The nomination comes on the second night of a four-day convention that began on Monday and is held virtually to confirm Biden as the nominee with delegates from around the country casting votes remotely.

Like Monday, Democrats on Tuesday featured a handful of Republicans who have crossed party lines to praise 77-year-old Biden over Trump, 74, ahead of the election in November.

Democrats argued that the former vice president has the experience and integrity to restore the country devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

The convention on Tuesday was held under the theme “Leadership Matters,” which aimed to make the case that Biden would represent a return to normalcy following what Clinton described as the “chaos” of the Trump administration.

“At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center,” Clinton said in a prerecorded video. “Instead, it’s a storm center. There’s only chaos. Just one thing never changes - his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame.”

Jill Biden was also slated to give a speech, asserting her husband’s capacity for empathy will help him offer solace to the nation struck by the crisis. Former Secretary of State John Kerry was set to speak too.

The program began Tuesday by showcasing some of the party’s rising politicians, featuring 17 stars in a video address, including Stacey Abrams, the one-time Georgia gubernatorial nominee whom Biden once wanted to pick as his running mate.

“America faces a triple threat: a public health catastrophe, and economic collapse and a reckoning with racial justice and inequality,” Abrams said. “So our choice is clear: a steady experienced public servant who can lead us out of this crisis just like he’s done before, or a man who only knows how to deny and distract.”

Meanwhile, Sally Yates, the former acting US attorney general Trump sacked for refusing to defend his travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries, attacked the president, calling him corrupt.

“From the moment President Trump took office, he’s used his position to benefit himself, rather than our country,” she said. “He’s even trying to sabotage our postal service to keep people from being able to vote.”

There have changes made to the postal service recently that have slowed the mail service around the United States.

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Democrats have pushed mail-in ballots as a safe alternative, but fear mail service could be hindered and delayed by cost cuts at the Postal Service under Louis DeJoy, a top Trump donor and his ally.

Also on Tuesday, Democratic speakers including US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leading liberal figure known as AOC, was due to deliver a speech.

The progressive congresswoman also took to Instagram Live to encourage her supporters to rally around Biden in November.

Biden himself is scheduled to give his acceptance speech on Thursday, with his vice presidential pick, Senator Kamala Harris, who will headline Wednesday night’s program along with former President Barack Obama.

Among Republicans that were scheduled to give a speech were Cindy McCain, widow of Republican Senator John McCain, who was scheduled to appear in a video talking about her husband’s long friendship with Biden.

Trump’s relationship with McCain, who was the Republican nominee for president in 2008, soured and the president criticized McCain even after his death in 2018.

Republican former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who endorsed Biden in June, was also one of several national security officials who spoke on the Democrat’s behalf along with former defense secretary Chuck Hagel.

They both praised Biden, describing him as a leader with the skills needed to guide the country through the current crisis. 

“What a difference it will make to have a president who unites us, who restores our strength and our soul,” Powell said. 

Meanwhile, the Republican National Convention takes place next week virtually. Trump is scheduled to give his acceptance speech at the White House, in spite of criticism he is politicizing the presidential residence.

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