Democrats make it official, nominate Biden to take on Trump

Biden formally captured his party's presidential nomination Tuesday night after being nominated by three people, including two Delaware lawmakers and 31-year-old African American security guard who became a viral sensation after blurting out I love you to Biden in a New York City elevator. Delegates from across the country have also pledged their support for Joe Biden.

New York:Democrats formally nominated Joe Biden as their 2020 presidential nominee as party officials and activists from across the nation gave the former vice president their overwhelming support during his party's all-virtual national convention. The moment marked a political high point for Biden, who had sought the presidency twice before and is now cemented as the embodiment of Democrats' desperate desire to defeat President Donald Trump this fall.

The roll call of convention delegates formalised what has been clear for months since Biden took the lead in the primary elections' chase for the nomination. It came as he worked to demonstrate the breadth of his coalition for a second consecutive night, this time blending support from his party's elders and fresher faces to make the case that he has the experience and energy to repair chaos that Trump has created at home and abroad.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State John Kerry and former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell were among the heavy hitters on a schedule that emphasized a simple theme: "Leadership matters. Former President Jimmy Carter, now 95 years old, also made an appearance."

Donald Trump says we're leading the world. Well, we are the only major industrial economy to have its unemployment rate triple, Clinton said. At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command centre. Instead, it's a storm centre. There's only chaos. Tuesday's speaking program underscored Biden's challenge as he seeks to inspire a new generation of voters. While the Democratic leaders of yesteryear can point to experience and achievement, many of them are ageing white men.

Georgia House Democratic leader Stacey Abrams and others speak during the second night of the Democratic National Convention

Just 77 days before the election, Biden has neither history nor enthusiasm on his side.

Just one incumbent president has been defeated in the last four decades. And Biden's supporters consistently report that they're motivated more by opposition to Trump than excitement about Biden, a 77-year-old lifelong politician. That deficit could hurt turnout among less consistent voters, particularly minorities and younger voters, whom Biden needs to show up in great numbers this fall.

Biden formally captured his party's presidential nomination Tuesday night after being nominated by three people, including two Delaware lawmakers and 31-year-old African American security guard who became a viral sensation after blurting out I love you to Biden in a New York City elevator.

President Donald Trump speaks to a crowd of supporters at the Yuma International Airport

Delegates from across the country then pledged their support for Biden in a video montage that featured Democrats in places like Alabama's Edmund Pettis Bridge, a beach in Hawaii and the headwaters of the Mississippi River.

In the opening of the convention's second night, a collection of younger Democrats, including former Georgia lawmaker Stacey Abrams and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, were given a few minutes to shine. But overall, there was little room on Tuesday's program for the younger stars of the party's far-left wing.

"In a democracy, we do not elect saviours. We cast our ballots for those who see our struggles and pledge to serve," said Abrams, 46, who emerged as a national player during her unsuccessful bid for governor in 2018 and was among those considered to be Biden's running mate.

Former President Bill Clinton speaks during the second night of the Democratic National Convention

She added: "Faced with a president of cowardice, Joe Biden is a man of proven courage. On a night that Biden was formally receiving his party's presidential nomination, the convention was also introducing his wife, Jill Biden, to the nation as the prospective first lady."

Biden is fighting unprecedented logistical challenges to deliver his message during an all-virtual convention this week as the coronavirus epidemic continues to claim hundreds of American lives each day and wreaks havoc on the economy.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden with his wife

The former vice president was becoming his party's nominee as a prerecorded roll call vote from delegates in all 50 states airs, and the four-day convention will culminate on Thursday when he accepts that nomination inside a mostly empty Delaware convention hall. His running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris, will become the first woman of colour to accept a major party's vice-presidential nomination on Wednesday.

(With inputs from AP)