Biden Passes Torch: Harris Formally Takes Helm in Historic Nomination Event

Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden
Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden. Credit | AP

United States: During one of the last key speeches before he ceases to serve his term in five months, Biden formally transitioned the Democratic Party’s nomination to Harris in a hall full of delegates cheering on Monday evening.

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When Biden was shown at 11:30 p.m. Eastern time, thousands of delegates and supporters clapped for him for perhaps five minutes in appreciation for the many years he had been in public service.

Along with that, the convention organizers handed out “We love Joe” signs before the commencement of the president’s speech, to which the crowd held up and chanted in addition to “Thank you, Joe.”

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His daughter, Ashley Biden, introduced him, and he wiped his eyes and hugged her before taking the stage, as the Washington Post reported.

First lady Jill Biden, who spoke before her husband, could barely speak through tears during the final part of the night and a sustained standing ovation for the president, joined by second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, wife of Democratic vice-presidential contender Tim Walz.

Biden began his address to the audience by whipping them up for Harris, which must have been a bittersweet experience for the man who effectively retired from politics after fifty years of service.

He then shifts to what he and the other Democrats love to label a historic presidency – a list of successful legislations that he crafted and oversaw into law at one point; he went to refer Harris as the deciding vote in many of the bills, in a bid to support her as much as he did, celebrate himself.

Biden raised a question at the ceremony, “Let me ask you: Are you ready to vote for freedom?” “Are you ready to vote for democracy and for America? Let me ask you: Are you ready to vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as president and vice president of the United States?”

Biden’s speech late Monday marked the climax of a remarkable two months in American politics, one in which a horrific debate performance led most Democrats to doubt the president’s capability to defeat Republican candidate Donald Trump and culminated in a decision a month ago to quit the race, as the Washington Post reported.