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CNN Live Event/Special
Democratic National Convention. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired August 20, 2020 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[22:00:00]
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, ACTRESS AND CONVENTION MODERATOR: If you want to help Joe and Kamala, make sure that America stays strong and united, please go to joebiden.com and contribute anything that you possibly can.
Tonight, I couldn't be prouder to be a loyal union member, a passionate climate activist and a patriotic Democrat. Or as Donald Trump will call me in a tweet tomorrow, a washed-up horse face, no talent, has been with low ratings. Well, with all due respect, sir, it takes one to know one.
And now, I'd like to introduce you to a real American hero, World War II veteran, Ed Good.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EDWARD GOOD, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: I am Edward Good. I'm 95 years old. I'm a veteran of World War II and of Korea. When I wear a uniform, I wear only two badges, my parachute wings and the combat infantry badge. I did one combat jump over the Rhine in Germany. I'm proud of that.
I have been a Republican since the 1960s. I'm a member of the NRA and I voted for Trump. I think Trump has been the worst president we've ever had. So, I'll be glad to see him go. I think Joe Biden will be a great leader for the United States.
Like me, on the day of my jump into Germany, I think Joe Biden cares about doing his proper duty for the United States. If he's elected, that's what he will do.
MICHAEL: This year's election is very important. Probably be the most important election we've had in years. I recommend strongly based on the division in this company created by our current President Donald Trump. We need to put somebody else in the White House that's going to bring us together.
Now, let me just explain something. I've been a long-standing Republican for a long time and I'm telling you, you got to vote for Joe Biden. You have to. I don't think we can deal with the type of person we have in the White House any longer. So, it's up to you, America, and me because in this election I'm voting for Joe. I'm sure, I'm absolutely sure he's going to help us bring this country together once again. LAKESHA COLE, WIFE OF DEONTE COLE: My name is Lakesha Cole. I met my
husband 20 years ago. When we started dating while I was in college, once I graduated from college, we eloped. Two weeks after that, he deployed.
DEONTE COLE, MILITARY: This is what I wanted to do, you know. You love this country. Are you willing to do the hard work it takes to maintain it?
L. COLE: What was supposed to be a six-month deployment actually turned into 11 months. There was nothing really to prepare me as a new military spouse on how to deal with the stress.
D. COLE: When people get married, they expect to grow old with each other. With multiple combat tours, there's no guarantee of any of those things.
L. COLE: They're just a long laundry list of uncertainties that we have to juggle.
DR. JILL BIDEN, JOE BIDEN'S WIFE: You know, Joe has always cared about military families. They've been through so much. When I went to Iraq, one of the generals said, you know, I want to share this story with you.
In his daughter's class it was a Christmas program and they were playing the "Ave Maria," and one of the little girls burst into tears. And the teacher ran over and said, what's the matter, what's the matter? And she said that's the song they played at my daddy's funeral. He died in the war.
The teacher had no idea that that little girl's father had fought in the war and had died. And that night I said to my staff, I'm a teacher. We can do better. We've got to do better to help our military kids.
L. COLE: The Bidens have a track record of helping military families and we've seen it with the work that they've done with joining forces and how they were able to, you know, rally a country behind us.
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Men and women we send to war to defend our nation, care for them and their families while they're gone, and care for them and their families when they come home.
(APPLAUSE)
L. COLE: It was the very first time that I, as a military spouse, felt like someone was listening to us and someone cared.
JILL BIDEN: It's not just the service member who serves, the entire family serves as well.
[22:05:04]
Joe said we have one sacred obligation, to take care of our military members. During this pandemic for sure, so many veterans have lost their jobs. So many military spouses have lost their jobs. That's one of the things that will be a priority in a Biden administration. We will make sure that all Americans have health care, employment, the things that families need to thrive.
L. COLE: When people show you who they are, believe them the first time and we know exactly who Joe is. He is the best candidate for America. Not just for our families, but for all families.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL): Good evening. I'm Tammy Duckworth. When I first enlisted in the army, I was eager to serve my country yet anxious whether I would be able to earn my way into the ranks. But I earned my wings and later commanded my own air assault unit, learning that serving and leading in the military is both a privilege and a sacrifice.
To be a commander, you must always put your troops first because one day you may order them to sacrifice everything for our great nation. To do that, leaders must command their troop's respect and be worthy of their pledge to protect and defend our Constitution no matter the cost.
But military service doesn't just take sacrifice from those in uniform, it's required from their families too. My husband Brian was the one who rushed to Walter Reed after I was wounded in Iraq. He was the one holding my hand, waiting for me to wake up.
And when I finally did, he was my rock getting me through those hours, weeks, months of unspeakable pain and unending surgeries. He was my anchor as I relearned to walk, helping me through every step and every stumble.
Our military spouses hold their families together, praying for their loved one's safety wherever they're deployed and serving as caregivers to our disabled service members and then picking up the pieces and starting again whenever the next tour or the next war arises.
Joe Biden understands these sacrifices because he's made them himself. When his son Beau deployed to Iraq, his burden was also shouldered by his family. Joe knows the fear military families live because he's felt that dread of never knowing if you're deployed loved one is safe.
He understands their bravery because he had to muster that same strength every hour of every day Beau was overseas. That's the kind of leader our service members deserve, one who understands the risks they face and who would actually protect them by doing his job as commander in chief.
Instead, they have a coward in chief who won't stand up to Vladimir Putin, read his daily briefings or even publicly admonish adversaries for reportedly putting bounties on our troop's heads.
As president, Joe Biden would never let tyrants manipulate him like a puppet. He would never pervert our military to stroke his own ego. He would never turn his back on our troops or threaten them against Americans peacefully exercising their constitutional rights.
Joe Biden would stand up for what's right, stand tall for our troops, and stand strong against our enemies because unlike Trump, Joe Biden has common decency, he has commonsense. He can command both from experience and from strength.
Donald Trump doesn't deserve to call himself commander in chief for another four minutes, let alone another four years. Our troops deserve better. Our country deserves better.
If you agree, text more to 30330 to elect Joe Biden, a leader who actually cares enough about America to lead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEAU BIDEN, JOE BIDEN'S SON: Good evening. I'm Beau Biden. And Joe Biden is my dad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some voices are never silenced. Some work never ceases to change lives. Some people never stop inspiring even after they're gone. Beau Biden was a husband, father, brother, son, soldier, attorney general. He was given just 46 years on this earth.
BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He did in 46 years what most of us couldn't do in 146. Think about the day the dawns for children who are safer because of Beau, whose lives are fuller because of him.
[22:09:59]
Think about the day that dawns for parents who rest easier and families who are freer because of him. Some folks may never know that their lives are better because of Beau Biden, but that's OK. Certainly, for Beau, a claim was never the point of public service.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you knew Beau, you knew he lived by the strictest code of honor, duty, service, country. You never had to ask if he would do something the right way. He didn't know any other way.
OBAMA: Beau didn't cut corners. He turned down an appointment to be Delaware's attorney general so he could win it fair and square. When the field was clear for him to run for the Senate, he chose to finish his job as A.G. instead. After 9/11 he joined the National Guard. He felt it was his obligation. He did his duty to his country and deployed to Iraq.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beau Biden served his country in battle. He prosecuted one of the worst child predators in American history. Even though he's no longer with us, every day he still inspires the next president of the United States.
B. BIDEN: It won't be possible for me to be here this fall. So, I have something to ask of you. Be there for my dad, like he was for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LOUIS-DREYFUS: A couple of years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. And I was absolutely terrified. One of the first people who called me was Joe. His real warmth and kindness on that call, man, I got to say, it made me cry.
Our current president has made me cry too, but it's never had anything to do with his warmth or kindness. Joe Biden's empathy is genuine. You can feel it. That's why President Obama asked Joe to head up the Cancer Moonshot. President Obama knows what we all know. Joe Biden understands suffering and loss and sacrifice.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg also knows something about sacrifice. He volunteered and was deployed to Afghanistan, then returned home to Indiana to become a highly effective public servant. Say hi to Mayor Pete.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FMR. MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), SOUTH BEND, INDIANA: Good evening. Beau Biden lived a life of service in office and in uniform. When you put your life on the line for this country, you do it not because it's the country you live in, but because it's a country you believe in.
I believe in this country because America uniquely holds the promise of a place where everyone can belong. We know that for too many and for too long, that promise has been denied. But we also know America is at its best when we make that circle of belonging wider.
Just over 10 years ago, I joined a military where firing me because of who I am wasn't just possible, it was policy. Now, in 2020 it is unlawful in America to fire someone because of who they are or who they love.
The very ring on my finger, a wedding we celebrated here where I'm standing, reflects how this country can change. Love makes my marriage real. But political courage made it possible including that of Joe Biden who stepped out ahead even of this party when he said that marriage equality ought to be the law of the land.
There is a long way to go. But if this much can change between 2010 and 2020, imagine what could change between now and 2030? Imagine what we could achieve, this coalition we are building, this very season, gathering progressives and moderates, independents and even what I like to call future former Republicans, standing for an America where everyone belongs.
Joe Biden is right. This is a contest for the soul of the nation. And to me, that contest is not between good Americans and evil Americans. It's the struggle to call out what is good in every American. It's up to us. Will America be a place where faith is about healing and not exclusion? Can we become a country that lives up to the truth that black lives matter?
Will we handle questions of science and medicine by turning to scientists and doctors? Will we see to it that no one who works full time can live in poverty? [22:15:03]
I trust Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to guide us toward that better future because I've seen up close their empathy and their capacity. Just as I've seen my fellow Americans' capacity to support and include one another in new ways and do better by the promise of America.
The day I was born the idea of an out candidate seeking any federal office at all was laughable. Yet earlier this year, I campaigned for the presidency often with my husband Chasten at my side winning delegates to this very convention.
Now I come to this convention proudly supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Joining fellow Democrats who were squaring off in competition just a few months ago. A number of us recently got together to talk about the Joe we know.
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): I'm Cory Booker. Welcome to everybody at home. I am very excited to present to you a group of people that ran in the 2020 Democratic primary against Joe Biden. You could think of this sort of like survivor on the out interviews of all the people who got voted off the island.
Bernie, Bernie don't you laugh. Because I got questions for you like, why does my girlfriend like you more than she likes me? But let's --
(CROSSTALK)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT): Because she's smarter than you and that's the obvious answer, right?
BOOKER: Hey, I'm curious because, Senator Sanders and Senator Klobuchar, you actually served with Joe Biden in the Senate. I'm wondering if you have any memories of what he was like as a colleague in the Senate?
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Well, I remember one night when I was giving one of those floor speeches and, Cory, you know what this is like, no one was there. No one was watching. I was all alone and I gave my speech which is much bigger to a completely empty chamber.
And I walked out of there and I thought I wonder if my mom was even watching this on C-SPAN. And at that moment the cell phone rings and I actually thought maybe my mom was watching it on C-SPAN. And you know who it was? It was Joe Biden.
And that kind of goes to not only his kindness for calling me and being a mentor, but it also goes to how much he cares about our government and what people are saying and that even when he's at home at night, he's watching and he cares.
SANDERS: But Amy, we all want to know, did your mother watch the speech?
KLOBUCHAR: I know. BUTTIGIEG: You remember the steak fry when we were waiting to go on? It worked out to where I was there the same time he was and he pulled me aside at one point and he pointed to somebody who we both knew who was working on my campaign but he had known from before. And let me know that that was somebody who had gone through a family tragedy that Joe somehow knew about and thought it was important for me to know about someone who was working with me.
And I thought -- over time I realized that was just basic to who he is. But that always stuck with me.
BOOKER: Elizabeth, do you have any remembrances as well?
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): I think the day I saw Joe the clearest was on the one-year anniversary of the Boston marathon bombing and everyone, of course, was enormously honored to have the vice president here. But at some point in that speech, he shifted to the parent who had lost a child, to the man who had lost a wife, to someone who had experienced loss very personally and he spoke to each of the families from the heart.
BOOKER: That's phenomenal. I want to ask, what gets you excited about this idea of the inclusion of big ideas from all over the party into the future and into the next administration?
ANDREW YANG (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The magic of Joe Biden is that everything he does becomes the new reasonable. If he comes with an ambitious template to address climate change, all of a sudden everyone is going to follow his lead. You can see with him choosing Kamala too, he wants to build the best team. Let's do it together. That's how we're going to rebuild this country.
FMR. REP. BETO O'ROURKE (D-TX): Cory, I'm so optimistic about our country right now despite some very dark days for a lot of our fellow Americans in large part because of what young people are doing right now. After the murder of Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, young people, by and large, led these protests and they did so in the absolute best traditions of this country and the tradition of John Lewis.
My optimism and my faith in this country is reflected in those young people and the way that Joe and Kamala are listening to them and incorporating their ideas and their urgency into the campaign that they're running and the administration that they're going to lead.
[22:20:00]
BOOKER: And I have to think some people say they don't know if they're going to vote or not are saying that from a point of privilege that a lot of Americans don't have. There are so many things for lots of folks who live life on the margins that this election is going to decide. And maybe it's not a life or death issue for you, but we are all in this together.
O'ROURKE: Absolutely. SANDERS: Cory, what I would say is that, this is clearly the most
important election in the modern history of this country and, Joe Biden, you have a human being who is empathetic, who is honest, who is decent and at this particular moment in American history, my God, that is something that this country absolutely needs. And all of us, whether you're a progressives, moderates or conservatives have got to come together to defeat this president.
BOOKER: Thanks for that, Bernie. I want to thank you all for joining us for this segment. I mean this sincerely. It was an honor to run against you. And it's even a greater honor to stand with you in support of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, CEO, BLOOMBERG L.P.: Good evening. I've never been much for partisan politics. I've supported Democrats, Republicans, and independents. Hell, I've actually been a Democrat, Republican and independent. It's all about people and the two people running for president couldn't be more different.
One believes in facts, one does not. One listens to experts, the other thinks he knows everything. One looks forward and sees strength in America's diversity, the other looks backwards and sees immigrants as enemies and white supremacists as allies.
Here's another difference. One has proven he knows how to handle a crisis by helping to lead the economic turnaround after the 2008 recession while the other has not only failed to lead, he has made the current crisis much worse.
When confronted with the biggest calamity any president has faced in the modern era, Donald Trump spent the year downplaying the threat, ignoring science and recommending quack cures which let COVID-19 spread must faster than it should have, leaving hundreds of thousands needlessly sick or dead. He has failed the American people catastrophically.
Four years ago, I came before this very convention and said, New Yorkers know a con when we see one. But tonight, I'm not asking you to vote against Donald Trump because he's a bad guy. I'm urging you to vote against him because he's done a bad job.
Today, unemployment is at historic highs and small businesses are struggling just to survive. It didn't have to be this way. Before I ran for mayor, I spent 20 years running a business I started from scratch.
So, I want to ask small business owners and their employees one question and it's a question for everyone. Would you rehire or work for someone who ran your business into the ground? And who always does what's best for him or her even when it hurts the company and whose reckless decisions put you in danger and spends more time tweeting than working? If the answer is no, why the hell would we ever rehire Donald Trump for another four years?
Trump says we should vote for him because he's a great businessman. Really? He drove his companies into bankruptcy six times always leaving behind customers and contractors who were cheated and swindled and stopped doing business with him.
Well, this time, all of us are paying the price and we can't let him get away with it again. Donald says we should vote for him because the economy was great before the virus. Huh? Biden and Obama created more jobs over their last three years than the Trump administration did over their first three. And economic growth was higher under Biden and Obama than under Trump.
In fact, while Biden helped save one million auto industry jobs, Trump has lost 250,000 manufacturing jobs. So, when Trump says he wants to make America great again, he's making a pretty good case for Joe Biden.
Look, our goal shouldn't be to bring back the pandemic economy. It should be as Joe says, to build it back better. Joe's economic plan will create clean energy jobs that help fight another crisis that Trump is ignoring, climate change.
And Joe will rebuild our crumbling roads and bridges, something Trump has incessantly talked about doing but in the last three and a half years he hasn't done anything. What a joke?
[22:24:59]
And let me tell you a little secret. Donald Trump's economic plan was to give a huge tax cut to guys like me who didn't need it. And then lie about it to everyone else.
Well, Joe will roll back that tax cut that I got so we can fund things our whole country needs, like training for adults who have lost jobs, and making college more affordable and investing in American research and development so that the products of tomorrow are made today by American workers.
You know, growing up, I was taught to believe that America is the greatest country in the world. Not because we won the Second World War but because of why we fought it, for freedom, democracy and equality.
My favorite childhood book was called Johnny Tremain, about a Boston boy who joins the sons of liberty at the dawn of the American Revolution. At the end of the book, Johnny stands on Lexington Commons and sees a nation that is, quote, "green with spring, dreaming of the future."
That's the America I know and love. And that's the America we are in danger of losing under this president. So, let's put an end to this whole sorry chapter in American history and elect leaders who will bring integrity and stability, sanity and confidence back to the White House.
Joe and Kamala, go get them for all of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOUIS-DREYFUS: We can help you find the best and safest way to vote in your state simply text vote to 30330 to learn more, 30330. It's actually not that hard to remember. Watch. Person, woman, man, camera, TV, 30330. Anyone can do it.
I want to introduce you now to a young man who Vice President Biden met earlier this year in New Hampshire and helped to find his voice. Say hello to Brayden Harrington.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAYDEN HARRINGTON, 13-YEAR-OLD BOY BIDEN MET IN NEW HAMPSHIRE: Hi. My name is Brayden Harrington and I'm 13 years old. And without Joe Biden, I wouldn't be talking to you today. About a few months ago I met him in New Hampshire. He told me that we were members of the same club. We stutter.
It was really amazing to hear that someone like me became vice president. He told me about a book of poems by Yates who he would read out loud to practice. He showed me how he marks his addresses to make them easier to say out loud. So, I did the same thing today.
And now I'm here talking to you today about the future, about our future. My family often says when the world feels better before -- before talking about something normal, like going to the movies. We all want the world to feel better. We need the world to feel better.
I'm just a regular kid and in the short amount of time, Joe Biden made me more confident about something that's bothered me my whole life. Joe Biden cared. Imagine what he can do for all of us. Kids like me are counting on you to elect someone we can all look up to. Someone who cares. Someone who will make our country and the world feel better. We're counting on you to elect Joe Biden.
MICHAEL BEALS, RABBI, CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM: The first time I met Joe, I was reading at my synagogue and I had to do a funeral service in a Sheba (ph) and it was at the end of the service, the door opens up and this person who was much younger than these octogenarians who were there walked in the room. It was our U.S. Senator, Joe Biden.
He was just very respectful and he stayed in the back and his head was bowed in reverence. And I said, Senator Biden, like, why are you here? Because I'm a Catholic boy from Sheba (Ph). And what he said was just so lovely. He said this dear lady gave $18 to my campaign from the very first time I started in 1972 so he wanted to show his respects by saying thank you. And that just blew me away.
[22:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you guys might probably smaller.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Granddaughter interview. Take one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No. This is good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, what don't I know about your grandfather? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's always eating ice cream. Usually it's vanilla --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With chocolate sprinkles.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Vanilla on a regular night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, I'm talking chip. There is chocolate chip.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The briers that half chocolate and half vanilla.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He likes ice cream in hidden ways.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Eating it like in the freezer so that my grandma doesn't see. He hides it.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How often does he call you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like every day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, every day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like if we don't talk to him for a day, he'll --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He'll ask what's wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He'll think we're not alive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He always calls with the same energy even after he's just done 15 interviews in a row.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, pop. I was just talking about you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't necessarily pick up every day. But I have a lot of voicemails.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He will pick up our calls no matter where he is. He'd be like on stage giving a speak and we'd call him and he'd be like, what's wrong? is everything wrong? And I'd be like, just --
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does the word family mean to you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a lot of time together.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like we've grown up together. He's made sure that every single tradition, every holiday we're all together. I don't think that there's been any decision, no matter how big or small, that we haven't decided as a family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pop told us that this election would be totally different from any other election ever. He was worried how it would affect his kids, whether or not he wanted to go through another campaign and be scrutinized by the press.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There had been talks of a big meeting coming. It's normally called by the parents, I would say. But this time it was called by me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came down from Penn, and Maisy came up from D.C. and my cousins live down the road.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He thought we were calling a meeting sort of to like discuss whether or not we wanted him to, but we were calling it to be like, get in that race. Hurry up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just knew that he had to run and we weren't going to take no as an answer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the end of the day I think we're all very happy we had that meeting.
BIDEN: All right, well, when you get back there, give me a call and tell me how the whole thing went.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, I will.
BIDEN: I love you, baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want to ensure that our kids live in a nation that is safe, happy, healthy and fair and so this election --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're voting for Joe Biden. Let's have a conversation with these kids.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's do it. So, let's jump right in, shall we?
RYAN CURRY: What does jump in mean?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boy.
R. CURRY: I can't be quiet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why? I don't want you to be quiet. You deserve to speak and say whatever it is that comes to your mind in this moment right now.
Every election is important. This upcoming election is especially important. One, because the social injustices right now, racial inequality, but also because we have children.
R. CURRY: Excuse me, mommy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: yes.
R. CURRY: I need to go to the bathroom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want to go right now? Do you know where the president lives?
R. CURRY: In the White House.
RILEY CURRY: Washington, D.C.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know what the president's job is?
R. CURRY: To tell what happened to the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a good one. That's a good one.
RILEY CURRY: Keep the environment safe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is correct. As we say, that is correct.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you could create the ideal person to lead this country, what characteristics would that person have?
RILEY CURRY: A very kind personality.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you like to see taken care of?
RILEY CURRY: I would like to see them taking care of the earth and the people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, girls, it is 2020 and the election is coming up in November. Do you know who is running for president?
RILEY CURRY: Joe Biden.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
R. CURRY: And --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly. That's it. This video is over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would you say if you knew that Joe Biden was going to have a woman as his vice president?
RILEY CURRY: Surprised and happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?
RILEY CURRY: There's, like, not a lot of women being president and helping alongside the president. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How important do you think your faith is in the way
that you live your life?
RILEY CURRY: Really big. Because I'm grateful for all the things that I have and that I love my family.
[22:35:06]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And with that said, everyone, we really thank you, one, for listening to this very candid conversation with our daughters and we just want to encourage you to truly do your research, think about your own homes and what you'd like to see projected out into the world in the right direction is making sure that you vote this election for Biden.
Whatever you do, please vote. Every vote counts. Just remember that. Are you going to dance out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cut.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LOUIS-DREYFUS: Here's the big question, how much of your time and energy are you willing to devote to elect Joe Biden? Here's my answer. I'm going all in.
Look, elections can break your heart but sometimes they can make you sing from the mountain tops and this year, we're going to sing. This year we're going to elect a president who is honest, experienced and intelligent. A president who actually believes in the rule of law, who will restore dignity to the White House and the soul of this nation.
And, boy, won't that be something? One of my favorite things Joe Biden says is that you can succeed in life without sacrificing your ideals or your commitment to family. So, who better to introduce our nominee, Joe Biden, than his children?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTER BIDEN, JOE BIDEN'S SON: I'm Hunter Biden.
ASHLEY BIDE, JOE BIDEN'S DAUGHTER: And I'm Ashley Biden.
H. BIDEN: Joe Biden is our dad.
A. BIDEN: And Beau is our brother.
H. BIDEN: We want to tell you what kind of president our dad will be.
A. BIDEN: He will be tough.
H. BIDEN: And honest.
A. BIDEN: Caring and principled.
H. BIDEN: He'll listen, he'll be there when you need him. A. BIDEN: He'll tell you the truth even when you don't want to hear
it.
H. BIDEN: He'll never let you down.
A. BIDEN: He'll be rock steady.
H. BIDEN: The strongest shoulder you can ever lean on.
A. BIDEN: He'll beam with pride every time you succeed.
H. BIDEN: He'll make your grandkids feel that what they've got to say matters.
A. BIDEN: He'll treat everyone with respect no matter who you are.
H. BIDEN: He'll get up no matter how many times he's been knocked down.
A. BIDEN: He'll be the worst enemy any bully ever saw.
H. BIDEN: He'll be the best friend you've ever have.
A. BIDEN: He'll love you with all of his heart.
H. BIDEN: And if you give him your cell phone number --
A. BIDEN: -- he's going to call it.
H. BIDEN: How do we know?
A. BIDEN: Because he's been that way our whole lives.
H. BIDEN: He's been a great father.
A. BIDEN: And we think he'll be a great president.
H. BIDEN: Beau isn't with us any longer.
A. BIDEN: But he's still very much alive in our hearts and we can still hear his strong voice.
H. BIDEN: Just like it was yesterday.
A. BIDEN: Just like it was yesterday.
H. BIDEN: In 2008 and 2012, he introduced our dad at those conventions.
A. BIDEN: And if he was here, we're pretty sure we'd know what he'd say.
H. BIDEN: So, before we show you a film about our dad's journey, we wanted to give Beau the last word. Beau --
A. BIDEN: Beau, take it away. B. BIDEN: In moments both public and private, he's the father I've
always known, the grandfather my children love and adore. My father. My hero, Joe Biden.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our lives have been turned upside down, shattered and shaken. But the American story has had moments like this before and he was there answering the call.
OBAMA: When we came into office in 2009, we were going through what was then the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The economy was hemorrhaging hundreds of thousands of jobs a week. People were losing their homes to foreclosure. The financial system was in tatters. Auto sales had dropped to near zero levels.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The auto companies face bankruptcy and many said, let them fail. But Joe remembered his father and what it meant to lose a job.
[22:40:02]
The Finnegans and Bidens were Irish Catholic. Joe was their first. And then his sister Valerie.
VALERIE BIDEN OWENS, JOE BIDEN'S SISTER: From the moment I opened my eyes, my big brother was there. The thing that was most important was family and family and family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As the post-war boom faded, Joe's father struggled to find work in Scranton. But 140 miles south, there was a job cleaning boiler in Wilmington.
OWENS: There was a long stairway up to the second floor. Dad went up to Joey in our bedroom and saying, Joey, you got to be a big boy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the first time, Joe saw the heavy burden on a father and it was a lesson he would never forget.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A job is a lot more than a paycheck. It's about dignity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The country was losing tens of thousands of jobs a day and they needed three votes to pass the economic rescue package.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joe Biden was handled the task of going to get those three Republican votes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe returned to the place where we had been so effective.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Passionate argument, sympathetic listening, willingness to make adjustments and accommodations to bring people on board.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the law finally passed, the president tapped his partner to run the program. Joe tracked every dollar, calling mayors and governors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talking to them on the phone one on one. He gave all of them his cell phone.
CECILIA MUNOZ, FORMER DIRECTOR OF DOMESTIC POLICY COUNCIL: And I watched him bring his heart to that job. It matters that you have in your mind the family that you're trying to reach, the neighborhood that you're trying to reach, the people whose lives are affected by what you do.
The skills that had made him so effective have not come easy. When he entered school, there was a problem. Joe had a stutter.
BIDEN: And it's mortifying. It allows that child to become an object of ridicule.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When his teacher mimicked him and Joe ran home from school, his mother drove him back.
BIDEN: Did you say to my son Mr. Biden? The nun said, I was just trying to make a point. My mother stood up, a five foot two of her, if you ever talk to my son like that again, I'll come back and rip that damn bonnet off of your head, do you understand me? Joey, go back to class.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joe resolve to overcome his stutter.
BIDEN: Some letters are harder than others and I used this to get up at night and go stand in front of the mirror with a flashlight and practice. She'd make me look her in the eye, look at me, remember, Joey, you're the smartest boy in that class. Nobody is better than you, Joey. From having to deal with stuttering, it gave me insight into other people's pain, other people's suffering.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At 19, Joe sought out a summer job that few of his peers considered taking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a lifeguard along with the black lifeguards. That's when I first seen Joe. And we became friends.
BIDEN: It was one of the best things I ever done because it gave me a sense that we really didn't know one another.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After Martin Luther King was assassinated, riots broke out in Wilmington and the National Guard stayed for almost a year.
BIDEN: I quit a law firm and asked for a job to become a public defender. That's what sort of got me involved in politics.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: J. Caleb Boggs was a popular war hero in a solidly Republican state and few took Joe's campaign seriously. OWENS: In Delaware, the Democratic Party was nonfunctional. When it
got time to put up a candidate, they didn't want to touch it. This young upstart, Joe Biden who had a lot of ideas and no money, no influence, the party said, OK, well, then, go ahead, Biden. Give it a whirl.
BIDEN: That's all I can ask. (Inaudible) advocacy and help me out, if not, vote for the other fellow, but (Inaudible) if you would.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, we have a coffee, and we'd have five more coffees. He was very articulate on the issues. He brought people to say not just that I agree with what you're doing, what can I do to help?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Delaware is the first state. J. Caleb Boggs who is the incumbent, Republican, being challenged by Joseph Biden. Biden is a Democrat who's 29 years of age.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But exhilaration soon turned to tragedy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was clear he decided that I'm not going to be a senator. That the boys need me too much.
[22:44:06]
BIDEN: I was prepared to walk away in 1973. Men like Ted Kennedy and Mike Mansfield, Hubert Humphrey, Fritz Hollings, (Inaudible), they convinced me to stay, to stay six months, Joe. Remember, Danny, just stay six months.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He couldn't allow the suffering to debilitate him. Just like he couldn't allow the stuttering to define him. That's the backbone. There's something bigger than Joe's suffering.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Senate turned out to be a wonderful place for him. He had a real gift for bringing people together.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The three of them had a bond that was forged in sorrow and extended into joy when Jill entered.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They had built this beautiful family, this circle of trust.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then the extra gift of Ashley.
A. BIDEN: Growing up it was full of adventure, laugher.
H. BIDEN: We do everything as a family. And we've always done everything as a family.
JILL BIDEN: He was always a good, loving father. There's nothing more important to Joe than his children.
B. BIDEN: It's hard to explain however present he was in our lives.
You don't have to guess what my dad believes. A great benefit of being my father is that he doesn't have to contort himself into different people at different times.
JILL BIDEN: Beau was going to do fine things. I mean, he had it all and then he got sick. The whole world tilted and it felt like we were all falling off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once again, Joe faced the unimaginable.
BIDEN: My mother, she said, bravery resides in every heart and someday it will be summoned.
H. BIDEN: The way he survived losing my mom and my sister, and then losing my brother is understanding that you have to have purpose.
BIDEN: Every day I get up, I ask myself, I hope he's proud of me because that's the thing that makes me move on.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From his time in the Senate and then the White House, Joe always found a way forward. Forging unlikely friendships and alliances and time after time he made progress possible. And always holding in his heart the struggles of his family and every family, always fighting to make his country whole.
MUNOZ: It's a very rare quality to bring your empathy skills to the process of governing. Joe Biden never forgets that that's the point of moving the wheels of government.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D-VT): He will keep his word. He will reach out and hear what other people have to say.
OBAMA: To have somebody who believes in what's best in us, somebody like Joe Biden who actually believes in the American idea, that's the kind of person who I want in the White House.
BIDEN: Good evening. Ella Baker, a giant of the Civil Rights movement, left us with this wisdom. "Give people light and they will find the way." Give people light. Those are words for our time. The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long.
Too much anger. Too much fear. Too much division. Here and now I give you my word. If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not the darkness. It's time for us, for we the people, to come together. And make no mistake, united we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America. We'll choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege.
I'm a proud Democrat. And I'll be proud to carry the banner of our party into the general election. So it's with great honor and humility I accept this nomination for president of the United States of America.
[22:50:05]
But while I'll be a Democratic candidate, I will be an American president. I'll work hard for those who didn't support me, as hard for them as I did for those who did vote for me. That's the job of a president, to represent all of us, not just our base or our party. This is not a partisan moment. This must be an American moment.
It's a moment that calls for hope and light and love, hope for our future, light to see our way forward, and love for one another. America isn't just a collection of clashing interests, of red states or blue states. We're so much bigger than that. We're so much better than that.
Now nearly a century ago Franklin Roosevelt pledged a New Deal in a time of massive unemployment, uncertainty, and fear. Stricken by a disease, stricken by a virus, FDR insisted that he would recover and prevail, and he believed America could as well. And he did, and we can as well.
This campaign isn't just about winning votes. It's about winning the heart, and yes, the soul of America. Winning it for the generous among us, not the selfish. Winning it for workers who keep this country going, not just the privileged few at the top. Winning it for those communities who have known the injustice of a knee on a neck.
For all the young people who have known only America being rising inequity and shrinking opportunity, they deserve the experience of America's promise. They deserve to experience it in full.
You know, no generation ever knows what history will ask of it. All we can ever know is whether we're ready when that moment arrives. And now history has delivered us to one of the most difficult moments America has ever faced. Four, four historic crises all at the same time, a perfect storm.
The worst pandemic in over a hundred years, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the most compelling call for racial justice since the '60s, and the undeniable realities and just the accelerating threats of climate change.
So the question for us is simple. Are we ready? I believe we are. We must be.
You know, all elections are important. We know in our bones this one is more consequential. As many have said, America is at an inflection point. A time of real peril but also of extraordinary possibilities. We can choose a path of becoming angrier, less hopeful, more divided, a path of shadow and suspicion, or, or we can choose a different path and together take this chance to heal, to reform, to unite. A path of hope and light.
This is a life-changing election. This will determine what America is going to look like for a long, long time. Character is on the ballot, compassion is on the ballot, decency, science, democracy. They're all on the ballot. Who we are as a nation, what we stand for, and most importantly, who we want to be. That's all on the ballot.
And the choice could not be more clear. No rhetoric is needed. Just judge this president on the facts. Five million Americans infected by COVID-19. More than 170,000 Americans have died. By far the worst performance of any nation on Earth. More than 50 million people have filed for unemployment this year.
More than 10 million people are going to lose their health insurance this year. Nearly one in six small businesses have closed this year.
And this president, if he's re-elected, you know what will happen. Cases and deaths will remain far too high. More mom and pop businesses will close their doors, and this time for good. Working families will struggle to get by. And yet the wealthiest 1 percent will get tens of billions of dollars in new tax breaks. And the assault on the Affordable Care Act will continue until it's destroyed, taking insurance away from more than 20 million people, including more than 15 million people on Medicaid. And getting rid of the protections that President Obama worked so hard to get passed for people who have -- 100 million more people who have pre-existing conditions.
[22:55:09]
And speaking of President Obama, a man I was honored to serve alongside for eight years as vice president, let me take this moment to say something we don't say nearly enough. Thank you, Mr. President. You were a great president. A president our children could and did look up to.
No one's going to say that about the current occupant of the White House. What we know about this president is if he's given four more years, he'll be what he has been for the last four years. A president who takes no responsibility, refuses to lead, blames others, cozies up to dictators, and fans the flames of hate and division.
He'll wake up every day believing the job is all about him, never about you. Is that the America you want for you, your family, your children?
I see a different America. One that's generous and strong, selfless and humble. It's an America we can rebuild together. As president, the first step I will take will be to get control of the virus that has ruined so many lives because I understand something this president hasn't from the beginning, we will never get our economy back on track. We will never get our kids safely back in schools. We will never have our lives back until we deal with this virus.
The tragedy of where we are today is it didn't have to be this bad. Just look around. It's not this bad in Canada or Europe or Japan or almost anywhere else in the world. And the president keeps telling us the virus is going to disappear. He keeps waiting for a miracle.
Well, I have news for him. No miracle is coming.
We lead the world in confirmed cases. We lead the world in deaths. Our economy is in tatters, with Black, Latino, Asian-American, Native American communities bearing the brunt of it. And after all this time the president still does not have a plan.
Well, I do. If I'm your president, on day one we'll implement the national strategy I've been laying out since March. We'll develop and deploy rapid tests with results available immediately. We'll make the medical supplies and protective equipment that our country needs. We'll make them here in America, so we will never again be at the mercy of China or other foreign countries in order to protect our own people.
We'll make sure our schools have the resources they need to be open, safe, and effective. We'll put politics aside. We'll take the muzzle off our experts, so the public gets the information they need and deserve: honest, unvarnished truth. They can handle it.
We'll have a national mandate to wear masks, not as a burden but as a patriotic duty to protect one another. In short, we'll do what we should have done from the very beginning.
Our current president has failed in his most basic duty to the nation. He has failed to protect us. He has failed to protect America. And my fellow Americans, that is unforgivable.
As president I'll make you a promise. I'll protect America. I'll defend us from every attack, seen and unseen, always, without exception, every time.
Look, I understand. I understand how hard it is to have any hope right now. On this summer night let me take a moment to speak to those of you who have lost the most. I have some idea how it feels to lose someone you love. I know that deep black hole that opens up in the middle of your chest and you feel like you're being sucked into it.
I know how mean, cruel, and unfair life can be sometimes. But I've learned two things. First, your loved one may have left this earth, but they'll never leave your heart. They'll always be with you. You'll always hear them.
And second, I've found the best way through pain and loss and grief is to find purpose. As God's children, each of us have a purpose in our lives. We have a great purpose as a nation to open the doors of opportunity to all Americans, to save our democracy, to be a light to the world once again, and finally to live up to and make real the words written in the sacred documents that founded this nation.
