海角大神

Republicans join Dems on virtual stage at second night of DNC

Democrats formally nominated Joe Biden in a second convention night packed with speeches from former presidents, party elders, rising stars, and a handful of Republicans. The program focused on President Trump's morality and ability to lead.

First Look

Democrats formally nominated聽Joe Biden聽as their presidential candidate, with party elders, a new generation of politicians, and voters in every state joining in an extraordinary, pandemic-cramped聽virtual convention聽to send him into the general election campaign to oust President Donald Trump.

For someone who has spent more than three decades eyeing the presidency, the moment Tuesday night was the realization of a long-sought goal. But it occurred in a way that Mr. Biden couldn鈥檛 have imagined just months ago as聽the coronavirus pandemic聽prompted profound change across the country and in his presidential campaign.

Instead of a Milwaukee convention hall聽as initially planned, the roll call of convention delegates played out in a combination of live and recorded video feeds from American landmarks packed with meaning: Alabama鈥檚 Edmund Pettus Bridge, the headwaters of the Mississippi River, a Puerto Rican community still recovering from a hurricane, and Washington鈥檚 Black Lives Matter Plaza.

Mr. Biden celebrated his new status as the Democratic nominee alongside his wife and grandchildren in a Delaware school library. His wife of more than 40 years,聽Jill Biden, later spoke of her husband in deeply personal terms, reintroducing the lifelong politician as a man of deep empathy, faith, and resilience to American voters less than three months before聽votes are counted.

鈥淭here are times when I couldn鈥檛 imagine how he did it 鈥� how he put one foot in front of the other and kept going,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檝e always understood why he did it. He does it for you.鈥�

Speaking Wednesday on NBC's 鈥淭oday鈥� show, Jill Biden said her husband is up for the job of president and called a Trump campaign ad questioning his mental fitness 鈥渞idiculous."

鈥淛oe鈥檚 on the phone every single minute of the day talking to governors who are calling him and Nancy Pelosi. He鈥檚 on the Zoom. He鈥檚 doing fundraisers. He鈥檚 doing briefings,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 mean he doesn鈥檛 stop from 9 in the morning till 11 at night. That鈥檚 ridiculous.鈥�

The convention鈥檚 most highly anticipated moments will unfold on the next two nights. Kamala Harris will accept聽her nomination as Mr. Biden鈥檚 running mate聽on Wednesday, the first Black woman to join a major party ticket. Former President Barack Obama will also speak as part of his stepped-up efforts to defeat his successor.

Mr. Biden will deliver his acceptance speech Thursday night in a mostly empty convention hall near his Delaware home.

Mr. Biden used the second night of the four-day convention to feature a mix of party elders, Republican as well as Democratic, to make the case that he has the experience and energy to repair chaos that Mr. Trump has created at home and abroad.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State John Kerry 鈥� and former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell 鈥� were among the heavy hitters on a schedule that emphasized a simple theme: Leadership matters. Former President Jimmy Carter also made a brief appearance.

Some of them delivered attacks against Mr. Trump that were unusually personal, all in an effort to establish Mr. Biden as the competent, moral counter to the Republican president.

鈥淒onald Trump inherited a growing economy and a more peaceful world,鈥� Mr. Kerry said. 鈥淎nd like everything else he inherited, he bankrupted it. When this president goes oversees it isn鈥檛 a goodwill mission. It鈥檚 a blooper reel.鈥�

Mr. Clinton said Mr. Trump鈥檚 Oval Office is a place of chaos, not a command center.

鈥淚f you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he鈥檚 your man,鈥� Mr. Clinton said.

For his part, Mr. Trump spent Tuesday courting battleground voters in an effort to distract from Mr. Biden鈥檚 convention.聽Appearing in Arizona near the Mexican border聽during the day, the Republican president claimed a Biden presidency would trigger 鈥渁 flood of illegal immigration like the world has never seen.鈥�

Such divisive rhetoric, which is not supported by Mr. Biden鈥檚 positions, has become a hallmark of Mr. Trump鈥檚 presidency, which has inflamed tensions at home and alienated allies around the world.

Mr. Biden has the support of a sprawling political coalition, as demonstrated again during Tuesday's convention, although neither history nor enthusiasm is on his side.

Just one incumbent president has been defeated since 1992, George H.W. Bush. And Mr. Biden鈥檚 supporters consistently report that they鈥檙e motivated more by opposition to Mr. Trump than excitement about Mr. Biden.

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鈥檚 program for the younger stars of the party鈥檚 far-left wing.

鈥淚n a democracy, we do not elect saviors. We cast our ballots for those who see our struggles and pledge to serve,鈥� said Ms. Abrams, who emerged as a national player during her unsuccessful bid for governor in 2018 and was among those considered to be Mr. Biden鈥檚 running mate.

For a second night, the Democrats featured Republicans.

Mr. Powell, who served as secretary of state under George W. Bush and appeared at multiple Republican conventions in years past, endorsed the Democratic candidate. He joined the wife of the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, Cindy McCain, who stopped short of a formal endorsement but spoke in聽a video of the mutual respect and friendship her husband and Mr. Biden shared.

While there have been individual members of the opposing party featured at presidential conventions before, a half-dozen Republicans, including a former two-term governor of Ohio, have now spoken for Democrat Mr. Biden.

The Democrats鈥� party elders played a prominent role throughout the night.

Mr. Clinton hasn鈥檛 held office in two decades. Mr. Kerry was the Democratic presidential nominee back in 2004 when the youngest voters this fall were still in diapers. And Mr. Carter left office in 1981.

Mr.聽Biden鈥檚 team did not give the night鈥檚 coveted keynote address to a single fresh face, preferring instead to pack the slot with more than a dozen Democrats in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. The younger leaders included Ms. Abrams, Rep. Conor Lamb, D-Pa., and the president of the Navajo Nation, Jonathan Nez.

It remains to be seen whether the unconventional convention will give Mr. Biden the momentum he鈥檚 looking for.

Preliminary estimates show that聽television viewership聽for the first night of the virtual convention was down compared with the opening of Hillary Clinton鈥檚 onsite nominating party four years ago.

An estimated 18.7 million people watched coverage between 10 and 11 p.m. on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC, the Nielsen company said. Four years ago, the opening night drew just under 26 million viewers.

Mr. Biden鈥檚 campaign said an additional 10.2 million streamed the convention online Monday night.

鈥淲e are producing a digital convention, and people are watching,鈥� Biden spokesman T.J. Ducklo tweeted.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.聽AP Washington Bureau Chief Julie Pace contributed to this report.

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