Biden vigorously promotes Harris in DNC speech

In a fiery and emotional address to his Democratic colleagues Monday night, President Biden declared “America is winning” as he sought to define his legacy on the environment, economy and democracy. Just a month ago, he believed this would be the start of his fight for re-election.

The bittersweet moment on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, which came after honors for Biden's wife and daughter, began late and lasted until after midnight on the East Coast after a long tribute to Vice President Kamala Harris, his successor at the top of the ticket.

The belated admiration that many Americans expressed in their sleep underscored the complex challenge facing the first night of the convention: celebrating a one-term president who ousted Donald Trump from the White House while also strengthening Biden's surrogate for another tough contest with former President Trump.

Biden's nearly hour-long speech was the swan song of a career that spanned half a century, and the visibly agitated president referenced one of his favorite lyrics to describe his state of mind.

“Let me know in my heart, when my days are done, America, America, I gave you my best,” Biden said, quoting a song by Norah Jones.

But he also looked ahead: He called the choice of Harris as his running mate four years ago the best decision of his career and argued that the vice-presidential election in November would be crucial to expanding his legacy and achievements.

“She's tough, she's experienced, and she has tremendous integrity, tremendous integrity. Her story represents the best of America's history. Like many of our best presidents, she was also vice president,” joked Biden, who served as President Obama's running mate. “She will be a president our children can look up to. She will be a president respected by world leaders because she already is. She will be a president we can all be proud of, and she will be a historic president who will leave her mark on America's future.”

Biden sounded exhausted by the aftermath of the war between Israel and Hamas, which will likely play a major role in defining his foreign policy.

“This press, these protesters in the streets, they're right,” he said of the pro-Palestinian demonstrators marching through Chicago, changing his tone from his rhetoric that has largely sided with Israel as he vowed to continue working toward a ceasefire. “Many innocent people are being killed – on both sides.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters were removed after unfurling a banner during Biden's speech that apparently read, “Stop Arming Israel.” They appeared to be near the Florida delegation.

While many of the evening's speakers focused on describing the historic nature of Harris' candidacy and their personal relationship with it, the vice president focused on Biden's legacy during his surprise appearance at the party convention on Monday.

“I want to start by celebrating our incredible President Joe Biden, who will speak tonight,” Harris said after taking the stage in Chicago to a rapturous response. “Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifelong commitment to our nation and for all that you will continue to do. We are eternally grateful. Thank you.”

The opening night of the convention was marked by high-flown rhetoric from some of the country's leading Democratic politicians, emotions – such as when Biden was close to tears after taking the stage and hugging his daughter – and dire warnings about the prospect of another term for former President Trump.

There were also frequent references to Trump's 34 felony convictions, at one point prompting the thousands of delegates gathered at the United Center to chant “Lock him up! Find him!” – a reference to the frequent “Lock her up!” chants about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during Trump rallies in 2016.

Biden led the charge against Trump in a way he failed to do in the debate, sowing doubts about his ability to beat him. He accused Trump of increasing the national debt during his time in office to finance tax cuts for the rich and warned that in his second term he would give even greater relief to corporations and top earners while imposing tariffs that would drive up consumer prices and destroy abortion rights.

But politics remained beside the point in many ways: Biden pointed to Trump's role in inciting the January 6 insurrection and his statement that he would behave like a dictator from his first day in office.

“We have lost almost everything that defines us as a country, and that threat – this is no exaggeration – is still very much alive,” he said. “Donald Trump says he will refuse to accept the election results if he loses again. Think about that.”

Clinton, who made history in 2016 as the first female presidential nominee of a major party, spoke about the evolution of women's political power – how women gained the right to vote after Clinton's mother gave birth, how Representative Shirley Chisholm helped launch her groundbreaking presidential run in 1972, how Geraldine Ferraro became the first woman on a major party ballot in 1984, and how she launched a groundbreaking candidacy of her own.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gestures toward the crowd at the Democratic National Convention on Monday evening.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“It was the greatest honor of my life to accept our party's nomination for president. And nearly 66 million Americans voted for a future where there are no limits to our dreams,” she said, urging delegates to work hard in the final months of the campaign. “Together, we have made many cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling, and tonight, tonight, we are so close to breaking it once and for all.”

“And you know what? On the other side of that glass ceiling, Kamala Harris is raising her hand and taking the oath of office,” Clinton said in her speech, which was greeted with thunderous cheers and brought the crowd to its feet.

Before Biden spoke, many speakers on Monday struck a strong populist tone. Shawn Fain, chairman of the United Auto Workers, shouted to the crowd “Trump is a strikebreaker,” praised Biden and Harris for joining the workers' strike and portrayed Trump as a plutocrat bent on helping “the other side.”

“We must help her win because we know that re-electing Donald Trump would result in him betraying the nation to line his own pockets and give bribes to his friends on Wall Street,” said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

The overturning of Roe vs. Wade and the resulting restrictions on abortion access in many states were also a topic. Two speakers recounted their difficulties in obtaining medical care after their pregnancies became unviable, while a third became pregnant at age 12 after being raped by her stepfather.

Biden, 81, delivered a speech capping one of the most unusual months in modern American politics, four weeks after he was sidelined by his own party over fears he lacked the strength to defeat former President Trump. He denied reports he was angry at those urging him to resign.

Instead of speaking as a candidate on Thursday night, he spoke on opening night before leaving for his vacation in Santa Barbara County.

Biden's remarks reflected his campaign speech – his decision to run for president after the violent anti-Semitic protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, and his pride in leading the nation out of the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic, boosting the economy, creating jobs and passing legislation on gun safety, climate change, infrastructure and other measures.

He also pointed out that he was too young to serve in the Senate when he was first elected in 1972 and that he is now too old to be president.

The party is now trying to celebrate him, but at the same time acknowledges that his departure has added extra tension to an election campaign that seemed headed for failure just four weeks ago.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who helped organize the effort to get Biden to drop out, called him “selfless” and “one of the greatest and most influential presidents in the history of our country” to reporters at the California delegation's breakfast on Monday. “I just wanted to win this election,” she said when asked about their now-strained relationship.

Democrats welcomed Biden as a hero, frequently chanting “Thank you, Joe!” and “We love Joe!” But he remains unpopular in the country as a whole: According to the Fivethirtyeight.com poll average, only 38 percent of voters approve of him, while 56 percent disapprove.

Biden hopes those numbers will improve in the next few years, as is often the case with former presidents when they step away from the daily news cycle. Since announcing his retirement from the campaign trail, Biden has sought to bolster Harris by pointing to his past projects, including trillions spent on infrastructure, the social safety net and environmental projects.