1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Joe Biden is officially Democratic nominee for US president

August 19, 2020

At their all-virtual national convention, Democrats have formally nominated Joe Biden as their 2020 presidential candidate. The former vice president will square off with Donald Trump in November's presidential election.

https://p.dw.com/p/3hAM0
Former President Joe Biden with his wife Dr. Jill Biden
Image: Getty Images/DNCC

Former US Vice President Joe Biden was on Tuesday night officially named the Democratic nominee for president and will square off with incumbent Donald Trump in November's election.

Delegates from America's 50 states took a roll call during the second night of the mostly online Democratic National Convention

Usually, states present their delegate counts that different candidates won in a large venue during the convention. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the delegate counts were presented online.

Read more: US election: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris — stronger together

In clips from around the country, Democrats of all stripes explained why they were supporting Biden while putting their own state-specific spin on the proceedings, from a calamari appetizer in Rhode Island to a herd of cattle in Montana.

Following his home state of Delaware, which went last in his honor, Biden appeared live for the first time at a Delaware school, where his wife, Jill, was set to deliver the night's headline address later in the evening.

"Thank you very, very much. From the bottom of my heart. Thank you all. It means the world to me and my family, and I'll see you all on Thursday," Biden said over video-link after all the delegates were counted.

'Leadership Matters'

The convention's second night, under the theme "Leadership Matters," aimed to make the case that Biden would represent a return to normalcy. 

Former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State John Kerry as well as former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell were among those who addressed the convention. Former President Jimmy Carter, now 95 years old, also made a brief appearance.

"At a time like this, the Oval Office should be a command center," former US President Bill Clinton said in a prerecorded video. "Instead, it's a storm center. There's only chaos. Just one thing never changes — his determination to deny responsibility and shift the blame."

Biden, who served as Former President Barack Obama's deputy from 2009 to 2017, clinched the nomination in June. By the time he did, most of his biggest challengers, including self-declared socialist Bernie Sanders, had left the race.

The nomination came on Biden's third attempt after unsuccessful bids in 1988 and 2008.

dv/sri (AP, Reuters)