A visibly emotional Joe Biden received a standing ovation during his farewell speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday. The moment was made even more poignant when Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance, praising him for being an “incredible” president.
“I love you,” the tearful 81-year-old president told the crowd to deafening cheers, less than a month after dropping out of the White House race against Donald Trump and passing the torch to his vice president.
Biden took to the stage to chants of “We love you Joe” from the same party which had pushed him out over concerns about his age, in one of the biggest political shocks in US political history.
“We both know we have more to do, but we’re moving in the right direction,” he said, referring to himself and the 59-year-old Harris, who, in the space of a few breathtaking weeks, has turned the presidential race upside down.
America’s first female, Black and South Asian vice president has quickly breathed new life into the Democratic Party and wiped out Republican rival Donald Trump’s lead in the polls.
She heaped lavish tribute to Biden at what must be one of the toughest moments of his career, even breaking with tradition to speak on the first night of the convention in praise of her boss.
“I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible president Joe Biden,” said Harris, who was wearing a tan suit and took to the stage to Beyonce’s “Freedom.”
“We are forever grateful to you.”
As he has been so often in his five-decade-long political journey, Biden was surrounded by family, with wife Jill Biden and their daughter Ashley introducing him.
“Joe and I have been together for almost 50 years. And still, there are moments when I fall in love with him all over again,” the first lady said.
The Democrats are in high spirits in Chicago, daring to hope for a November victory that seemed unimaginable just weeks ago after Biden’s disastrous debate against Trump. However, Monday’s opening night of the convention was emotionally charged for many key figures.
Hillary Clinton, who lost to Trump in 2016 in her own bid to become America’s first woman president, endorsed Kamala Harris to finally shatter the glass ceiling. “Something is happening in America, you can feel it—something we’ve worked for and dreamed of for a long time,” the former Secretary of State and First Lady remarked.
The crowd also chanted “lock him up” as she referenced Trump’s recent conviction in a hush money case involving a porn star—an ironic twist on the chants Trump once led to have Clinton jailed over her deleted emails.
Harris is set to formally accept the party’s nomination on Thursday, her biggest opportunity yet to define her candidacy before a massive audience of tens of millions of American voters. Her highlight moment will conclude a week of endorsements from the party’s most prominent figures, with former President Barack Obama speaking on Tuesday and ex-President Bill Clinton introducing Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, on Wednesday.
For Biden, the convention has unexpectedly cast him in the role of warm-up act rather than headliner. He reportedly remains frustrated about being sidelined, especially since he believes he could still defeat Trump. However, he has emphasized that he is at peace with his decision.
“I am,” Biden told reporters earlier when asked if he was ready to pass the torch to Harris.
The convention’s opening was also overshadowed by protests against Israel’s war in Gaza, highlighting a potential challenge for Democrats among left-wing voters and Arab Americans. A group of demonstrators broke through the outer security fence after splitting from a larger protest involving thousands. Police in blue helmets, equipped with shields and black batons, prevented them from reaching the inner security cordon.
Meanwhile, Trump has been thrown into disarray by the sudden shake-up at the top of the Democratic ticket. As Democrats gather in Chicago, the Republican candidate is crisscrossing the country. In Pennsylvania on Monday, a key battleground state, Trump criticized Harris, calling her “crazy” and claiming she “has no idea what the hell she’s doing” when it comes to the economy.
