He should be president , a night a lifetime in the making. He takes the stage tonight at 77, the oldest nominee in american history. His first run for president in 1987 undone by charges of plagiarism. In 2008, eclipsed by the star power of Hillary Clinton and barack obama. And four years ago it appears his political career was over when clinton won the nomination with the quiet help of president obama. But the shocking win of donald trump in 2016 made this nomination possible. Hell argue tonight, joe biden, that it makes his election necessary. Speaker after speaker at this convention made the case that President Trump is not up to the job, that he plunged the nation into crisis and poses a danger to our democracy. Most by barack obama, an attack by a president on a sitting president. That case being made by the member of the greatest generation, 92yearold ed wood. I have been a republican since 1960s. Im a member of the nra, and i voted for trump. I think trump has been the worst president weve ever had, so ill 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 biden cares about doing a proper duty for the United States, and if hes elected thats what he will do. Our team here tonight, david muir. Making cases he made throughout this convention, donald trump is unfit for the presidency, joe bidening a good man who will put the country first. Im struck by who they chose to start with. Ed good, this world war ii veteran. 95 years old. It was his daughter he asked to reach out campaign so he could clifr th deliver this message that this life long republican was going vote for joe biden. We heard from former president obama that most people in this country have made up their minds. There are a few, moderate republicans, independents in the middle, thats who joe biden needs. Thats why they started this hour with ed good. The remarkable thing, he was 30 years old joe biden when he was elected to the senate. 44 years old when he first started running for president in 87. Hes waited a long time. The irony is that at 77 years old hes the agent of change, at least thats the case hes going to make tonight, his empathy, leadership, and experience. Perhaps this is joe bidens moment. Linsey davis, this convention has been especially by obama, that donald trump poses a unique threat in this time of division to our democracy. Remember when joe biden got into this campaign, talking about charlottesville, the White Supremacy rally. He called this a battle for the soul. Thats a refrain we continue to hear throughout this campaign. Biden and his advocates said all along, this is bigger than just policy differences or differences in leadership styles. This is about returning character and decency and empathy to the white house. Certainly these are things were going hear from biden himself tonight along with braden ha harrington, a 12yearold we met on a rope line in february who has a stutter, a challenge bide enhimself has. S this another ordinary american trying to make the case for biden tonight. Military families making the case for biden. I want to bring in martha raddatz. Were about to hear from senator tammy duckworth. Was in iraq, lost her legs in iraq, was a finalist on joe bidens list. She is a powerful story of incredible courage. She was a black hawk hobelicopt pilot. Her helicopter hit. She rolls around capitol hill in her wheelchair. She is proud of it. She says she earned it. Shes the only sitting senator to deliver a child while in office, and by the way, she was 50 years old at the time. Tammy duckworth is coming up. Impressed joe biden deeply in her interview when she met with him to talk about the Vice President ial nomination. Shes going to be speak now, followed by Michael Bloomberg. Good evening. Im tammy duckworth. When i first endlisted in the army i was anxioeager to serve country, but anxious. I commanded by own air assault unit, learning that serving and lead gt 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 troops respect and be worthy of their pledge to protect and defend our constitution, no matter the cost. But military service doesnt just take sacrifice from those in uniform. Its required from their families, too. My husband brian was the one who rushed to walter reed after i was wound in the 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 thousands hours, weeks, months of unspeakable pain and unending surge surgeries. He was my anchor as i relearned to walk, helping me through every step and stumble. Our military spouses hold their families together, praying for their loves ones safety wherever theyre deployed and serving as caregivers and then picking up the pieces and starting again whenever the next tour or next war arises. Joe biden understands these sacrifices because hes 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 hes felt that dread of never knowing if your deployed loved one is safe. He understands bravely because he had to muster the same strength every hour of every day beau was overseas. Thats 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 at commander in chief. Instead, they have a coward in chief who wont stand up to vladimir putin, read his daily Intelligence Briefings oicly ad for reportedly putting bounties on our troops heads. 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. Joe biden would stand up for whats right, stand tall for our troops and stand strong against our enemies. Because unlike trump, joe biden has common decency. He is common sense. He can command both from experience and from strength. Donald trump doesnt deserve to call himself commander in chief for another four minutes, let alone another four years. Our troops deserve debtor. 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. Good evening. Im beau biden. And joe biden is my dad. Some voices are never silenced. Some work never ceases to change lives. Some people never stop inspiring even after theyre gone. Beau biden was a husband, father, brother, son, soldier, attorney general. He was given just 46 years on this earth. He did in 46 years what most of us couldnt do in 146. Think about the day that dawns for children who are safer because of beau, whose lives are fuller because of him. 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 thats okay. Certainly for beau, a claim was never the point of public service. 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 didnt know any other way. Beau didnt cut corners. He turned down an i the payment to be delawares attorney general so he could win it fair and square. When the feel 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, felt it was his obligation. He did his duty to his country and deployed to iraq. Beau biden served his country. He prosecuted one of the worst child predators in american history. And even though he is no longer with us, every day he still inspires the next president of the United States. It wont 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. Beau biden died at 46 from brain cancer. Joe bidens life marked by so much tragedy, losing two children and a wife. Were going to hear now from Pete Buttigieg, surprising people, doing so well in the primaries. Former mayor of south bend, indiana. Lets go back to the virtual floor. I got to say, it made me crime our current president has made me cry, too, but its never had anything to do with his warmth or kindness. Joe bidens empathy is genuine. You can feel it. Thats why president obama asked joe to head up the cancer moon shot. 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. Good evening. Beau bide n lived a life of service in office and uniform. When you put your life on the line for this country, you do it not because its the country you live in, but because its 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 when america is at its best when we make that circle of belonging wider. Just over ten years ago, i joined the military where firing me because of who i am wasnt 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 im 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. Its the struggle to call out what is good in every american. Its 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 . When we handle questions of science and medicine by turning to scientists and doctors. Will we see to it that no one who works fulltime can live in poverty . I trust joe biden and Kamala Harris to guide us toward that better future. Because ive seen up close their empathy and their capacity. Just as ive 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 seek any federal office at all was laughable. Yet earlier this year, i campaigned for the presidency, often with my husband 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. Hi, im 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 can think of this sort of like survivor on the out interviews of all the people that got voted off the island. Bernie, dont you laugh, because i got questions for you, like, why does my girlfriend like you more than she likes me . Because shes the obvious answer, right . Hey, im curious, because senator sanders and senator klobuchar, you actually served with joe biden in the senate. Im wondering if you have any memories of what he was like as a colleague in the senate. 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, to a completely empty chamber. I walked out of there and thought, i wonder if my mom was even watching this on cspan. At that moment this cell phone rings and i thought, maybe my mom was watching on cspan. You know who it was . It was joe biden that many goes to how much he cares and what people are saying and even when hes at home at night, hes watching. Amy, we all want to know, did your mother watch the speech . No. You remember the stake 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 and one point and pointed to somebody 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 just thought it was important for me to know that about someone who was working with me. I thought over time i realized that its just basic to who he is, but that always stuck with me. Elizabeth, do you have any remembrances as well . I think the day i saw joe the clearest was on the oneyear 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. Thats 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, into the next administration . The magic of joe biden is that everything he does becomes the new reasonable. If he comes with an ambitious plan to address climate change, all of a sudden everys going to follow his lead. You can see with him choosing kamala, too, he wants to build the best team. Cory, im so optimistic about our country right now despite some very dark days or a lot of our fellow americans, in large part because of what young people are doing right now. After the murder of ahmaud ash are i 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, 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 reasoning to them and incorporating their ideas and urgency in the campaign theyre running and the administration theyre going to lead. Some people say they dont know if theyre going to vote or not are saying that from a point of privilege a lot ofcans dont have. There are so many things for lots of folks who live live on the margins that this election is going to decide. Maybe its not a life or death issue for you, but we are all in this together. Absolutely. Cory, what i would say is that this is clearly the most important election in the modern history of this country. In 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 youre progressives, whether youre moderates or conservatives, have got to come together to defeat this president. 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 and its an even greater honor to stand with you in support of joe biden and Kamala Harris. Good evening. Aye never been much for partisan politics. Aye supported democrats, republicans and independents, hell, ive actually been a democrat, republican, and independent. All about people, and the two people running for president couldnt 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 americas diversity. The other looks backwards and sees immigrants as enemies and White Supremacists as allies. Heres another difference one has proven he knows how to handle a crisis by helping lead the economic turnaround after the 2008 recession, while the other has not only failed to lead, hes made the Current Crisis much worse. When confronted with the biggest calamity any president faced in the modern era, donald trump downplayed, ignored the signs and spreading quack cures that let covid19 spread faster than it should have, needlessly leaving thousands dead. He has failed the american people. Four years ago i came before this very convention and said, new yorkers see a con when we see one. Im not urges you vote against donald trump because hes a bad guy. Im urging you because hes done a bad job. Today unemployment is at historic highs and Small Businesses are struggling just to survive. It didnt have to be this way. Before i ran for mayor, i spent 20 years running a business i started from scratch. I want to ask Small Business owners and their employees one question, and its a question for everyone would you rehire or work for someone who ran your business into the ground . And who always does whats best for him or her even when it hurts to company, and whose reckless decisions put you in danger and who 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 hes a great businessman. Really . He drove his companies into bankruptcy six times, always leaving behind customers and contractors who were cheated and swindles ad and stopped doing business with him. This time, all of us are pay in the price be we cant let him get away with it again. Trump says we should vote for him because the economy was good before the virus. Huh . Economic growth was higher under biden and obama than under trump. In fact, while biden helped save 1 million Auto Industry jobs, trump has lost 250,000 manufacturing jobs. So when trump says he wants to make America Great again, hes making a pretty good case for joe biden. Look, our goal shouldnt be the bring back the pandemic economy. It should be, a