US Democrats: Biden at party convention: I gave my best for America

Chicago (dpa) – The US Democrats cheered their ousted frontman Joe Biden at their party convention in Chicago. Chants and applause accompanied the speech of the 81-year-old, who used his appearance primarily to praise the achievements of his soon-to-be-ended presidency and to rally the party behind the new presidential candidate Kamala Harris. “America, I did my best for you,” said the US president, quoting from a song.

Biden, who dropped out of the race for a second term in July, was accompanied by his family. His daughter Ashley’s opening speech apparently moved the Democrat to tears – he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. “It has been the honor of my life to serve as your president. I love this job, but I love my country even more,” he said.

Biden swears in Democrats to Harris

Harris described Biden as a person of character and tremendous integrity. “Choosing Kamala was the very first decision I made (…) when I became a candidate. It was the best decision I made in my entire career.” The two have become close friends. “She is tough, she is experienced and she has tremendous integrity.”

The 59-year-old will run against Republican Donald Trump in the election on November 5. Her running mate is Tim Walz. Biden is now in the final five months of his presidency before he takes office in January – then his decades-long career in politics will end. For Biden, the Democratic Party Convention is also an opportunity to reconcile with his party after extremely dramatic weeks.

First Lady with declaration of love

President’s wife Jill Biden made a public declaration of love to her husband on stage. “Joe and I have been together for almost 50 years now – and there are still moments when I fall in love with him over and over again.” It is these moments when her husband acts in the name of a cause that is bigger than himself, said the First Lady. She also cited her husband’s withdrawal from the presidential race as an example.

A brief, unannounced appearance by Kamala Harris created a surprise moment. She thanked her boss for his “historic leadership” over the past few years. She was “eternally grateful” to Biden for his service to the nation and for everything he will continue to do for America.

Hillary Clinton draws attention to Harris as a woman

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton set a slightly different tone on the first evening of the four-day meeting. She viewed Harris’ nomination as a groundbreaking step for the country. America is close to breaking through the highest and hardest glass ceiling, said Clinton, who herself ran as a presidential candidate in 2016.

“We are writing a new chapter in American history,” said the 76-year-old. Harris wants to become the first female president in US history – Clinton was the first presidential candidate of one of the major parties in the USA in 2016. At the time, she wanted to be the first woman to move into the top chair in the White House, but lost to her Republican opponent Trump.

Start of the party conference accompanied by protests

There were large pro-Palestinian demonstrations around the Democratic Party convention on Monday. Several thousand people joined a protest march to the venue in the afternoon. The protest was primarily directed against the actions of the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip and the US’s military support for Israel.

The protest was supported by various groups. The police were deployed in large numbers around the protest march. CNN reported, citing the police, that four people were arrested after they broke through a security fence near the venue. For the most part, it remained peaceful.