Joe Biden frames US election as epic battle between 'light and dark' in lofty convention speech

Joe Biden has declared this year’s election is a battle between “light” and "dark” as he used his closing speech at the Democratic convention to urge Americans to unite and reject the “hate and division” pushed by Donald Trump.

In an address focussed on the big picture rather than attacking the US president, Mr Biden framed the choice facing the country in moral and momentous terms as he accepted the Democratic presidential nomination.

There were sharp words about his opponent, with Mr Biden warning that Mr Trump’s re-election would result in coronavirus deaths and cases remaining “too high” and more small businesses going under.

But he never mentioned Mr Trump by name, instead repeatedly coming back to the idea that America was locked in a struggle between two forces. He used the word “light” and “dark” 19 times in total.

“The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long. Too much anger. Too much fear. Too much division,” he said in a passage near the start of his address, delivered in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

“Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light not of the darkness.”

He added a little later: “For make no mistake. United we can, and will, overcome this season of darkness in America. We will choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege.”

Trump flaws

Weaved into the speech were messages that the Biden camp has sought to hammer home throughout this four-day convention, which culminated with Mr Biden’s speech on Thursday night.

A large chunk of the address focussed on Mr Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the issue Democrats believe will be top of mind for voters come November 3 and which polls suggest the president scores badly on.

Mr Biden talked about the pain he felt as a father with the death of his eldest son Beau, speaking directly to those who have lost loved ones from Covid-19 and saying he understands the “deep black hole that opens up in your chest”.

He also built on criticism voiced by many prominent speakers at the convention, that Mr Trump is a flawed leader who will never change in office.

“What we know about this president is if he's given four more years he will be what he's been the last four years,” Mr Biden said at one point.

“A president who takes no responsibility, refuses to lead, blames others, cozies up to dictators, and fans the flames of hate and division.”

“He will wake up every day believing the job is all about him. Never about you. Is that the America you want for you, your family, your children?”

Commentator praise

The delivery by Mr Biden, not known for his soaring rhetoric or polished speaking style, was praised by commentators on both left-leaning CNN and right-leaning Fox News as one of his best of the campaign so far. Beforehand the speech had been hyped as the most important Mr Biden had given in his political career.

Facing the challenge of speaking in a near empty convention room, with no cheering crowd because of coronavirus, Mr Biden varied his tone, speaking quietly as he discussed personal tragedy and booming when declaring “the days of cozying up to dictators are over”.

Only at a few points did he stumble over the teleprompter - something that was being watched for given at times he has tripped over his words during campaign events this year, to the glee of Republicans who then circulate the clips on social media.

As the front-runner in the polls the pressure on Mr Biden was to get through the speech without disaster and, as he went outside to a car park of cheering though socially distanced supporters and fireworks went off overhead, it was clear he had.

Mr Trump had spent the day attempting to steal the headlines, visiting Mr Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and declaring his opponent had “abandoned” the city by moving away as a child. He also scheduled a Fox News interview during the convention.

Mr Trump tweeted after Mr Biden had started speaking: “In 47 years, Joe did none of the things of which he now speaks. He will never change, just words!”

An epic battle

The speech amounted to a new framing of the election race on an epic scale, one which spun out of the campaign slogan adopted back at the very start of his 2020 presidential bid - to “restore the soul of America.”

“All elections are important. But we know in our bones this one is more consequential,” Mr Biden said in one of many passages playing to the theme.

“America is at an inflection point. A time of real peril, but of extraordinary possibilities. We can choose the path of becoming angrier, less hopeful, and more divided. A path of shadow and suspicion.

“Or we can choose a different path, and together, take this chance to heal, to be reborn, to unite. A path of hope and light.”

Throughout this week Mr Biden’s middle class roots and his life touched with personal tragedy - he lost his wife and one-year-old daughter in a car crash in 1972 - have been emphasised as the candidate has been portrayed as a man who understands empathy.

The 30 minutes before the speech drew attention to how Mr Biden overcame a stutter as a child - in a moving moment, a young boy with a stutter described how Mr Biden had given him confidence by showing compassion - and had a father forced to move because he could not find work.

“Character is on the ballot. Compassion is on the ballot. Decency, science, democracy. They are all on the ballot,” Mr Biden said at one point.

“Who we are as a nation. What we stand for. And, most importantly, who we want to be. That’s all on the ballot.”

Mr Biden, a former vice president who at the age of 77 would be the oldest person ever elected to the US presidency, also had lines deployed to rebut Republican attacks.

“I'm not looking to punish anyone. Far from it,” Mr Biden said when talking about taxation and wealth inequality, a line that cuts against the Trump campaign's attempt to paint him as controlled by “radical” left-wingers.

A soaring finish

He also had a passage about how he understands the impact of lost jobs in an apparent counter to Mr Trump’s economic message which resonated so strongly in America’s Rust Belt and helped him win in 2016.

Mr Biden recalled how his father, who had to move his family from Scranton to take up a job cleaning boilers elsewhere, would tell him: “Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It's about your dignity. It's about respect.”

At the end of his speech Mr Biden quoted the Irish poet Seamus Heaney on how there are moments in life when “justice can rise up” and “hope and history rhyme".

“This is our moment to make hope and history rhyme,” Mr Biden said.

He went on: “For love is more powerful than hate. Hope is more powerful than fear.  Light is more powerful than dark. This is our moment. This is our mission.

“May history be able to say that the end of this chapter of American darkness began here tonight as love and hope and light joined in the battle for the soul of the nation. And this is a battle that we, together, will win.”