August 19, 2020 - 10:35 AMT
Democrats nominate Joe Biden for U.S. President

Democrats in the United States formally nominated former Vice President Joe Biden for president during an emotional second night of their party’s virtual convention, warning that incumbent President Donald Trump was an “existential threat” to America who had failed to get a grip on the coronavirus pandemic, The Guardian reports.

The official nomination elevates a historic ticket that includes his vice-presidential running mate Kamala Harris, the first Black woman to be nominated for national office by a major party.

A roll call of the states, reimagined for the Covid-19 era, officially made 77-year-old Biden the Democratic standard-bearer to take on Trump in the November election, the culmination of a quest that began in 1987, when he first ran for president.

From a school library near his home in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden savored the moment. Surrounded by his grandchildren, who wore shirts that said “No Malarky” – one of Biden’s signature phrases – and his wife, Jill, they sprinkled confetti and party streamers as Kool & the Gang’s Celebration played – a radically scaled down version of the usual festivities for such a moment, due to the pandemic.

“It means the world to me and my family,” Biden said. “I’ll see you on Thursday.”

Biden will formally deliver an acceptance speech on Thursday, from a waterfront convention center in Delaware. Harris will speak from the same location on Wednesday.

The 2020 United States presidential election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2020. It will be the 59th quadrennial presidential election. Voters will select presidential electors who in turn will vote on December 14, 2020, to either elect a new president and vice president or reelect the incumbents Donald Trump and Mike Pence respectively.