President urges voters to protect US democracy by electing Harris as successor

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took to the stage at the Democratic national convention on Monday night as the president urged the nation to elect his would-be successor to protect American democracy.

- Joan E Greve

Endorsing Harris, Biden, who just a month ago withdrew from the presidential race, said: "Giving my word as a Biden, I can honestly say I'm more optimistic about the future than I was when I was elected as a 29-year-old United States senator."

Drawing a sharp contrast between Harris and Donald Trump, Biden said: "Violent crime has dropped to the lowest level of more than 50 years, and crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office instead of a convicted felon."

In what may be one of his last major speeches as president, Biden looked back on his presidential term, reminding Americans that he took office just two weeks after the 6 January attack on the US Capitol, when the country was still in the early grips of the coronavirus pandemic.

"Yet, I believe then and I believe now, that progress was and is possible. Justice is achievable, and our best days are not behind us. They're before us," Biden said. "With a grateful heart, I stand before you now on this August night to report that democracy has prevailed. Democracy has delivered, and now democracy must be preserved."

Only a few weeks ago, Biden was expected to be on the convention stage this week to accept his party's nomination for the second time. Instead, Biden shocked the nation with his decision to not seek re-election.