Politics

Without Saying Trump’s Name Even Once, Biden Draws From Obama’s 2004 Keynote For DNC Acceptance Speech

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - AUGUST 20: Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden speaks on the fourth night of the Democratic National Convention from the Chase Center on August 20, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. The convention, which was once expected to draw 50,000 people to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is now taking place virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Christian Datoc Senior White House Correspondent
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Former Vice President Joe Biden accepted the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination Thursday night without uttering his opponent’s name.

Biden also drew from former President Barack Obama’s 2004 Democratic National Convention keynote speech while delivering his remarks.

He opened by quoting civil rights icon Ella Baker, “Give people light and they will find the way.”

“The current president has cloaked American darkness for much too long,” he continued. “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 the darkness.” (RELATED: Kamala Harris Celebrates Women’s Suffrage, Family In DNC VP Nomination Acceptance Speech)

“While I’ll be a Democratic candidate, I will be an American president,” Biden stated. “America isn’t just a collection of clashing interests, of red states or blue states. We’re so much bigger than that. We’re so much better than that.”

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During the 2004 convention, then Illinois Democratic Sen. Barack Obama criticized “pundits” and “spin masters” who try to “slice our country into red states and blue states.”

Biden closed Thursday night as he opened, comparing his race against President Donald Trump to the battle between dark and light.

“Let us begin you and I together one nation under God, united in our love for America, united in our love for each other,” he emphatically stated. “For love is more powerful than hate. Hope is more powerful than fear, and light is more powerful than dark. This is our moment. This is our mission.”

“Let history be able to say that the end of this chapter of American darkness began here tonight, as love and hope and light join in the battle for the soul of the nation.”

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Trump tweeted one critique during Biden’s remarks, writing that “in 47 years, Joe did none of the things of which he now speaks. He will never change, just words!”