Joe Biden speech: what the Democrat candidate said at DNC 2020 - and how President Donald Trump responded

Joe Biden formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, delivering an at times sombre speech

Former vice-president and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden accepted the Democratic Party nomination for US president on Thursday night (Getty Images)

Joe Biden accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday night, vowing to unite Americans and “overcome this season of darkness”.

The speech, which brought an end to the Democratic national convention, has received praise from both the left wing and right wing – including Fox News presenters.

Speaking a short distance from his home in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden delivered a speech just shy of 25 minutes long, telling viewers that he would be “an ally of the light, not the darkness.”

He said: “united we can, and will, overcome this season of darkness in America. We will choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege.”

His steady-handed and impassioned speech comes three months ahead of the 2020 US election where he will face Republican candidate Donald Trump who is running for a second term.

What did Joe Biden say?

President Trump’s campaign team has sought to label Joe Biden an elderly, gaffe-prone candidate, but his speech was authoritative and dealt several blows to rival Trump’s first term.

The 77-year-old presented himself as a unifying candidate, representing America rather than his own party, stating “this campaign isn’t just about winning votes it’s about winning the heart and, yes, the soul of America. Winning it for the generous among us, not the selfish. Winning it for workers who keep this country going, not just the privileged few at the top.”

Taking aim at the current White House incumbent, Biden said: “what we know about this president is if he’s given four more years, he’ll be what he’s been for the last four years. A president who takes no responsibility, refuses to lead, blames others, cosies up to dictators and fans the flames of hate and division.”

Touching on race issues which have come to the fore in recent months following the death of George Floyd, Biden appealed to voters to “be the generation that finally wipes out the stain of racism from our national character.”

Concluding his speech he said: “Let us begin, you and I together, one nation under God, united in our love for America, united in our love for each other. 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.”

What has Trump said?

During Biden’s speech Trump fired shots from his favoured medium Twitter.

The 45th president said “In 47 years, Joe did none of the things of which he now speaks. He will never change, just words!”

Trump’s campaign team meanwhile labelled Biden the candidate of the “radical left”.

Trump campaign communications director, Tim Murtaugh, said: “By accepting his party’s nomination tonight, Joe Biden has formally become a pawn of the radical leftists. His name is on the campaign logo, but the ideas come from the socialist extremists.”

It wasn’t all criticism from republicans, however, with Fox News anchor Chris Wallace describing the speech as “enormously effective” claiming that the 77-year-old “blew a hole” in Trump’s criticisms that Biden was a man in decline.