Biden gives blazing DNC speech as end of term approaches

• Wednesday was the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
• The day features speeches from Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama.
• Biden used the address to say GOP nominee Donald Trump is dangerous for the country.

Joe Biden, in his last Democratic National Convention as vice president, delivered a classic Joe Biden speech, passionately rallying his party to get over their sharp differences and ensure that his one-time rival Hillary Clinton becomes the nation's first female president.

"I know what she's passionate about. I know Hillary," said Biden, who joined President Barack Obama on the second-to-last day of speakers in the Philadelphia convention that ends with Clinton’s acceptance of the nomination Thursday.

The focus Wednesday was on Clinton’s national security resume as secretary of state and U.S. senator. That was in contrast to the first two days that looked at her efforts to help families, children and women.

Biden, in an emotionally charged 20-minute speech, condemned Donald Trump’s framing of America as a broken country, saying the GOP nominee is wrong for the nation and its future.

"We’ve had candidates before who attempted to get elected by appealing to our fears, but they have never succeeded, because we do not scare easily," Biden declared as his speech barreled towards its fiery conclusion. "We never break, we never bend, no, we endure, we overcome, and we always, always move forward."

Biden asked the crowd not to cheer or boo for a moment and listen to his "deadly serious" message. And the arena fell silent.

"No major party nominee in this history of this nation has ever known less or has been less prepared to deal with our national security," he said.

But when Biden spoke of how he has "never been more optimistic," and said he believes "the 21st century will be the American century," the crowd roared. At one point, it broke into chants of USA! USA! USA!

“He ignited this place,” said Delaware delegate Erik Raser-Schramm. “Joe took us on an emotional journey, from happy to sad to angry and fired up. Amazing.”

The prime-time speech was a visible effort to mend discord at both the upper echelon and front lines of the Democratic Party, which now faces a bruising battle against Trump.

Democrats hoping the four-day convention would display total party unity have been disappointed to see shout-downs from frustrated supporters of one-time primary opponent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, who feel silenced by the party establishment.

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Protests erupted outside the Wells Fargo Center, and some Sanders delegates walked off the floor Tuesday as Clinton was formally nominated in a roll call vote. The historic moment – Clinton is the first female nominee of a major political party – was aided in part by 12 delegates allotted in the April Delaware primary, which also awarded nine delegates to Sanders.

Supporters of the Vermont senator have pointed to leaked Democratic National Committee emails that show party officials seeking to help Clinton defeat Sanders in the nomination process. Party Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned.

In an interview with The News Journal before the speech, the vice president said Democrats have to remember their base — working-class and minority voters — and fold in Sanders supporters by tackling income inequality head on.

“Bernie is absolutely right in speaking to what eats at my core," he said, acknowledging the internal-party fighting that has become a reoccurring issue leading up to and during the Philadelphia event.

He said all Democrats need to push for change in some of the issues Sanders supporters care about, like income inequality. He also urged Democrats to seek tax breaks for the wealthy for funding free community college for students, a focus of Clinton in recent months, and reiterated the importance of brokering compromise across party lines, noting that lawmakers have fewer opportunities to travel in bipartisan coalitions and dine with one another in the Senate dining room to learn more about their colleagues and their families, as he did when he was a senator.

"It's the Delaware way. We've always gotten along,” he said at McGillin's Olde Ale House in Center City Philadelphia, where he also appeared on the MSNBC program “Morning Joe” and met with Delaware delegates.

Janet Selden, a Delaware delegate for Sanders who now supports Clinton, said the party has to increase engagement to be successful in the election. She said Biden's appearance energized her.

"It was unbelievable," she said.

Biden also used the pre-speech discussion to target Trump, who for much of Wednesday nearly dominated the news cycle and seemed to zap the focus away from the Democrats’ celebration in South Philadelphia.

The Republican nominee, during a press conference in Florida, said Russia would get access to and release thousands of emails that had been deleted from the private computer server Clinton used as secretary of state, a contentious topic that has become an ongoing campaign issue and subject of a federal investigation.

Later, in Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, Trump said he would not be quiet during the convention.

"Well, guess what, folks -- we're campaigning," said Trump, who won Delaware’s GOP primary in April. "Because we're going to make America great again, folks."

On Wednesday morning, before the comments were made, the vice president said Trump "knows nothing about foreign policy,” adding that he and foreign leaders are worried by the prospect of him being elected.

“The things he says absolutely make no sense," Biden said.

Two figures vying for president 

The speech Wednesday reflected a complicated political relationship between Clinton and Biden, who worked together in the U.S. Senate and became political rivals in the 2008 Democratic primary, trading barbs during debates on foreign policy issues. Biden left the race after a poor finish in the Iowa caucuses, and Clinton followed months later after struggling to gain traction against Obama.

President-elect Obama named her secretary of state. Biden became his second-in-command, surviving another election and a new term.

There were thoughts the vice president would run for the White House on his own, but Biden was noncommittal. Even though the death of his son, the former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, of brain cancer in May 2015 deeply wounded the Biden family, it did not dash speculation that the vice president would mount a presidential campaign, even as the primary season with Clinton, Sanders and others were fully underway.

Then, in October, the vice president in a Rose Garden speech acknowledged a presidential bid wasn’t possible. The pain was too fresh and the timing just wasn’t right, he said.

“Unfortunately, I believe we're out of time, the time necessary to mount a winning campaign for the nomination,” he said.

Joe Biden later said he regretted not running and waded into commentary about the primary. In January, as Clinton and Sanders were fighting in a challenging primary, the vice president, in an interview with CNN, said the Vermont senator was more understanding of income equality.

"Bernie is speaking to a yearning that is deep and real. And he has credibility on it," he said. "It's relatively new for Hillary to talk about that.”

The vice president moved to distance himself from previous comments and railed against Trump, saying the United States "does not scare easily," and when confronted with crisis, "we endure, we overcome and we always move forward."

The 21st century "is going to be the American century," said the vice president. He was introduced Wednesday by his wife, Jill Biden, and a video about his accomplishments, followed by the theme to “Rocky” and chants from the crowd of “Joe, Joe, Joe.”

He called the address “a bittersweet moment” and pointed to his late son, calling him “an incredibly fine young man.” The line prompted applause from crowd, with television cameras capturing President Bill Clinton, who attended Beau Biden’s funeral with Hillary in Wilmington, standing to clap.

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The vice president’s speech Wednesday night was part of a day that had the Democrats focusing on their theme of diversity, with addresses by rising stars like California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and party stalwarts including Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and former Defense Secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta, who worked with Clinton in the Obama cabinet. The day also marked the introduction of Clinton running mate Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine on the national political stage.

Kaine spoke a portion of the speech in Spanish, calling Clinton a “soul mate.”

“We share this belief: Do all the good you can. Serve one another. That's what I'm about. That's what you're about. That's what Bernie Sanders is about. That's what Joe Biden is about. That's what Barack and Michelle Obama are about. And that's what Hillary Clinton is about,” he said.

Obama entered the stage after a video about the challenges of being president and the importance of optimism. The following speech touched on some of the same themes Obama used in his Democratic National Convention address of 2004, when as a low-ranking Senate candidate from Chicago he urged a new approach to politics and less divisive rhetoric that divides the nation. He famously said that there is no black or white America, but we “we are one people.”

"America is already great. America is already strong," he said Wednesday. "And I promise you, our strength, our greatness, does not depend on Donald Trump."

He also pointed to Clinton's choice in Kaine.

"He will be a great vice president, and he'll make Hillary a better president. Just like my dear friend and brother Joe Biden has made me a better president," said Obama, who was briefly joined by Hillary Clinton on stage at the end of the speech.

The speeches by Obama and Joe Biden amounted to a symbolic passing of the Democratic mantle to the Clinton-Kaine ticket. The vice president’s office said he has attended all but one Democratic National Convention since 1972, and it is likely Wednesday’s address is among his last in front of a nationally televised audience.

Gov. Jack Markell on Wednesday said Biden’s impact on the Democratic Party is “without parallel.” The vice president gets high approval ratings across the board, remaining credible with members of the working-class and heads of state.

“He has a way of penetrating people’s hearts and consciousness,” Markell added. “And I think that will be a benefit to Secretary Clinton.”

“He’s our homeboy,” convention superdelegate and House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst said, recalling how Biden campaigned with her outside a Bear Acme during her first run. “He takes care of us and we take care of him.”

Sean Finnegan, another delegate, said he was “incredibly proud” watching Biden’s speech and meeting with him in the morning.

“He thanked us for allowing him the opportunity to serve the people of Delaware, and the reality is that we want to thank Joe for taking us on this amazing ride,” Finnegan said. “The reality is that we want to thank Joe for taking us on this amazing ride.”

Finnegan said he was glad to hear Joe Biden intends to stay in the political arena, particularly in his “cancer moonshot” to increase research into the disease, an effort that Obama put him in charge of. Both his mom and sister are cancer survivors.

Asked about his plans post-vice presidency earlier Wednesday, Joe Biden said that he plans to maintain a strong presence in Delaware after he leaves office. He said he will hire an impressive team to support his advocacy on cancer research collaboration, women’s rights and access to affordable education. He’s also been approached by many members of the party to continue campaigning and fundraising for candidates.

“This is the only thing I’ve ever done that I cared about,” Biden said of his more than four decades of public service. “I can’t fathom retirement.”

Joe Biden said that the Democrats are more united than what has played out on television. He cited no qualms about serving as a surrogate for the Clinton campaign, despite concerns about the presidential hopeful's overall trustworthiness.

“Everything she’s ever said, she’s done," he said of his professional relationship with the former secretary of state. “The measure of a public servant is do they believe what they say, does their life work reflect” that.

“I’m more hopeful for the prospect of America than I’ve ever been," he said.

The Associated Press and Nicole Gaudiano of USA Today contributed to this report.

Contact News Journal reporter Margie Fishman at (302) 324-2882, on Twitter @MargieTrende or mfishman@delawareonline.com. Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@delawareonline.com, (302) 324-2428 or on Twitter @TNJ_malbright

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