hotels around the world and whatever the reality, his multiple bankruptcies, his many loa ns, multiple bankruptcies, his many loans, division that americans have of him as a competent businessman who would transform the way america is governed. even now, when the economy is in the doldrums and unemployment is about 10%, the fa ct unemployment is about 10%, the fact that donald trump still has an edge in polling on the economy suggests that if things get better, the economy starts to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, that this could be automatic forjoe biden. it is in interesting want to wash their. laura, you know there is a lwa ys their. laura, you know there is always that tradition that, there is this kind of convention bounce after this kind of events. is it likely to work the same way this time? that's exactly what everyone is going to be looking for. is whether these unconventional conventions are going to have any impact or, we don't have the rousing shares, you don't have the balloons, you don't have the balloons, you don't have the balloons, you don't have the applause. you don't have the applause. you don't have the applause. you don't have the sense that the candidate is popular. that is something that can be created

by the traditional convention. this is so different, so we really don't know. the question forjoe biden is whether he can cement what looks to be a lead at the moment. that will be his aim coming out of this week of programming and certainly not to slip back. donald trump is enthusiastically campaigning gci’oss enthusiastically campaigning across america in swing states today with his counter programming. so the battle is under way. he is also enthusiastically seeking to portrayjoe biden as a puppet of the left, as he puts it. either democrats specifically pushing back against that, or do they think voters do not ta ke do they think voters do not take seriously? —— are the democrats. it is interesting they chose to lead off this ten o'clock hour with republicans for biden, which would seem to undercut president trump's message thatjoe biden is a puppet of the activist left. what democrats are trying to say is thatjoe biden is a unifier, that he is not captive to anybody. if you look at the

platform the democrats have put forward at this convention, interestingly, on those key issues of climate change and degree new deal, beloved by progressives, but was adopted by the platform. —— the green new deal. medicare for all was also not adopted. joe biden is really looking to build on obama care and have an incremental change. so with the platform, joe biden is making sure that he cannot be accused of being a captive of the left. thank you very much for that. we're just keeping an eye the feed there. eva longoriasjust introduced the former chairman of the congressional black caucus. right after this we expect to hear from senator bernie sanders of vermont, because the runner—up in the democratic primary, the leader of the party's progressive when, as laura was saying, there is this space that mr biden has to win, mr sanders has endorsed mr biden, but some of his supporters have been

relu cta nt. of his supporters have been reluctant. laura, what are we expecting from senator sanders? we will hear it soon enough, of course. in the prepared excerpts from his remarks he will say this is the most consequential election of american history, that so much is at stake, because he will portray donald trump as a threat to american democracy, asa threat to american democracy, as a threat to america on everything from climate change to the rule of law. this service is a powerful endorsement forjoe biden, for one of the two aggressive lions of the democratic party, the other being elizabeth warren, of course, he will also speak this week. —— progressive lions. it is also notable because bernie sanders had such poor relations with hillary clinton when she defeated him for the nomination in 2016, and supporters of bernie sanders and the party room will tell you the reason she didn't win is because the bernie bros, as they are known, didn't turn out to her in 2016. that is the logy to her in 2016. that is the mythology that has gone down.

and by being given such a prominent role tonight, bernie sanders is full, hard throated lee endorsing joe biden. also, he worked behind the scenes with joe he worked behind the scenes withjoe biden he worked behind the scenes with joe biden on he worked behind the scenes withjoe biden on the policy platform for this convention, so he is definitely in the tent ina way so he is definitely in the tent in a way that he absolutely wasn't with hillary clinton, which is very significant at this moment. and i guess bernie sanders endorsement also matters within the internal politics of the party because joe biden‘s vice presidential pic, his running mate, kamala harris, has also taken a lot of flak, one way or another, from the left of the democratic party? yes, she is not necessarily a favourite of the progressive left, especially not at this moment when the search is on for racial justice, because as a prosecutor in california, the progressive left have accused her of prosecuting essentially too many people of colour and not doing enough on penal reform. but, as a centrist, as someone who upholds the rule of

law, at a moment when many american cities are experiencing protests and disorder, joe biden is clearly signalling that he is behind law and order, that she is the person who is reinforcing that message. so lots of interesting dynamics at play here, with the reason she has chosen to energise the black vote, but also to reassure moderates who have concerns about law and order at this moment. do we have any sense yet of how this is playing with the voters, this kind of event done in this kind of way? no, and that is the really fascinating question about this. how was it, you know, all of us have been stuck at home... laura, we. you there, forgive me, bernie sanders is about to speak. this moment, we are facing the worst public health crisis in 100 years and the worst economic collapse since the great depression. we are confronting systemic racism and to be enormous threat to our planet of climate change. and in the midst of all of this, we

have a president who is not only incapable of addressing these crises, but is leading us down the path of authoritarianism. this election is the most important in the modern history of this country. in response to the unprecedented crisis we face, we need an unprecedented response, a movement like never before of people who are prepared to stand up to fight for democracy and decency and against greed, oligarchy and get three. and we need joe biden as our next president. let me take this opportunity to say a word to the millions of people who supported my campaign this yearand people who supported my campaign this year and in 2016. my friends, thank you for your trust, your support, and the

love you showed jane, myself and ourfamily. love you showed jane, myself and our family. together we have moved this country in a bold new direction, showing that all of us, black and white, latino, native american, asian—american, gay and straight, nativeborn and immigrant, yearn fora nation based on the principles of justice, love and compassion. 0urcampaign ended justice, love and compassion. 0ur campaign ended several months ago, but our movement continues, and is getting stronger every day. many of the ideas we thought for, but just a few years ago were considered radical, i now mainstream. —— thatjust. but let radical, i now mainstream. —— that just. but let us radical, i now mainstream. —— thatjust. but let us be clear. if donald trump is elected, or the progress we have made will be injeopardy. and it is not —— at its most basic, this election is about preserving our democracy. during this

president's term, the thinkable has become normal. he has tried to prevent people from voting. undermined the us postal service. deployed the military and federal agents against peaceful protesters. threatens to delay the election, and suggested that he will not leave office if he loses. —— threatened stop this is not normal. and we must never treat it like it is. under this administration, authoritarianism has taken root in our country. i and my in our country. land my family, and many of yours, novi insidious way authoritarianism destroys democracy, decency and humanity. —— destroys democracy, decency and humanity. — — know destroys democracy, decency and humanity. —— know the insidious way. as long as l humanity. —— know the insidious way. as long as i am here, i will work with aggressiveness, with moderates, and yes, with conservatives, to preserve this nation from a threat that so

many of our heroes fought and died to defeat. this president is notjust a died to defeat. this president is not just a threat to our democracy, but by richard in science, he has put our lives and health in jeopardy. science, he has put our lives and health injeopardy. trump has attacked doctors and scientists, trying to protect us from the pandemic. while refusing to take strong action to produce the masks, gowns and gloves are healthcare workers desperately need. nero fiddled while rome burned. trump golfs. his actions found this pandemic, resulting in over 170,000 deaths and a nation still unprepared to protect its people. furthermore, trump's negligence has exacerbated the economic crisis we are now

experiencing. since this pandemic began, over 30 experiencing. since this pandemic began, over30 million people have lost theirjobs and many have lost their health insurance. millions of working families are wondering how they will feed their kids, and they are worried that they will be evicted from their homes. and how has trump responded? instead of maintaining the $600 a week unemployment to supplement that workers were receiving, and the $1200 emergency checks that many of you received, instead of helping small businesses, trump concocted fraudulent executive orders that do virtually nothing to address the crisis, while threatening the very future for social security and medicare. but the truth is that even before trump's negligence response to this pandemic, to many ha rd—working response to this pandemic, to many hard—working families have been caught on an economic

treadmill with no hope of ever getting ahead. together we must build a nation that is more equitable, more compassionate, and more inclusive. i know that joe biden will begin that fight on day one. let me offer you just a few examples of howjoe will move us forward. joe supports raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. this will give 40 million workers a pay rise, and push the wage scale up rise, and push the wage scale up for everyone else. joe will also make it easier for workers tojoin unions, also make it easier for workers to join unions, create also make it easier for workers tojoin unions, create 12 also make it easier for workers to join unions, create 12 weeks of paid family leave, fund universal pre—k for three —year—olds and four —year—olds, and make childcare affordable for millions of families. job will rebuild our crumbling infrastructure and fight the

threat of climate change by transitioning us to 100% clean electricity over the next 15 years. these initiatives will create millions of good paying jobs all across our country. as you know, we are the only industrialised nation not to guarantee healthcare industrialised nation not to guarantee healthca re for industrialised nation not to guarantee healthcare for all people. while joe and i disagree on the best path to get universal coverage, he has a plan that will greatly expand healthcare and a plan that will greatly expand healthca re and cut a plan that will greatly expand healthcare and cut the costs of prescription drugs. further, he will lower the eligibility age of medicare from 65 down to 60. to help reform our broken criminal justice to help reform our broken criminaljustice system, durable and private prisons and detention centres, cash bail, and the school to prison

pipeline. and to heal the soul of our nation, joe biden will and the hate and division trump has created. he. the demonisation of immigrants, the coddling of white nationalists, the racist dog whistling, the religious bigotry, and the ugly attacks on women. —— he will stop. my friends, i say to you, to everyone who supported other candidates in the primary and to those who may have voted for donald trump in the last election, the future of our democracy is at stake. the future of our economy is at sta ke. future of our economy is at stake. the future of our planet is at stake. we must come together, defeat donald trump, and electjoe together, defeat donald trump, and elect joe biden together, defeat donald trump, and electjoe biden and kamala harris as our next president and vice president. my friends, the price of failure isjust too great to imagine. thank

you. applause. my my american dream is to have an america where... for every human being in this country to have access to quality healthcare country to have access to quality healthca re and country to have access to quality healthcare and economic means to care for themselves and theirfamily. means to care for themselves and their family. access to equality and equitable education. a system of government that protects workers theirfamilies. government that protects workers their families. joe biden, throughout his career, has focused on rebuilding the minimum class. we need a letter that actually support our unions for a hard—working people. real leadership to show genuine support for small businesses during this downturn due to the covid crisis. you

have been hearing from bernie sanders. we will hear from michelle obama soon and will ta ke michelle obama soon and will take you straight back to that when the pre—recorded piece starts. laura, what did you make of that? there was a very powerful rallying cry for unity from senator bernie sanders, he called on his supporters, on people who have voted for donald trump to come together and defeat him this time, saying that the future of our democracy is at stake, the future of our planet. he said that the price of failure is just too great. he also endorsed the progressive credentials ofjoe biden and said he was going to support raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, universal pre—kindergarten education for children. that he would amend the school and prison pipeline. michelle obama coming up. good evening everyone. it is a hard

time and everyone is feeling it in different ways. and a lot of folks are reluctant to tune into political conventions right now or politics in general. believe me, i guess that. but i am here tonight because i love this country with all of my heart and it pains me to see so many people hurting. i have met so many of you. i have heard your stories and through you, i have seen this country's promise. and thank you to so many people who came before me, thanks to their toil and their sweat and blood, i've been able to lift that promised myself. that is the story of america. although spokes who sacrificed and ove rca m e spokes who sacrificed and overcame so much in their own times because they wanted something more, something better for their something more, something betterfor their kids. something more, something better for their kids. there something more, something betterfor their kids. there is a lot of beauty in that story,

a lot of beauty in that story, a lot of pain in it too, a lot of struggle and a lot of injustice and work left to do. and who we choose as our president in this election will determine whether or not we honour that struggle and chip away at that injustice and keep alive the very possibility of finishing that work. i am one ofa finishing that work. i am one of a handful of people living today who have seen first hand the immense weight and awesome power of the presidency. and let me once again tell you this, thejob is hard. it requires clearheaded judgement, a mastery of complex and competing issues, a diversion to facts and history, a moral compass and an ability to listen. and an abiding belief that each of the 330 million

lives in this country has meaning and worth. if resident's words have the power to move markets, they can start wa rs to move markets, they can start wars or broker peace, they can summon our better angels or awaken our worst instincts. you simply cannot fake your way through thisjob. simply cannot fake your way through this job. as simply cannot fake your way through thisjob. as i've simply cannot fake your way through this job. as i've said before, being president does not change who you are, it reveals who you. well, a presidential election can reveal who we are too and four yea rs reveal who we are too and four years ago, too many people chose to believe that their votes didn't matter. maybe they we re votes didn't matter. maybe they were fed up, maybe they thought the outcome wouldn't be close, maybe the barriers felts to state, whatever the reason. in the end, those choices sent somebody to the oval office who

lost the national popular vote by nearly 3 million votes. in one of this states that determines the outcome, the winning margin averaged out to just two votes per precinct, two votes! and we have all been living with the consequences. when my husband left office with joe when my husband left office withjoe biden at his side, we had a record—breaking stretch ofjob creation. we had secured the right to healthcare for 20 million people. we were respected around the world, rallying our allies to confront climate change and our leaders had worked hand—in—hand with scientists to help prevent an ebola outbreak from scientists to help prevent an ebola outbreakfrom becoming scientists to help prevent an ebola outbreak from becoming a global pandemic. four years later, the state of this nation is very different. more than

150,000 people have died and our economy is in shambles because of a virus that this president downplayed for too long. it has left millions of people jobless, too many long. it has left millions of peoplejobless, too many have lost their healthcare, too many are struggling to take care of basic necessities like food and rent. too many communities have been left in the lurch to grapple with whether and how to open our school safely. internationally, we have turned our back, notjust on agreements forged by my husband but by alliances championed by presidents mike reagan and eisenhower. —— like. here at home, like george floyd and breona taylor, and a never ending list the people of colour, continue to be murdered. stating a simple fact

like black lives matter is still met with derision from the nation ‘s highest honour... 0ffice. because whenever we look to this white house for some leadership of consolation orany some leadership of consolation or any semblance of steadiness, what we get instead is chaos. division, and a total and utter lack of empathy. empathy, that is something i've been thinking a lot about lately. the ability to walk in someone else's shoes. the recognition that someone else's experience has value too. most of us practice this without a second thought. if we see someone suffering or struggling, we don't stand in judgement, we reach out because they are but for the grace of god go i, is not a hard concept to grasp. it is what we teach

our children. and like so many of you barack and i have tried our best to instill in our girls, a strong moral foundation to carry forward the values that our parents and grandparents forged into us. but right now, kids in this country are seeing at what happens when we stop requiring empathy and one another. we are looking around wondering if we have been lying this whole time about who we are and what we truly value. they see people shouting in grocery stores, unwilling to wear a mask to keep us safe. they see people calling the police on folks minding theirown calling the police on folks minding their own business just because of the colour of their skin. they see an entitlement that says only certain people belong here. that greed is good and winning is everything because as long as you come out on top, it doesn't matter what

happens to everyone else, and they see what happens when it that lack of empathy is brought up that lack of empathy is brought up into outright disdain. they see our leaders labelling fellow citizens, enemies of the state while in bolding torch bearing white supremacist. they watched in horror as children torn from their families and thrown into cages and pepper sprayed and rubber bullets are used on peaceful protesters for a photo opportunity. sadly, this is the america that is on display for the next generation. a nation that is underperforming not simply on matters of policy but on matters of policy but on matters of policy but on matters of character. and that is not just matters of character. and that is notjust disappointing, it is notjust disappointing, it is downright infuriating. because i know the goodness and the grace that is out there in

households and neighbourhoods all across this nation. and i know that regardless of our race, age, religion or politics, when we close out the noise and the fear and truly open our hearts, we know that what is going on in this country is just not right. this is not who we want to be. so what do we do now? what is our strategy? 0ver what do we do now? what is our strategy? over the past four yea rs, strategy? over the past four years, a strategy? over the past four yea rs, a lot strategy? over the past four years, a lot of people have asked me when others are going so low, does going hi still really work? i answer is, going hi is the only thing that works because when we go lower, when we use those same tactics of degrading and dehumanising others, we just become degrading and dehumanising others, wejust become part degrading and dehumanising others, we just become part of the ugly noise that is running

out everything else. we degrade ourselves, we degrade the very causes for which we fight. but let's be clear, going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty. going high it means taking the harder path, it means scraping and clawing our way to that mountaintop. going high means standing fierce against hatred while remembering that we are one nation under god and if we want to survive, we've got to find a way to live together and work together across our differences. and going high means unlocking the shackles of lies and mistrust with the only thing that can truly set us free, the cold hard truth. so

let me be as honest and clear asi let me be as honest and clear as i possibly can, donald trump is the wrong president for our country. he has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job enough time to prove that he can do thejob but he is clearly in over his head. they cannot meet this moment. he simply cannot be too we need him to be for us. it is what it is. now, iunderstand him to be for us. it is what it is. now, i understand that my message won't be heard by some people. we live in a nation thatis people. we live in a nation that is deeply divided and i am a black woman speaking at the democratic convention. but enough of you know me by now, you know that i tell you exactly what i am feeling, you know i hate politics. but you also know that i care about this nation. you know how much i care about all of our children stop so if you take

one thing from my website, it is this, if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can and they will if we don't make a change in the selection. if we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote forjoe biden like our lives depend on it. i know joe, biden like our lives depend on it. i knowjoe, he is a profoundly decent man guided by faith, he was a terrific vice president, he knows what it ta kes to president, he knows what it takes to rescue an economy beat back a pandemic and lead our country. and he listens. he will tell the truth and trust science. he will make smart plans and manage a good team and he will govern as someone who has lived a life that the rest of us can recognise. when

he was a kid, joe's father lost hisjob. when he was he was a kid, joe's father lost his job. when he was a young senator, joe lost his wife and his baby daughter and when he was vice president, he lost his beloved son. so, joe knows the anguish of sitting at a table with an empty chair which is why he gives his time so freely to grieving parents. joe knows what it's like to struggle, which is why he gives his personal phone number two kids overcoming a starter of their own. his life is a testament to getting back up. and he is going to channel that same grit and passion to pick us all up, to help us heal and guide us forward. now, joe is not perfect and he would be the first to tell you that. but there is no perfect candidate, no perfect president and his ability to learn and grow, we

find in that the kind of humility and maturity that so many of us yearn for right now. because joe many of us yearn for right now. becausejoe biden many of us yearn for right now. because joe biden has many of us yearn for right now. becausejoe biden has served this nation his entire life without ever losing sight of who he is. but more than that, he has never lost sight of who we. all of us, joe biden wants all of our kids to go to a good school, see a doctor when they are sick, live on a healthy planet. and he has got plans to make all of that happen. joe biden wants all of our kids, no matter what they look able to walk out the door without worrying about being harassed or arrested or killed. he wants all of our kids to be able to go to all of our kids to be able to gotoa all of our kids to be able to go to a movie or a mouth class without being afraid of getting shot. he wants all of our kids to grow up with leaders who

won't just serve themselves and their wealthy peers but will provide a safety net for people facing hard times. and if we wa nt facing hard times. and if we want a chance to pursue any of these goals, any of these most basic requirements for a functioning society, we have two vote forjoe biden in numbers that cannot be ignored. because right now, folks who know they cannot win fair and square at the ballot box are doing everything they can to stop us from voting. they are closing down polling places in minority neighbourhoods, they are purging voter rolls, they are purging voter rolls, they are sending people out to intimidate voters and they are lying about the security of our ballots. these tactics are not new. but this is not the time to withhold our votes and protest or play games with candidates who have no chance

of winning.