welcome to a bbc news special on the final night of the democratic national convention. i'm lewis vaughan jones. our main story: it's been a democratic party convention like no other. on the final night of this virtual event, the party waits forjoe biden to set out his vision for america, as he prepares to accept the nomination as presidential candidate. joe biden, my name is. look me over, will ya? he's tried twice before, but never been this close. we look at the journey that got joe biden one step away from the presidency. we'll be live injoe biden‘s home—town of wilmington, delaware and in washington. also coming up: the convention is hearing from everyday americans, and some of those — including pete buttigieg and michael bloomberg — who ran in the presidential primaries.

hello and welcome to the program. the final night of the democratic party's online national convention is under way. the former us vice—president joe biden is preparing to make the most important speech of his long political career, as he accepts the democratic party nomination to challenge donald trump for the white house. mr biden says he'll use his address to outline plans to set america on a new path. he's accused president trump of leading a failed response to the coronavirus pandemic, and has promised to "build back better" if he wins the election in november. let's check in with what is

happening at the virtual online national convention. just to explain, this is the live feed thatis explain, this is the live feed that is being played out across the tv networks and online. it isa the tv networks and online. it is a mixture of pre—recorded films and big set piece speeches. so a couple of big speeches. so a couple of big speeches to come before we hear from joe biden. we are expecting to hear from from joe biden. we are expecting to hearfrom pete buttigieg, michael bloomberg, the former mayor of new york also into the race. not too far away there from the space from joe biden. before we hearfrom joe biden. before we hearfrom joe biden, let's hearfrom katty kay who is in washington. not long to wait now forjoe biden. what does this all mean for him? before him and we have got senator tammy duckworth who is one of the vp candidates, could have been one of the

candidates. she'll be speaking and then we'll havejoe biden‘s kids and grandkids also introducing him as well. the whole thing is this all about biden and boosting biden‘s biography. this is why we will have the grandkids onstage of him. he is the family man, the patriarch of his family. it's all designed really to show two things. but he is a decent man who has experience. i think thatis who has experience. i think that is what, if democrats are to say that this has been a success , to say that this has been a success, they will feel that they have put those two m essa 9 es they have put those two messages gci’oss, they have put those two messages across, that this is somebody who keeps his word, who has faith who you can trust, who is reliable, but also who has experience governing. he worked with barack obama in the white house on an economic recovery program after the crash of 2008. and he worked with barack obama on keeping the bowler virus out of the united states and preventing the pandemic here. —— ebola. they want to push those two messages, the human

character of an empathetic guy and someone who has plenty of experience and can start the job on day one. this is what all this is about. of course, joe biden, you're watching the pictures of him there with barack obama. so far, he has only ever been a vice president. he has run for the presidency twice, failing both of those occasions but democrats are hoping that there is something about this moment, something about the year 2020 that makes joe biden something about the year 2020 that makesjoe biden at the right man for this campaign. take a watch. we know you had that little report there into the background, the history ofjoe biden. i think we will play that a little bit later on. fascinating though, the main ta ke fascinating though, the main take away from that report that you put out is that it is about empathy, what do you mean by that? looks, he is known as somebody who, somebody who calls you up if you have lost

somebody in your family. the cou ntless somebody in your family. the countless stories of people saying that they lost a parent or they lost a spouse ollie lost a child and they got a phone call from joe biden in person who talks to them. that he is somebody who understands grief. he lost his own young daughter and his wife when he was just starting out in his political career and a couple of years ago back in 2015, he lost his own sonjoe biden who died of cancer. he who understands grief and i think there is a feeling —— beau biden. this is a traumatic moment in many countries, including this one which has the highest number of quomo cases in the world and the highest number of deaths in the world. perhaps joe biden highest number of deaths in the world. perhaszoe biden is the right person for this moment because of that. away from the manjoe because of that. away from the man joe biden, because of that. away from the manjoe biden, not the elephant in the room is the wrong phrase but the whole backdrop to all of this is of course the coronavirus pandemic. how do you think this seeps through into not just you think this seeps through into notjust the campaigning, the candidate ‘s choice of

topics and subjects but also how does this infiltrate through the whole field?m how does this infiltrate through the whole field? it is everything. i think this election will be a referendum on donald trump and in particular. i'm so sorry to cut you off straightaway. the reason is we are going to cross straight now to the democratic national convention and to the words of tammy duckworth, the united states senator for illinois. to be a commander, you must always put your troops first because one day you may order them to sacrifice everything for the great nation. to do that, leaders must command their troops respect and be worthy of their pledge to protect and serve the constitution and other costs. military service doesn't just ta ke military service doesn't just take sacrifice from those in uniform, it is required from those in their family too. my husband ryan was the ones who rushed to me after i was wounded in iraq. he was the one

holding my hand waiting for me to wa ke holding my hand waiting for me to wake up. he was the one holding my hand waiting for me to wa ke holding my hand waiting for me to wake up and when i finally did, he was my rock, getting me through those hours, weeks and months of unspeakable pain and unending surgeries. he was my anchor as i relearned to walk, helping me through every step and every stumble. our military spouses hold their families together, praying for their loved ones safety whenever they are deployed and serving as caregivers to a disabled servicemembers and then picking up servicemembers and then picking up the pieces and starting again whenever the next two or the next war arises. joe biden understands the sacrifices because he has made them himself. when his son beau, deployed to iraq, his burden was also shouldered by his family. joe knows the fear that military families live because he has felt that dread of never knowing if you're deployed loved one is safe. he understands their bravery because he has had to muster that same strength every hour

of every day beau was overseas. that is the kind of leader our servicemembers deserve, one who understands the risks they face and what he would actually protect those by doing his job as commander—in—chief. instead, they have a coward in chief who won't stand up to vladimir putin, read his daily intelligence briefings or even publicly admonished other series for reportedly putting bounties on our troops heads. as president, joe biden would never let tyra nts as president, joe biden would never let tyrants mitigate him like a puppet. he would never pervade our military to stroke his own ego. he would never turn his back on our troops or threaten them against americans peacefully exercising their constitutional rights. joe biden would stand up for what is right, stand tall for our troops and stand strong against our enemies. because unlike tromp, joe biden has common decency. he has common sense. he can command both from experience and from france.

donald trump doesn't deserve to call himself commander—in—chief for another four minutes, let alone four years. our for another four minutes, let alone fouryears. ourtroops deserve better. our country deserves better. if you agree, texts ‘more' to electjoe biden, a leader who actually ca res biden, a leader who actually cares about america to lead. that was a powerful testimony there from tammy duckworth, the united states and another for illinois on that live feed coming to us from the democratic national convention. let's pick through some of their thoughts raised there. laura trevelyan, our correspondence in wellington delaware where joe correspondence in wellington delaware wherejoe biden will deliver his speech shortly. possibly from there. i want to pick up online issue, the quite stinging attacks on the personality of donald trump. it is always a difficult line for joe biden to pick here. where

do you think he goes? do you think he will follow the line at their of quite a stinging attack or stay away from that? well, the attacks have been done, the attack dogs have gone ahead of him and this is his moment to be uplifting and inspiring. i think what you're going to hear is presidential historianjohn going to hear is presidential historian john meacham spoke maybe 20 minutes ago and he has written a book called the soul of america which has been very influential forjoe of america which has been very influentialforjoe biden because his campaign premise is that he wants to reclaim the soul of america. the implication being that it has been battered by donald trump and that he is the man who can unify and heal. so i would think he is going to go more down that redemptive route, inspiring and uplifting because donald trump has been demolished so thoroughly. although there has been an attempt to do that by the democratic party because it is

superseded joe biden tonight. interesting and what else do you think, that's a really interesting contrast, first you set up the attacks and then it is your moment to shine. i want your thoughts, plenty of commentators throughout the last couple of months has described joe biden as being in a bunker and its properly best for him to stay out of the way and that donald trump take the criticism heading his way. now we have joe biden's criticism heading his way. now we havejoe biden's kind of moment to shine. there is a slight contradiction isn't there. isn't it best when people i've seen him focusing on another candidate, when they are seeing him? you know, it's are seeing him? you know, it's a good question. the last six months in america have been so strange because of the coronavirus pandemic and sojoe biden has run this front porch campaign and his strategist calling it, or basement campaign is donald trump would call it. he has been quite limited and going out and about. he did during the process which convulsed

america. he did go out and stood with the back lives matter —— black. and those protesting racial injustice. and tonight to be in the convention centre with him, either a report or a member of staff, you have to make a coronavirus to soo—beom there. anyway, he is drawing a contrast with donald trump and being the amount of science, the man who is following medical advice. donald trump held that big rally in oklahoma and various people contracted cobit after that. he is trying to draw a contrast. after introductory interrupts you we're going to go to pete buttigieg to see what he has to say. good evening, bo biden live a life of service —— beau. in this uniform and as a service. when you put your life on the life of this country, it's not because you live here but it is when you believe in.

i believe in this country and because america uniquely holds the promise of a place where everybody can along. we know that for too many and for too long, that promise has been denied. we also know that america is at its best when we make that circle of belonging wider. just over 10 years ago, ijoined a military where firing me because of who i am wasn't just possible, it firing me because of who i am wasn'tjust possible, it was policy. and now, in 2020, it is unlawful in america to fire someone because unlawful in america to fire someone because of who they are or who they love. the very ring on my finger. the wedding we celebrated here where i am standing reflects on how this country can change. love makes my marriage real but political courage made it possible. including that ofjoe biden who stepped out ahead even of this party when he said that marriage equality ought to be

the law of the land. there is a long way to go but if this much can change between 2010 and 2020, imagine what could change between now and 2030. imagine what we could achieve, this coalition we are building, this very season, covering very season, covering progressives and moderates, independence and even what i like to call future former republicans standing for an america where everybody belongs. joe biden is right, this is a contest for the soul of the nation. and to me, that contest is not between good americans and evil americans, it's the struggle to call out what is good in every american. it's up to us, will america be a place where faith is about healing and not exclusion? can we become a country that lives up we become a country that lives up to the truth that black lives matter. will we handle

questions of science and medicine by turning to scientists and dock is? will we will see to it that no—one who works full—time and live in poverty? i trust joe works full—time and live in poverty? i trustjoe biden and kamala harris to guide us towards that better future because i have seen up close their empathy and their capacity. just as i have seen my fellow americans capacity to support and include one another in new ways and do better by the promise of america. the day i was born, the idea of an out to candidates seeking any federal office at all was laughable, yet earlier this year, icampaign laughable, yet earlier this year, i campaign for the presidency, often with my husband at my side, winning delegates to this very convention. now, icome delegates to this very convention. now, i come to this convention. now, i come to this convention proudly supporting joe biden and, harris. joining

fellow democrats who were squaring off in competition just a few months ago stop and a number of us recently got together to talk about the joe we know. hi, i'm cory booker, welcome to everybody at home, i am very excited to present to you a group of people that ran in the 2020 democratic primary against joe biden. you can think of this sort of like survivor on the out interviews of the people who got voted off the island copy bernie, don't you laugh, because i've got a question for you like why does my girlfriend like you more than she likes me? because she's smarter than you and that's the obvious answer. i'm curious, because senator sanders, and senator clover shah, you actually served with joe biden in the senate, i wonder if you have any memories of what he was like as a colleague? i remember one night when i was giving one of those

floor speeches enquiry, you know what this is like, one was there. no—one was watching. i was all alone and i gave my speech with much vigor to a completely empty chamber. and i walked out of there and i thought, a wonder of my mum was even watching this on this and. and at that moment the cellphone rang and they actually thought maybe my mum was watching it on cspan. and you know who it was? it was joe biden. and that goes to not only has kindness but it also goes to how much he cares about our government and what people are saying and that even when he is at home at night, he is watching and he cares. but amy, we all want to know, did your mother watched the speech? you rememberwhen we were mother watched the speech? you remember when we were waiting to go on, it worked out to where i was there the same time he was and he pulled me aside and pointed to somebody who we both knew who was working on my

campaign, but he had known from before and let me know that that was somebody who had gone through a family tragedy, that joe somehow knew about, and just thought it was important for me to know that about somebody who was working with me. and over time somebody who was working with me. and overtime i've somebody who was working with me. and over time i've realised that itjust basic to me. and over time i've realised that it just basic to who me. and over time i've realised that itjust basic to who he is but that always stuck with me. elizabeth, do you have any remembrances? i think the day i saw remembrances? i think the day i sanoe the clearest was on the one year anniversary of the boston marathon bombing, and eve ryo ne boston marathon bombing, and everyone of course was enormously honoured to have the vice president here, but at some point in that speech, he shifted to the parent who had lost a child, to the man who had lost a wife. to someone who had lost a wife. to someone who had experienced loss very personally, and he spoke to each of the families from the heart. that's phenomenal. you

wa nt to heart. that's phenomenal. you want to ask, what gets you excited about this idea of the inclusion of big ideas from all over the party into the future and into the next administration? the magic of joe biden is that everything he does becomes the new reasonable. if he comes with an ambitious plan to address climate change, all of a sudden, everyone is going to follow his lead. you can see with them choosing kamala harris too, he wants to build the best team, let's do it together. corey, i'm so optimistic about our country right now, despite some very dark days for a lot of our fellow americans, in large part because of what young people are doing right now. after the murder of ahmaud arbery and breonna taylor and george floyd, young people by and large led these protests and they did so in the absolute best traditions in this country, the tradition ofjohn lewis. my optimism and my faith

in this country is reflected in those young people and the way thatjoe and those young people and the way that joe and kamala those young people and the way thatjoe and kamala are listening to them and incorporating their ideas and urgency in the campaign now running in the administration they are going to leave. some people saying they don't know if they are going to vote or not a thing that from a point of privilege, there are so many things for folks that live life on the margins that this election is going to decide and maybe it's not a life or death issue for you, but we are all in this together. corey, what i would say is, this is clearly the most important election in the most important election in the modern history of this country and joe biden, you have a human being who is empathetic, who is honest, who is decent, and at this particular moment in american history, my god, that is something that this country absolutely needs. and all of us, whether you are

progressives, moderates or conservatives, have got to come together to defeat this president. thanks for that, bernie. i want to thank you all for joining bernie. i want to thank you all forjoining us for this segment. i'm in this sincerely, it was an honour to run against you and it is an even greater honour to stand with you in support ofjoe biden and, harris. good evening. i've never been much for partisan politics. i've supported democrats, republicans, and independents. hell, i have actually been a democrat, republican and independent. and the two people running for president couldn't be more different. one believes in fa cts , different. one believes in facts, one does not. one listens to experts, the other thinks he knows everything. one looks forward and sees strength in america's diversity. the other looks backwards and sees immigrants as enemies and white supremacist as allies. here is

another difference. one has proven he knows how to handle a crisis by helping to lead the economic turnaround after the 2008 recession, while the other has not only failed to lead, he has not only failed to lead, he has made the current crisis much with. when confronted with the biggest calamity any president has faced in the modern era, donald trump spent the year downplaying the threat, ignoring science, and recommending quite cure is which let covid—19 spread much faster than it should have, leaving hundreds of thousands needlessly sick or dead. he has failed the american people catastrophically. four years ago i came before this very convention and said, new yorkers know akon when we see one, but tonight i'm not asking you to vote against donald trump because he's a bad guy. i'm urging you to vote against him because he has done a bad job. today, unemployment is at

historic highs, and small businesses are struggling just to survive. it didn't have to be this way. before i ran out i spent 20 years running a business i started from scratch, so i want to ask small business owners and their employees one question, and it's a question for everyone. would you rehire or work for someone would you rehire or work for someone who ran would you rehire or work for someone who ran your would you rehire or work for someone who ran your business into the ground ? someone who ran your business into the ground? and who always does who is best for him or her, even when it hurts the company? and whose reckless decisions put you in danger? and who spends more time tweeting than working? if the a nswer tweeting than working? if the answer is no, why the hell would we ever rehire donald trump for another four years? trump for another four years? trump says we should vote for him because he's a great businessman... really?! he drove his companies into ba n kru ptcy drove his companies into bankruptcy six times, always leaving behind customers and contractors who were cheated and swindled and stopped doing

business with him. well, this time all of us are paying the price and we can't let him get away with it again. donald says we should vote for him because the economy was great before the economy was great before the virus... huh?! biden and obama created more jobs the virus... huh?! biden and obama created morejobs over the last three years than the trump administration did over their first three. trump administration did over theirfirst three. and economic growth was higher under biden and obama than under trump. in fa ct, and obama than under trump. in fact, while biden helped save1 million auto industryjobs, trump has lost 250,000 manufacturing jobs. so when trump says he wants to make america great again, he's making a pretty good case for joe biden. look, our goal shouldn't be to bring back the pandemic economy. it should be, asjoe pandemic economy. it should be, as joe says, pandemic economy. it should be, asjoe says, to build it back better. joe's economic plan will create clean energy jobs that help fight another crisis that help fight another crisis that trump is ignoring, climate change. and joe will rebuild

our crumbling roads and bridges, something trump has incessa ntly talk bridges, something trump has incessantly talk about doing but in the last three and a half years, he hasn't done anything. what a joke! and let me tell you a little secret. donald trump's economic plan was to give a huge tax cut to quys was to give a huge tax cut to guys like me who didn't need it, and then lie about it to eve ryo ne it, and then lie about it to everyone else. well, joe will rollback that tax cut that i got so we can fund things our whole country needs, like training for adults that have lost jobs training for adults that have lostjobs and training for adults that have lost jobs and making training for adults that have lostjobs and making college more affordable, and investing in american research and development so that the products of tomorrow are made today by american workers. you know, growing up, i was taught to believe that america is the greatest country in the world. not because we won the second world war but because of why we fought it, for freedom, democracy, and equality. my favourite childhood book was called johnny tremaine, about a

boston boy who joins the sons of liberty at the dawn of the american revolution. at the end of the book, johnny stands on lexington commons and sees a nation that is, quote, greenwith spring, dreaming of the future. that the american i know and love and that's the america we are in danger of losing under this president. so let's put an end to this whole sorry chapter in american history and elect leaders who will bring integrity and stability, sanity and competence back to the white house. joe and kamala, go get em, for all of us. so that was michael bloomberg, one of the former candidates in the race, former mayor of new york with his appeal and backing ofjoe biden. let's quickly get the thoughts now of democratic strategists maryanne

marsh and republican analyst ron christie. maryanne, what do you make of the themes that we have heard so far from those because? they have heard the word empathy a couple of times now. empathy and certainly unity. let's start with empathy, obviously speaking to joe biden's own personal empathy, a life that he has lived that has been lifted like a greek tragedy with tragedy after tragedy where he picked himself up, got back on his feet and always extended his hand, his heart to everyone who has faced something similar. also heard a wide range from bernie sanders to mike bloomberg of people who think he's the best guy to beat donald trump and that everybody needs to get behind him. you did not have that from bernie sanders four years ago about hillary clinton and you didn't hear as hearty of an endorsement for hillary clinton from mike bloomberg either, many democrats wondering where mike bloomberg has been of late and we see him tonight and a pretty impressive timeslot in

terms of speaking. and ron, what do you make of it, have you been convinced by these calls for unity? good morning to you. i think it has been a very interesting final evening for the democrats and their convention. i have been a little bit troubled, candidly, by the notion that they are dividing americans by class, race, gender, and they are not looking at the motto of the united states which is out of many, 1—stop yes, we can unify as americans, we can come together as americans and but trying to insinuate that if you are not on board with this ticket, if you are not with joe biden then somehow you must be, perhaps a bigot stopper you might be perhaps against people who have different ethnic affiliation or sexual orientation, so for me, listening to this and watching all of this, the democrats had all of this, the democrats had a great opportunity, and mary ann is exactly right, having all of the former top runners who were against biden now

supporting him, but the message that they gave, i thought, was a little bit too harsh, it didn't really seem to unify americans, in my view. maryanne, what do you make of that criticism? i think it is an unfounded criticism, with all due respect to ron. the factors donald trump has been dividing america everyday since he has walked into the white house and continues to do that through to this day and it is his campaign strategy to try to hold onto power. i think the speech you will hear from joe biden tonight will be about bringing people together, which is something he has always done. he wants to work together with everyone, he wants to work with everyone, he wants to work with republicans as well stopper you will hear him outline that tonight and that he, understanding with the country is, the challenges it faces, that it never had to be like this, we did not have to lose over 170,000 people. 1 million plus people every week applying for unemployment stopper he will show people that he understands the problems we face and that he will get thejob done.

with all due respect, we are supposed to be analyst, not propagandist for a particular campaign. as an analysis, i would say my assertion is entirely founded. i am an american, i entirely founded. i am an american, lam black, i have the right to say i don't appreciate how politicians tell me how to vote, how to act based on the colour of my skin. i want to vote on the candidate who i believe has the best asian to move erica forward. we will have an obligation, a solemn obligation to vote in this country and elect leaders who really move us down the road but the notion that i am not able to have a foundered opinion based on my opinion of the issues, ithink opinion based on my opinion of the issues, i think is exactly why americans are so sick of our politics. it is either you have two lose for me to win. we shall be able to win as americans. out of many, one. just to bring it back to what we heard so far. i thought it was interesting a couple of minutes ago that mega zoom call, all those former

candidates were there. i wonder