Chicago: US President Joe Biden, forced by his allies to abandon his reelection bid a month ago, took centre stage on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention, aware that his party has swiftly moved on without him.
Wiping away multiple tears after being introduced by his daughter Ashley and waving to a crowd that gave him an extended standing ovation, a smiling Biden said: "I love you."
Instead of his hoped-for high-profile speech on Thursday to accept the Democratic nomination for another four-year term, Biden was the main event at the start of the Chicago convention on Monday before travelling to California for a vacation. In his speech, Biden was expected to tout his accomplishments - boosting the US economy and strengthening US alliances abroad - and make the case for Americans to elect his vice president, Kamala Harris, as his White House successor.
MOMENT: A tearful Biden takes centre stage
Earlier in the evening, Harris made a surprise appearance, drawing cheers from the crowd as she vowed to defeat her Republican rival Donald Trump, 78, in the Nov. 5 election. Harris, 59, will formally accept the nomination on Thursday. "Let us fight for the ideals we hold dear and let us always remember, when we fight we win!" Harris said to the roar of the crowd. Biden's reluctant decision to step aside on July 21 came after heavy pressure from party leaders who worried the 81-year-old incumbent was too old to win or serve another four years.
Biden, who served as No. 2 to the nation's first Black president, Barack Obama, has urged Democrats to unite behind a candidate who, if triumphant, would become the first woman, who is also Black and South Asian, to be elected US president. The party's chances of winning have improved dramatically with Harris' candidacy, based on opinion polls, fundraising and the sizable crowds she has attracted.
During a walkthrough of the convention center earlier on Monday, Biden was asked if it was a bittersweet moment for him. "It is a memorable moment," he told reporters. In his address, Biden planned to portray Trump as a threat to American democracy while touting the achievements of the Biden-Harris administration.
(With inputs from agencies)
