Joe Biden has accepted the Democratic nomination for president during the final night of the Democratic National Convention. After four days of music, personal stories and speeches, Biden delivered his virtual acceptance speech to close out the convention. 

“The current president has clocked America in darkness for much too long, too much anger, too much fear, too much division,” Biden said. “Here and now I give you my word, if you entrust me with the presidency I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness. It is time for us, for we the people to come together, and make no mistake, united we can and will overcome this season of darkness.”

Biden said this is not a partisan moment for America, he spoke of winning the heart and soul of the country for the working class and communities who have known injustice. 

“You know, no generation will ever know what history will ask of it, all we can ever know is if we are ready for when that moment arrives, and now history has delivered us to one of the most difficult moments America has ever faced,” Biden said. 

Former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg was one of the keynote speakers of the night who also ran against Biden during the Democratic primaries. 

“Imagine what we could achieve, this coalition we are building this very season,” Buttigieg said. “Gathering progressives and moderates, independents and even what I like to call future former Republicans, standing for an America where everyone 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 is the struggle to call out what is good in every American.”

Biden said if President Donald Trump remains elected, COVID-19 cases will grow and working-class families will struggle to get by, while the wealthiest 1 percent receive new tax breaks.

“This is a life-changing election, this will determine what America is going to look like for a long, long time,” Biden said. “Character is on the ballot, compassion is on the ballot, decency, science, democracy, they are all on the ballot. Who we are as a nation, what we stand for, most importantly who we want to be, that is all on the ballot, and the choice could not be more clear. No rhetoric is needed, just judge this character on the facts.”

Former Democratic presidential candidates joined together virtually to talk about their experiences with Biden while in the Senate including Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Cory Booker. 

“I think the day I saw Joe the clearest was on the one-year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing,” Warren said. “Everyone was of course enormously honored to have the vice president here, but at some point in that speech he shifted to the man who had lost a child, to the man who had lost his wife, to someone who had experience lost very personally and he spoke to each of the heart.” 

Booker said people who say they are unsure whether they will vote in the coming election are saying that from a point of privilege. 

“There are so many things for lots of folks who live their lives on the margins that this election is going to decide; maybe it’s not a life or death issue for you but we are all in this together,” Booker said.  

Biden closed out his speech with a message about unifying the country, a common theme throughout the convention. 

“This is our moment to make hope and history rhythm with passion and purpose,” Biden said. “Let us begin, you and I together, with one nation, under God, united in our love for America, in our love for each other. Love is more powerful than hate, hope is more powerful than fear and light is more powerful than dark, this is our moment, this is our mission. Let history be able to say that the end of this chapter in American darkness ended here, tonight as love and hope and light joined in the battle for the soul of the nation and this is a battle we will win and we will do it together. I promise you.”