US Democrat Joe Biden on Thursday accepted his party's nomination for president, telling the nation he will draw on the best of America and "overcome this season of darkness" if he is elected over rival Donald Trump.
Mr Biden, on his third White House bid after failing to win the nomination in 1988 and 2008, said he will expand on his plans to "build back better and set this nation on a new path."
“If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us not the worst,” he told the virtual convention in Wilmington, Delaware.
“Make no mistake, united we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America we'll choose hope over fear facts over fiction, fairness over privilege.”
“History be able to say that the end of this chapter of American darkness began here tonight!”
Mr Biden gave a scathing review of President Trump’s response and attitude regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our current president's failed in his most basic duty to the nation. He's failed to protect us, he's failed to protect America, and my fellow Americans, that is unforgivable.”
“I understand something this president hasn't from the beginning. We'll never have our lives back until we deal with this virus,” he said.
The Democratic candidate pledged to implement an overhaul of America’s virus response on “day one, if elected”, which would include a nationwide mandate on the wearing of masks.
"We'll take the muzzle off our experts so the public gets the information they need and deserve. Honest, unvarnished truth," he added.
Mr Biden promised to rebuild the American economy, protecting social security and medicare programs while tackling the “existential” threat of climate change.
He also pledged to help heal America's deep racial divisions that came to the fore after the death of George Floyd.
“History has thrust one more urgent task on us. Will we be the generation that finally wipes out the stain of racism from our national character? I believe we’re up to it. I believe we’re ready,” Mr Biden said.
“American history tells us that it's been in our darkest moments that we made our greatest progress.”
'American carnage'
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Biden delivered his remarks to an audience consisting of only a few reporters, aides and family.
His acceptance speech is the final salvo in a convention that was to have been held in the battleground state of Wisconsin, but ended up being almost entirely virtual because of COVID-19.
In a show of unity, other speakers on the convention's final day included politicians who challenged Mr Biden for the nomination, such as former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg, New York billionaire Michael Bloomberg, entrepreneur Andrew Yang and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker.
"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's done a bad job,” Mr Bloomberg said.
The program offered some light-hearted moments from its moderator, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who portrayed a US vice president in the comedy television show "Veep," and took some digs at both Mr Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
"When Donald Trump spoke at his inauguration about 'American carnage,' I assumed that was something he was against, not a campaign promise," she said.
As Democrats wrapped up their four-day convention, federal prosecutors announced the arrest of Mr Trump's former top strategist Steve Bannon and a judge rejected the president's bid to block the release of his financial records to the Manhattan district attorney.
President Trump described Mr Bannon's arrest as a "sad event" before travelling to Pennsylvania to deliver remarks to supporters in the town of Old Forge near Mr Biden's birthplace of Scranton.
Painting himself as the law and order candidate, the president accused Mr Biden of being a "puppet of the radical left" and attacked his son Hunter Biden's past business deals in Ukraine and China.
President Trump was impeached by the Democratic-led House of Representatives in January for seeking political dirt on the Bidens from Ukraine, but was acquitted by the Republican-majority Senate.
While his father was vice president, Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian gas firm accused of corruption but has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
He has kept a low profile during his father's campaign but is listed among those making remarks during the party convention's final day.
On Wednesday, California Senator Kamala Harris made history as she accepted the nomination to be Mr Biden's running mate.
Ms Harris, the first black woman on a major party ticket, joined former president Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Mr Trump's 2016 opponent, in denouncing the president.
"Donald Trump's failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods," Ms Harris said. "We're at an inflection point."
Additional reporting: Reuters
