Expectations weren’t terribly high for Joe Biden on Thursday night when he made his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Biden has the innate ability to express his passion for America and its people, but his age and stuttering problem have diminished his public speaking skills over the past few years.
President Trump has childishly portrayed him as “sleepy” and confused.
The DNC even broadcast a vignette on Biden’s history of stuttering before his speech in what appeared to be a clever attempt to temper expectations.
There was no doubt that some Trump supporters watched the speech with giddy delight, waiting for a gaffe, while Biden’s supporters clenched their teeth hoping all the words would come out right.
But Biden delivered a masterful 24-minute speech that showed zero signs of any speech problems or age-related decline. Throughout his address, Biden naturally ran the emotional spectrum. He was quiet and somber when he discussed the pain of losing a loved one to COVID-19.
He was strong and passionate when discussing Trump’s coziness with dictators.
After the speech, there was no doubt that Joe Biden still has the mental, physical, and spiritual fortitude to take on Donald Trump and, possibly, the toughest job on earth.
If the Republican Party’s plan was to disqualify Biden for his age and mental acuity, they must have been scrambling to find a new line of attack on Friday morning.
In his speech, Biden chastised Trump for ignoring Russian bounties on the heads of American soldiers and derided the president’s claim that the white supremacists who marched with torches in Charlottesville, Virginia were “good people.”
He hit Trump hardest on his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic saying, “The President keeps telling us the virus is going to disappear. He keeps waiting for a miracle.”
“Well, I have news for him: no miracle is coming. After all this time, the President still does not have a plan,” Biden continued. “Well, I do.”
The speech was also powerful because it was directed at “all Americans,” not just his own party. It stood in sharp contrast with Trump’s hyper-partisan presidency that has made practically no effort to appeal to anyone outside of his base.
As expected, the speech received praise from those on his side of the aisle.
The speech was also received praise from Fox News, an outlet that has not been overly kind to the Democratic nominee.
“I thought that he blew a hole, a big hole, in that characterization,” Chris Wallace said. “It seems to me that after tonight, Donald Trump is going to have to run against a candidate, not a caricature. The Democrats have had a good convention, now it’s the Republicans’ turn.”
Fox News host Bret Baier was similarly positive about Biden’s performance.
“He’s not known for his public speaking, but this ― I’ve been seeing him speak on the stump many, many times ― was the best he’s been as far as his delivery,” Baier said.
Fox News host Dana Perino said Biden “hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth.”
“He had pace, rhythm, energy, emotion and delivery,” she said. “I think if he looks back, he’s gonna say, that’s probably the best speech of his life.”
Even Karl Rove offered gracious praise, saying Biden portrayed himself as a unifier.
“He did so very effectively and if I were a Republican strategist in the Trump campaign, I’d be worried about how long and how effectively he carries that theme forward,” Rove said. “Because that’s the thing that will keep the swing voters in his camp ― if they are in his camp ― or bring them to him.”
In his speech, Biden said this is “our moment to make hope and history rhyme.” On Thursday night, that moment may have happened.
