USA Biden at party convention: I did my best for America

The US Democrats cheered their ousted front man Joe Biden at their party convention in Chicago. Chants and applause accompanied the speech by the 81-year-old, who used his appearance above all to praise the achievements of his soon-to-end presidency and to swear the party in on the new presidential candidate Kamala Harris. "America, I've done my best for you," said the US President, quoting from a song lyric.

Biden, who dropped out of the race for a second term in July, was accompanied by his family. The speech by his daughter Ashley apparently moved the Democrat to tears - he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. "It has been the honor of my life to serve as your president. I love this job, but I love my country even more," he said.

Biden swears Democrats in on Harris

Harris described Biden as a man of character and tremendous integrity. "Choosing Kamala was the very first decision I made (...) when I became a candidate. It was the best decision I've made in my entire career." The two have become close friends. "She's tough, she's experienced and she has tremendous integrity."

The 59-year-old will run against Republican Donald Trump in the election on November 5. Her running mate is Tim Walz. Biden will now face the last five months of his presidency until the handover in January - when his decades-long career in politics will come to an end. For Biden, the Democratic Party conference is also an opportunity to reconcile with his party after a highly dramatic few weeks.

First Lady with a declaration of love

President's wife Jill Biden made a public declaration of love to her husband on stage. "Joe and I have been together for almost 50 years now - and there are still moments when I fall in love with him all over again." There are these moments when her husband acts on behalf of a cause that is greater than himself, said the First Lady. She also cited her husband's withdrawal from the presidential race as an example.

A brief appearance by Kamala Harris, which had not been announced, provided a moment of surprise. She thanked her boss for his "historic leadership" in recent years. She said she was "eternally grateful" to Biden for his service to the nation and for everything he would continue to do for America.

Hillary Clinton draws attention to Harris as a woman

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton set a slightly different tone on the first evening of the four-day meeting. She saw Harris' nomination as a groundbreaking step for the country. America is on the verge of breaking through the highest and hardest glass ceiling, said Clinton, who herself was a presidential candidate in 2016.

"We are writing a new chapter in America's history," said the 76-year-old. Harris wants to become the first female president in US history - Clinton was the first female presidential candidate from one of the major parties in the USA in 2016. At the time, she wanted to be the first woman to take the White House presidency, but was defeated by her Republican opponent Trump.

Start of the party conference accompanied by protests

Larger pro-Palestinian demonstrations took place around the Democratic Party conference on Monday. Several thousand people joined a protest march to the venue in the afternoon. The protest was primarily directed against the actions of the Israeli military in the Gaza Strip and the US military support for Israel.

The protest was supported by various groups. A large number of police were deployed around the protest march. CNN reported, citing the police, that four people had been arrested after breaking through a security fence near the venue. For the most part, it remained peaceful.

SDA