The vice president was in peak form, from the moment he walked on stage to the Rocky theme song. Biden started his speech on an emotional note, recalling when his son Beau, who passed away in 2015 due to brain cancer, nominated him during the 2012 convention. Then he switched to Hillary Clinton, but instead of talking about her credentials, he focused instead on humanizing her, stating, “Everybody knows she’s smart, everybody knows she’s tough, but I know what she’s passionate about. I know Hillary. Hillary understands.”
Biden also went after Trump, criticizing his claims of supporting the middle class, with the Biden line we’ve come to know and love: “That’s a bunch of malarkey.” This was the right wedge for Biden to hammer, and when he declared that Trump “doesn’t have a clue about the middle class,” he had to wait while the crowd unanimously chanted in response, “Not a clue.” Then we got quiet and serious Joe—who waxed on the grave threat that a Donald Trump presidency posed for the country.
Biden topped it all off by finishing his speech with some good ol’ national pride—“It’s never been a good bet to bet against America!” He may have just saved the night after Leon Panetta (not the greatest choice for a prime-time speaker) was shouted over during his speech. And Biden made it look easy.