DAVID GREENE, HOST:
When a presidential nominee gives a convention speech, the real audience is not the crowd but the audience at home. Last night, Democratic nominee Joe Biden had no crowd. So he looked at the camera and gave what felt like an intimate talk.
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JOE BIDEN: 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.
GREENE: After the speech, Biden and his wife, Jill, walked outside to a fireworks display with convention attendees gathered in a socially distanced way outside their cars in the parking lot, honking their horns and cheering. The first-ever virtual Democratic National Convention opened with First Lady Michelle Obama delivering a dark warning.
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MICHELLE OBAMA: If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me - they can, and they will if we don't make a change in this election.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Also during this convention, Joe Biden's wife, Dr. Jill Biden, shared a personal endorsement.
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JILL BIDEN: If we entrust this nation to Joe he will do for your family what he did for ours - bring us together and make us whole.
INSKEEP: Kamala Harris made history as the first Black and Asian American woman to be the vice presidential nominee on a major party ticket.
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KAMALA HARRIS: Let's fight with confidence in ourselves and a commitment to each other, to the America we know is possible, the America we love.
GREENE: This week, we have been asking voters what they have thought about the convention. Jennifer Salvati (ph) in Farmington, Minn., said she approved of Biden's promise to follow science in fighting a pandemic.
JENNIFER SALVATI: I just feel like at least he has a plan. With Trump, he did so much denying that it was even happening. He just let it get out in front of him.
INSKEEP: Fatima Baria (ph), a lawyer in Silver Spring, Md., runs a group called Black Diaspora for Biden-Harris 2020. She says Harris's family story resonates with her own.
FATIMA BARIA: The fact that he picked her just solidified everything for me even more. Her story could be my story. I have the immigrant story, the Black woman story and the attorney story. And I think that makes a lot of difference.
INSKEEP: Another voter, Christine Nisei (ph), was watching in San Diego, Calif.
CHRISTINE NISEI: I mean, I was really just left with this excited feeling. And it just came through tonight what a kind and compassionate human being he is, which is extremely refreshing, you know, in comparison to Trump.
GREENE: Three voters there who plan to support Joe Biden as he accepts the Democratic nomination for president. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
