Joe Biden secures Democrat presidential nomination

June 6, 2020 Michael US 0

Democratic presidential candidate, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during an event in Dover, Del., Friday, June 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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UPDATED 10:20 AM PT — Saturday, June 6, 2020

Days after the last round of primaries, Joe Biden officially secured the Democrat presidential nomination. Biden reached the required 1,991 delegates Friday after a record high number of mail-in ballots took an additional three days to tally.

While the recent voting across seven states and the District of Columbia formalized the nomination, many assumed Biden would be the top choice after he swept Super Tuesday in March. He became the presumptive Democrat nominee when his last remaining competitor, Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), suspended his campaign and endorsed the former vice president in early April.

“Today, I am asking all Americans – every Democrat, every Independent, a lot of Republicans – to come together in this campaign to support your candidacy, which I endorse,” stated Sanders.

The race originally started with a large pool of more than two dozen candidates, including Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). Some described the contest as “a race to the left,” as contenders like Sanders pushed candidates toward more progressive stances on issues such as universal healthcare.

FILE – In this Feb. 25, 2020, file photo from left, Democratic presidential candidates, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and businessman Tom Steyer participate in a Democratic presidential primary debate in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

Since Biden’s last debate against Sanders in March, he has largely run his campaign from home. This came after the coronavirus forced the country into lockdown.

However, President Trump has criticized the method.

“We have a sleepy guy, in the basement of a house, that the press is giving a free pass to,” he said.

University of Virginia’s Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato believes the strategy has served Biden well with the U.S. in its current state of upheaval.

“He’s not a great orator, I think he’d be the first to admit that. He isn’t going to charm crowds the way a Barack Obama did. What he can do is quietly propose a different, contrasting set of policies with the incumbent. Oddly enough, this situation has worked out in a way that enables him to do that.” – Larry Sabato, Director of the Center for Politics, University of Virginia

Biden’s speaking skills and allegedly insensitive comments have been criticized by analysts on both sides of the aisle, leading many to question his chances in a debate against the president.

FILE – In this combination of file photos, former Vice President Joe Biden speaks in Wilmington, Del., on March 12, 2020, left, and President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in Washington on April 5, 2020. (AP Photo, File)

Despite Biden’s confidence in his odds against President Trump, the president has admitted he isn’t worried.

“He’s not for jobs. You look at what they’ve done over there. Look, I’m only here because of Joe Biden and his partner. I’m only here for that reason. Without them I wouldn’t be here. I became president because people were very unhappy.” – Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States

Biden has been making more public appearances over the past week. He has attribute the ongoing nationwide unrest to the president.

“He just has no idea, in my view, what’s really going on in this country. He has no idea the depth of the pain that so many people are still enduring. He remains completely oblivious to the human toll of his indifference.” – Joe Biden, former Vice President of the United States

The Democrat candidate’s next move to watch will be his choice of vice president. In light of recent racial tensions across the country, party leaders have insisted Biden should pick a woman of color as his running mate.