NATIONWIDE — Third time’s the charm.

This is the moment that Joe Biden likely dreamed of so many times in his career: stepping up to the podium and formally accepting his party’s nomination for president, 33 years after he made his first bid for the White House.

While it probably wasn’t the Democratic National Convention he envisioned in 1988 and 2008 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the former vice president’s powerful rhetoric came across in his acceptance speech.

Biden emphasized that while he is a “proud Democrat,” he “will be an American president.”

“I'll work hard for those who didn't support me, as hard for them as I did for those who did vote for me," he said. "That's the job of a president, to represent all of us, not just our base or our party.”

“This is not a partisan moment,” he added. “This must be an American moment.”

The heavy hitters all spoke on the three nights prior to Thursday — there were no show-stopping speeches from the Obamas, the Clintons, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, or even his own running mate, Kamala Harris, to steal the show.

Thursday night belonged to Joe, and he had a lot to say.

Here are 6 takeaways from the closing night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention:

NEWSOM’S DIRE WARNING ON CLIMATE CHANGE

“I confess this is not where I expected to be speaking here tonight,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said as he began his DNC speech.

But Newsom wasn’t referring to the virtual nature of the convention, he was referring to his location — speaking outside of an evacuation center in Santa Cruz, California, “about a mile or so away” from one of the nearly 400 wildfires currently raging across the state.

Newsom’s message was a stark one: “Climate change is real.”

“This is an extraordinary moment,” he added. “Mother Nature has joined the conversation on climate change.”

Newsom went on to discuss the lawsuits his state is involved in against the Trump administration regarding the environment before praising the work that Biden did with former president Barack Obama on environmental causes.

Of Biden and his running mate, Newsom wanted to “express my deep reverence, my admiration to Joe Biden, to Kamala Harris,” who he called “California’s own.” 

“To their commitment, not just to the environment, but to … our kids, our kids' kids, to our grandkids, to our legacy,” he added.

FOCUS ON FAITH

As if responding to President Trump’s claim that Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, will “hurt God, hurt the bible” if elected president, Delaware Sen. Chris Coons took time to highlight Biden’s faith.

"For Joe, faith isn't a prop or a political tool,” Coons said. 

“Joe believes. He believes in both the greatness and the goodness of this country. He believes in us and in what we can do together.”

Coons’ remarks echoed what Michelle Obama said earlier in the week of Biden, calling him a “profoundly decent man, guided by faith.

DNC emcee Julia Louis-Dreyfus followed up Coons’ remarks, using the topic of Biden’s faith to zing President Trump: "Just remember: Joe Biden goes to church so regularly that he doesn't even need tear gas and a bunch of federalized troops to help him get there."

ALL ABOUT FAMILY

Family has always been an important part of who Joe Biden is, a central part to both his identity and his politics — and this year’s Democratic National Convention.

Former Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden closed out the second night of the convention Tuesday, delivering a show-stopping speech that drew parallels to how her husband’s experience leading their family through personal trauma will help him lead the country through crisis:

“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, carry us forward in our time of need, keep the promise of America, for all of us,” she said.

Even Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, took time in her speech Wednesday of her friendship with Joe Biden’s son, Beau, who died of cancer in 2015:

“Beau and I would talk about his family — how, as a single father, Joe would spend 4 hours every day riding the train back and forth from Wilmington to Washington," Harris said. "Beau and Hunter got to have breakfast every morning with their dad. They went to sleep every night with the sound of his voice reading bedtime stories. And while they endured an unspeakable loss, these two little boys always knew that they were deeply, unconditionally loved.”

True to form, the Democratic presidential nominee said Harris’ relationship with Beau played a role in her as his running mate.

Thursday night was filled with family, from start to finish. Sen. Tammy Duckworth spoke before a tribute video to Beau Biden — a fitting parallel to the 2008 DNC, where she spoke before Beau.

Biden’s four granddaughters squeezed together on a small couch to talk about the patriarch of their family, Joe Biden, to talk about everything from his love of ice cream (“He's always eating ice cream. Usually it's like vanilla.”) to a family meeting to discuss whether or not he should run for president in 2020.

"We just knew that he had to run, and we weren’t going to take no for an answer," one of his granddaughters said.

Following the video, Biden’s children, Hunter and Ashley, spoke of what kind of president they believe their father will be, if elected:

“He’ll be there for you when you need him,” Hunter said.

“He’ll tell you the truth even when you don’t want to hear it,” Ashley replied. 

Viewers couldn’t get too far into Thursday’s DNC program without a mention of the Biden family and what it means to the candidate.

UNITY

The 2020 DNC featured a cavalcade of Joe Biden’s one-time rivals for the Democratic nomination expressing their support for the former VP, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar — and even his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris.

Thursday was no exception, starting with entrepreneur Andrew Yang, who was not initially slated to speak at the convention, painting a grim warning of the country’s economic recovery.

“72 percent of Americans believe that this is the worst time we have ever experienced. And 42 percent of the jobs that are now lost — millions of jobs — will never return. We are in a deep, dark hole, and we need leaders who will help dig us out,” he said.

Yang then turned his attention toward Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

“They understand the problems we face. They are parents and patriots who want the best for our country, and if we give them the chance, they will fight for us and our families every single day,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sen. Cory Booker delivered an impassioned speech praising Biden and Harris, evoking the spirit of his grandfather.

"If [my grandad] was alive, Joe and Kamala, he would be so proud of you and he'd tell us, take another by the hand and another, and let's get to work. This dream ain't free, you gotta work for it," Booker said.

"Let's now work together and stand together — and America, together we will rise,”  he added.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg, talking about his experience as an openly gay man and military veteran, highlighted how far the U.S. has come, but also how much further it has to go.

“Joe Biden is right,” he said. “This is a contest for the soul of the nation.”

A group of Biden’s former challengers — Beto O’Rourke, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg, Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Yang and Cory Booker — held a virtual roundtable discussion about the 2020 Democratic campaign and the former VP.

“In Joe Biden, you have a human being who is empathetic, who is honest, who is decent, and in this particular moment in American history, my God, that is something that this country absolutely needs,” Biden’s rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, said.

Finally, former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg, a controversial figure at the Democratic National Convention, slammed Trump’s economic plans.

"Let me tell you a little secret. Donald Trump's economic plan was to give a huge tax cut to guys like me who didn't need it and then lie about it to everyone else. Well, Joe will roll back the tax cut that I got,” Bloomberg said.

"Tonight, I'm not asking you to vote against Donald Trump because he's a bad guy,” he added. “I’m urging you to vote against him because he's done a bad job.”

This message of unity across the Democratic Party appears to be essential in their strategy to defeat Donald Trump and not repeat the perceived mistakes of the 2016 election.

HUNTER BIDEN STEPS OUT OF THE SHADOWS

Biden’s son Hunter has long been a lightning rod for his father’s Republican critics, especially President Trump.

The Trump Campaign released an attack ad Thursday aimed at Hunter, alleging that Biden had “shady deals” with China on a trip in 2013, which Hunter has vehemently denied.

The president even pressured Ukrainian officials into launching an investigation into the Bidens, which famously led to his impeachment last year.

Joe Biden’s family and his campaign have repeatedly called the accusations baseless. “The Trump campaign is re-upping these attacks because they've yet to find anything that sticks,” senior Biden campaign adviser Symone Sanders told Politico.

Hunter, who has stayed out of the spotlight in recent months, spoke Thursday night along with his sister, Ashley, in alternating lines praising their father’s character, leadership and the qualities that will make him a great president.

Ashley and Hunter gave Beau the last word before a video about Joe Biden played.

“Beau, take it away,” Ashley said, throwing to a clip of her late brother introducing Joe Biden at the DNC from 2012:

“In moments both public and private, he is the father I've always known, the grandfather my children love … my father, my hero, Joe Biden.”

“THIS IS OUR MOMENT. THIS IS OUR MISSION.”

“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,” Biden declared. 

“I’ll be an ally of the light, not our darkness,” he added, “and make no mistake, united we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America.”

Joe Biden stood at the podium at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, accepting the Democratic nomination for president of the United States he first sought over three decades ago.

He vowed to unite the fractured country, focusing on the central message of his campaign — that he is running to reclaim “the soul of America.”

Biden spoke of his proposed COVID-19 policy, mentioning that the first steps he would take after being sworn in as president would be getting control of the coronavirus pandemic.

"It didn't have to be this bad,” he said, criticizing President Trump’s lack of a cohesive response to the virus. 

Biden delivered one of his most powerful lines of the night when he said that Trump “keeps waiting for a miracle.”

“I have news for him: No miracle is coming,” Biden said. 

Speaking to those who have lost loved ones to COVID-19, Biden offered this message: "I found the best way through pain and loss and grief is to find purpose. As God's children, each of us have a purpose in our lives. We have a great purpose as a nation.”

All elections are important, Biden said, but “we know in our bones, this one is more consequential.”

Biden offered a sharp criticism of President Trump: "What we know about this president is if he's given four more years, he’ll be what he's been for the last four years: A president who takes no responsibility, refuses to lead, blames others, cozies up to dictators, and fans the flames of hate and division.”

“He'll wake up every day believing the job is all about him, never about you,” Biden added, asking, “Is that the America you want for you, your family, your children?”

“Let us begin, you and I together, one nation under God, united in our love for America, united in our love for each other,” Biden said, calling for Americans to join him in overcoming the issues that are impacting the nation. 

“This is our mission. Let history be able to say that the end of this chapter of American darkness began here tonight as love and hope and light. Join in the battle for the soul of the nation.”

Following his speech, Biden walked outside the Chase Center, joined by his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, his running mate, Kamala Harris, and her husband, Doug Emhoff, where crowds at a socially distanced drive-in watch party flashed their vehicle lights and honked their horns to show their support.

The group waved to the cheering crowd as fireworks lit up the night sky — making it feel like a “normal” political convention at last.