A 13-year-old boy from New Hampshire on Thursday gave a powerful address to the Democratic National Convention on how democratically nominated Joe Biden
Joe BidenFive takeaways from the Democratic National Convention What we will remember from the 2020 Biden Convention Chris Wallace labels Biden’s acceptance speech ‘extremely effective’ WITH helped him feel confident about his stutter.
Speaking on the last night of the virtual convention, Brayden Harrington described the first meeting of the former vice president during a campaign event in February in Concord, NH
After conversations on the sail line, Biden invited the teen backstage so they could continue chatting about stuttering and how the long-time politician overcame the same issue.
“He told me we were members of the same club: We stutter. It was really great to hear that someone like me became vice president,” Harrington said in the video.
The Democrat showed the teen a copy of the campaign speech he had just read, which included markings on where to stop and take a break between words, Harrington said.
“He showed me how to mark his addresses to make them easier to say. That’s what I did today,” Harrington said, holding up the paper he was reading to show the marks on his own speech.
“I’m just a normal kid, and in a short time, Joe Biden made me feel more confident about something that has been bothering me my whole life,” the teen continued. “Joe Biden cared. Imagine what he could do for all of us. Children like me count on you to choose someone we can all look up to. Someone who cares. Someone who cares about our country. and the world will feel better. “
Thousands took to social media to highlight Harrington’s inspiring speech.
Very proud of Brayden Harrington speaking tonight.
I took Kindergarten through 7th grade to speech therapy classes to overcome my stutter / stutter.
I have been giving public lectures for over 30 years.
– John EL Tenney (@JohnELTenney) 21 August 2020
We took the broadcast break to call our 14-year-old son who is stuttering to watch with us. We are so completely moved by #BraydenHarrington and excited that he brought attention and awareness to the stuttering community @sayorg
– Catherine Terizis (@ctflute) 21 August 2020
As someone who rattles, I never imagined I could see such a thing in a culture that dismissed a limitation as a funny talk. What a brave child. I was not so brave. #Democratic convention
– Charles McNulty (@CharlesMcNulty) 21 August 2020
I want to say this to Brayden Harrington (the precious young man with a stutterer):
Boy, sir: You damn me. I’m in TOTAL AWE of your courage. You have a titanic spirit and unshakeable will. You made the worst bully pathetic, ridiculous and so very small. I greet you.
– Pam Keith (@PamKeithFL) 21 August 2020
Brayden Harrington stole the show, and I think that would make Joe very happy. ❤️
– Meena Harris (@meenaharris) 21 August 2020
Biden has often talked about his childhood stutter and how it can come back to certain words while he is on the campaign track, especially when he is tired.
He said he practiced in the mirror reciting poetry written by Irish poets such as William Butler Yeats.
During a CNN town hall meeting in February, the candidate offered a lengthy reflection on how the stutter had affected him.
“Stutter when you think about it is the only handicap that people still laugh about, that still humiliates people,” Biden said when asked what advice he would give to a student who has difficulty getting a stutter to overcome.
‘If I told you when I was a child, I had a cleft palate or a missing arm, no one would smile. It is a shrinking situation, “he continued.
Biden said he keeps in touch with 15 people involved in stuttering.
‘The point that I make these young people that I still work with is that it is in fact critically important for them not to judge themselves by their speech. [To] let that not define them, ”said Biden.
The former vice president said a stutterer has “nothing to do with your intelligence quotient.”
‘Things that people cannot control are not their fault. Nobody has the right … to mock it and make fun of it, “said Biden.” We just need to reach out to people a little bit more… We are not doing enough. We need to heal this country. “
‘Things that people cannot control are not their fault. Nobody has the right … to mock it and make fun of it, “says Biden about his lifelong struggle with stuttering.” We just need to reach a little more to people… We are not doing enough. We need to heal this country. ” #CNNTownHall pic.twitter.com/NOWhzDoRFp
– CNN (@CNN) February 6, 2020
Owen Harrington, the father of the teen, told CNN at the time that Biden “put his focus on Brayden and made time for him, talking to him, explaining that it does not define him. He is stronger, that he is a good person. It was really overwhelming for Brayden. He started to break a little bit. “
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