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US PRESIDENT JOE Biden warned that “equality and democracy are under assault” in the US as he sounded an alarm about his predecessor, Donald Trump.
The President labelled “MAGA Republican” adherents an extremist threat to America and its future.
Biden used his prime-time speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia to argue that Trump and “Make America Great Again” allies are a challenge to nation’s system of government, its standing abroad and its citizens’ way of life.
“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic,” Biden declared.
He continued by saying that the former president’s supporters “are determined to take this country backward”, “promote authoritarian leaders” and “fan the flames of political violence”.
Biden added: “(They want to take the country) backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.
“For a long time, we’ve reassured ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it is not. We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us.”
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The explicit effort by Biden to marginalise Trump and his adherents marks a sharp turn for the President, who preached his desire to bring about national unity in his inaugural address.
White House officials said it reflects his mounting concern about Trump allies’ ideological proposals and relentless denial of the nation’s 2020 election results.
Trump supporters in Florida this week Wilfredo Lee / AP/PA Images
Wilfredo Lee / AP/PA Images / AP/PA Images
Biden, who largely avoided even referring to “the former guy” by name during his first year in office, has grown increasingly vocal in calling out Trump personally.
Now, emboldened by his party’s recent legislative wins and wary of Trump’s return to the headlines, Biden is sharpening his attacks.
Biden’s allies stress that he is not rejecting the entirety of the GOP and is calling on traditional Republicans to join him in condemning Trump and his followers.
Delivering a preemptive rebuttal from Scranton on Thursday evening, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy accused Biden of trying to divide Americans, and blasted the Democrats’ record in Washington, pointing to rising inflation, crime and government spending.
“In the past two years, Joe Biden has launched an assault on the soul of America, on its people, on its laws, on its most sacred values,” he said. “He has launched an assault on our democracy. His policies have severely wounded America’s soul, diminished America’s spirit and betrayed America’s trust.”
Biden’s appearance on Thursday night was promoted as an official, taxpayer-funded event, a mark of how the president views defeating the Trump agenda as much as a policy aim as a political one.
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@Celtic Eagle: you are wrong. A demographic society is not based on lies or instilling fear. It’s not a green light to be aggressive. It’s about having the freedom to be safe, make your own choices and be respectful about differing opinions.
@Damien Leahy: I am trying to make sense of your post.
I am not a big fan of Hillary Clinton and I voted for Bernie in the Democratic primaries. But it’s not correct to say that “she lost every vote to Bernie Saunders”. It was obvious the DNC favored Clinton but on the whole she won based on the same rules that Democratic Primaries had been run on for decades.
The superdelegate vote system and rules have since been changed. I wish the rules on the electoral college system could be changed so a candidate like Trump in 2016 couldn’t be elected President after getting less votes overall than Clinton did
“Prime time speech” that wasn’t carried live by any of the top 3 networks in the states. He also has to speak over protestors, why isn’t that mentioned in the article?
He used the words maga, threat and violence so many times in this speech. It was a platform to allocate blame and not take personal responsibility. Maga = boogieman. He’s attempting a bit of brainwashing for his own cult. How can a political leader condemn 70+ million residents of his country as a dangerous, fascist threat? What about the literal dangerous, fascist threat of BLM and Antifa who his party support in their violence and destruction? He’s playing make believe
@Kevin McCourt: its not 70 million though is it, there are probably plenty of normal well adjusted americans who vote republican because they always have, akin to people with ff and fg here. Then there is a sizable minoroty ofnutjobs who hang on his every word, and to who he can do no wrong even in the face of overwhelming evidence. They are the ones who biden is referring to.
@Con Cussed: The BLM and Antifa riots caused untold damage to property and businesses. They declared autonomous zones in major cities, the very definition of sedition. Dozens of people were murdered during these riots.
Yet we are to believe that Jan 6 was the real threat.
Americans are waking up to this hypocrisy and Biden’s divisive speech will not have helped the Democrats one bit come November.
@Will: The BLM movement didn’t attempt to stop the transfer of power, Trump’s MAGA rally rioters on January 6th did. And yes, anyone of any political identity should be jailed when committing crimes.
@Kevin McCourt: clearly you did not listen to the entire speech. He talked about working together, and unity. The maggots were only mentioned briefly. Did it trigger you?
@The Ghost of Dublin: You sound a touch triggered yourself. He mentioned a lot, a contradicting politician is nothing new. I care less about who they want to persecute on their own soil, I find the whole thing to be akin to a soap opera. It’s the confession through projection and theatre of it that amaze me. It’s interesting to see what happens when domestic policy is high priority. Similar disaster and as many lies as when foreign policy was king.
While he may be 100% right, don’t think it’s going to have any benefit to calling it out. The MAGA heads are just going to use his speech to keep pushing their agenda. It’s going to polarise opinion and Republicans who may have voted Democrats are going to be turned off
@John Quill: I never understand the implications that Trump supporters are all just racist. It’s provably false as statistically Trump could not have won in 2016 without a large number of voters who previously voted for Obama.
@Podge: in 2016 you can give voters the benefit of the doubt.
Anyone who voted a 2nd time for Trump you cannot.
It basically endorsed his ideas and behaviour.
Fair play to Trump. Like him or dislike him, he has rattled the cages of those in power. He has upset their cosy cartel a little and they don’t like it.
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