President Biden has accused Donald Trump yesterday of damaging democracy and encouraging political violence.
In a hard-hitting televised speech, Biden held little back and said that the American way of life is under threat from “MAGA Republicans.”
Biden forcefully criticized “MAGA Republicans” differentiating them from “mainstream Republicans” who he said he can work with. He also condemned political violence, including the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as attacks on elections workers and FBI agents.
For several minutes, someone (maybe multiple people) outside the park chanted, “Let’s go, Brandon” and “F Joe Biden.” Biden acknowledged the heckling, telling the crowd that those people are “entitled to be outrageous. This is a democracy.”
During the speech, the crowd applauded at times, with a few cheers and some people taking photos or video on their phones.
Dramatic setup set the tone, with red and blue spotlights coloring Independence Hall and a uniformed member of the military standing on each side of the main door. Several American flags and a long red carpet were behind President Biden as he spoke.
Donald Trump has reacted by saying President Biden must be “insane, or suffering from late-stage dementia!”
Biden on democracy
Asked on Friday if he considers all Trump supporters to be a threat to the country, President Biden said that he does not consider “any” Trump supporter to be a threat to the country.
“I do think anyone who calls for the use of violence, fails to condemn violence when it’s used, refuses to acknowledge an election has been won, insists upon changing the way in which we rule and count votes, that is a threat to democracy,” said Biden.
“Everything we stand for, everything we stand for rests on the platform of democracy,” added the President. ” People voted for Donald Trump and support him now, they weren’t voting for attacking the Capitol. They weren’t voting for overruling an election. They were voting for a philosophy he put forward. So I am not talking about anything other than, it is inappropriate — and it is not only happening here but other parts of the world — a failure to recognize and condemn violence whenever it’s used for these purposes,” Biden clarified.
“Failure to condemn an attempt to manipulate electoral outcomes. Failure to acknowledge when elections are won or lost.”
Jared Kushner has told Sky News the former president is thinking about running for the White House in 2024.
