(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden will argue that Donald Trump’s supporters pose a threat to US democracy and the country’s elections during his prime-time address Thursday.
(Bloomberg) — President Joe Biden will argue that Donald Trump’s supporters pose a threat to US democracy and the country’s elections during his prime-time address Thursday.
“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards,” Biden will say, according to excerpts, referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. “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,” the president will say.
The speech, which the White House has billed as an address on the “battle for the soul of the nation,” comes as the president in recent days has shifted to campaign mode two months out from the November midterm elections that will determine whether Democrats can retain their slim House and Senate majorities.
Biden has escalated attacks on congressional Republicans and supporters of Trump, accusing them of seeking to undermine the country’s democratic institutions, sow doubts about the election process, and push policies at odds with American voters.
Biden is set to deliver the address from Philadelphia’s Independence National Historical Park, home to the Liberty Bell and the site of the signing of the US Constitution.
A senior White House official said Biden would lay out what he sees as threats to the country’s democratic values and would condemn political violence. In recent speeches, Biden has deployed a tough tone toward Republicans, describing them as still locked in Trump’s grip and labeling their views as “semi-fascism” and “ultra MAGA.”
White House aides have characterized the address as an official event, rather than a political speech, despite the nature of Biden’s remarks. The official said Biden sees democracy as an issue that should unite both parties.
Trump has stood by his defense of rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and attacked law enforcement officers in an attempt to stop lawmakers from certifying the results of the 2020 election.
The former president said earlier Thursday he would issue full pardons and an official apology to people convicted of crimes during the insurrection, moves that could only happen if he becomes president again, adding that he has met with and financially supported some of the defendants.
“What they’ve done to these people is disgraceful,” Trump said in an interview with a conservative radio host.
Biden’s recent speeches have offered a preview of his midterm message: He’s seeking to present himself as a centrist alternative to Trump and Republican policies and pivot away from questions about the complicated state of the economy.
Biden has highlighted GOP efforts to heavily restrict abortion access after the Supreme Court in June overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, and party leaders’ opposition to banning assault weapons — as well as the lack of a single Republican vote in Congress for Democrats’ health care, tax and climate package.
Hitting Back
Republicans have hit back at Biden’s rhetoric. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is countering the president’s message with a speech earlier in the evening from Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
Trump will visit Pennsylvania this weekend for a rally alongside Mehmet Oz and Doug Mastriano, the Republican Senate and gubernatorial candidates.
Biden and congressional Democrats are coming off a series of legislative and policy victories; improved data on inflation; and polls showing the president’s standing with the public improving. He told reporters Friday he intends to be on the campaign trail “as much as” possible.
Biden spoke at a DNC fundraiser in suburban Maryland last week, and his speech Thursday is his second visit to the battleground state of Pennsylvania this week. During a Tuesday trip to Wilkes-Barre, he called attacks on the FBI for its role in the search at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence “sickening.”
Pennsylvania is holding a number of high-profile election contests, including the open Senate seat race that is pitting Oz against the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor, John Fetterman.
The Labor Day holiday will take Biden to more midterm battlegrounds, with a return visit to Pennsylvania, as well as a stop in Wisconsin. He is also headed to Ohio next week for the groundbreaking at an Intel Corp. plant in the state.
In his appearances, Biden has appeared buoyed and energized by his recent wins. A Gallup poll last week found that 44% of Americans now approve of him, up from a low of 38% in July. Still, Biden remains underwater, with 53% of Americans disapproving of his job performance.
(Updates with Trump comments, Biden excerpts. Earlier version corrected date of Wilkes-Barre trip.)
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