United States
Biden calls for resistance to ‘extremist’ Trump
US President Joe Biden speaks in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. photo
© Matt Slocum/AP/dpa
The US is threatened by a dark force led by Donald Trump, US President Biden warns – and calls for the fight for democracy: January 6, 2021 was just the beginning.
In a forceful and combative speech, US President Joe Biden warned of the demise of American democracy at the hands of his predecessor, Donald Trump. “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represented an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,” Biden said at a campaign event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The attempt to prevent the transfer of power last year was merely “preparing for the 2022 and 2024 elections”. Trump has been flirting with a candidacy for 2024 for months. MAGA stands for his previous campaign motto “Make America Great Again”.
To this day, the ex-president refuses to admit his defeat in 2020. The Republican claims to have been robbed of victory by mass electoral fraud with no factual basis. Biden had 81 million votes in the election and a clear majority of the electorate. More than 74 million voted for Trump.
New distribution of seats in Congress
In the upcoming congressional elections on November 8 – midway through Biden’s term in office – all 435 seats in the US House of Representatives and about a third of the seats in the Senate will be re-elected. There are also governor elections in many states. Trump, who continues to dominate the Republican Party, has appointed confidants and supporters of his voter fraud to numerous posts.
“The MAGA forces are determined to bring this country into the past”. In an America without free elections, privacy and contraception, Biden continued. “Too much of what is happening in our country today is not normal.” And for too long Americans have been reassured that their democracy is guaranteed. ‘But she isn’t. We have to defend her. Protect her. Stand up for her. Every single one of us.’
Biden, who otherwise always emphasized the importance of compromise and cooperation across party lines, had recently sharpened his rhetoric, attacking Trump and his supporters more directly than ever. Most recently, Biden even described her philosophy as “half-fascism.” Prior to Biden’s speech, House Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy had demanded an apology from the president for his choice of words. He also accused Biden of dividing the United States. Trump supporters accuse the US administration of taking political action against Trump during a search of his Florida home for withholding classified documents.
Biden wants to mobilize voters
Biden’s aggressive tone in his speech is seen primarily as a message to potential Democratic voters to be mobilized in their rejection of Trump ahead of the November vote. Accordingly, the US president boldly warned of the current danger to America, repeatedly using the image of the struggle of light against darkness, between good and evil. He abstained from advertising his political successes in recent months.
Biden claimed that not even a majority of Republicans are Trump supporters. “But there is no doubt that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans.” The nation must rally behind the sole purpose of defending democracy – regardless of the ideology of each individual.
The 79-year-old, who has not yet officially announced that he will run again in 2024, said he will not stand idly by as the will of the American people is overthrown by wild conspiracy theories and baseless claims. “As your president, I will defend our democracy with every fiber of my being and I urge every American to join me.” Everyone must participate and vote in the upcoming elections.