Biden Condemns Trump as Dire Threat to Democracy in a Blistering Speech

breakfastmtn@lemmy.ca to News@lemmy.world – 726 points – Biden Condemns Trump as Dire Threat to Democracy in a Blistering Speech
nytimes.com

President Biden on Friday delivered a ferocious condemnation of Donald J. Trump, his likely 2024 opponent, warning in searing language that the former president had directed an insurrection and would aim to undo the nation’s bedrock democracy if he returned to power.

On the eve of the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Mr. Trump’s supporters, Mr. Biden framed the coming election as a choice between a candidate devoted to upholding America’s centuries-old ideals and a chaos agent willing to discard them for his personal benefit.

“There’s no confusion about who Trump is or what he intends to do,” Mr. Biden warned in a speech at a community college not far from Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, where George Washington commanded troops during the Revolutionary War. Exhorting supporters to prepare to vote this fall, he said: “We all know who Donald Trump is. The question is: Who are we?”

In an intensely personal address that at one point nearly led Mr. Biden to curse Mr. Trump by name, the president compared his rival to foreign autocrats who rule by fiat and lies. He said Mr. Trump had failed the basic test of American leaders, to trust the people to choose their elected officials and abide by their decisions.

“We must be clear,” Mr. Biden said. “Democracy is on the ballot. Your freedom is on the ballot.”

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Did you read the entire page?

Those were not his only directions to the crowd, however. In the same speech, he also used the following phrases while encouraging people to head to the Capitol and protest his election loss, according to the transcript and video of the speech:

  • "We will stop the steal."
  • "We will not let them silence your voices."
  • "You have to show strength, and you have to be strong."
  • "We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing."
  • "We're going to try and give [lawmakers] the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country."
  • "We're going to have to fight much harder." "We fight like hell, and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."

Which of these statements strikes you as more of an incitement to violence, than, say, "I just don't even know why there aren't uprisings all over the country." or "This is a movement, I’m telling you, they’re not going to stop, and everyone beware, because they’re not going to stop before Election Day in November, and they’re not going to stop after Election Day. And everyone should take note of that, on both levels, that they’re not going to let up, and they should not, and we should not."?

id like to piggy back, youre really stupid and i hate you. i have no extra argument as everyone has shown you everything you need to see its obvious you treat reality like religion where your opinion intrinsically holds truth.

the best part of reality is despite what you want to believe, trump still incited violence and insurrection. your opinion on the matter doesnt change the reality. this isnt christianity this is real life.

I’m sorry you feel that way. Must be rough.

its probably more rough to boot lick someone that doesn't like you

I'm assuming you still think your father is coming back too?

Neither. You're looking for controversy or "muh hypocrisy" where it doesn't exist.

So you’re saying there’s no objective standard for what consists incitement of violence, it’s just a matter of what’s politically expedient.