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| Photo Credit: AP. |
President Joe Biden Thursday delivered a scathing attack against former President Donald Trump and his group of MAGA Republicans describing them as representing “an extremism that threatens the very foundation” of American republic.
Mr. Biden’s
speech just months before the midterms sought to highlight the existential
threat posed by Mr. Trump to American democracy. Speaking at the National
Historical Park in downtown Philadelphia, where the U.S. Constitution was
crafted in 1787, the speech tagged “battle for the soul of the nation,” by
White House officials railed in bitter terms against the Republican Party
especially those who are in the circle of Trump’s Make America Great Again
(MAGA) movement.
The choice
of the historic venue is a key indication of how political his speech may be
perceived in certain quarters especially since the midterms are just two months
away. Biden accused what he called “MAGA forces” of seeking to move the United
States “backwards” to an era never seen before with fewer civil rights.
Mr. Biden
took advantage of his rising poll numbers and recent successes by the Democrats
in key elections such as in Alaska where the first Native American defeated
Republican Rep. Sarah Palin, narrowing even further the Republican chances of
taking over the House in the midterms.
"I
speak to you tonight from sacred ground and American Independence Hall in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,” Mr. Biden said Thursday.
"This
is where America made its Declaration of Independence to the world, where two
centuries ago with an idea unique among nations and in America: We're all
created equal. This is where the United States Constitution was written and
debated.
"This
is where we set in motion the most extraordinary experiment of self-government,
the world has ever known,” the president said.
American democracy under assault by MAGA forces - Biden
Mr. Biden
who called the country’s democracy and equality, “the rock upon which this
nation is built” lamented that it was now “under assault” by MAGA forces.
"But
tonight, I've come to this place where it all began to speak as plainly as I
can to the nation about the threat we face, about the power we have in our own
hands to meet these threats, and about the incredible future that lies in front
of us if only we choose it”.
"But
never forget. We the people are the true heirs of the American experiment that
began more than two centuries ago.
"We the
people are burning inside of each of us. The flame of liberty that was led here
in Independence Hall. The flame the lit our way through abolition, the Civil
War, suffrage, the Great Depression. World Wars, civil rights,” the president
stressed.
Mr. Biden
made allusions to the events in the country without directly mentioning the
recent removal of “top secret” and other highly classified materials from the
White House by Trump to his Florida Mar-a-Lago residence uncovered by the FBI
during a raid on the Palm Beach home of the former president.
The August 8
raid was approved in a search warrant by a federal judge but supporters of the
former president threatened the judge as well as the FBI. FBI authorities
issued warnings to agents to conceal their identities in public places.
Supporters of Trump’s MAGA project descended on U.S. Capitol on January 6 in a
violent bid to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s victory after Trump
refused to concede defeat in the elections.
A suspect
who attended the Trump mobster “Stop The Steal” rally attempted to break into
the FBI building following the Mar-a-Lago raid. He died in the encounter.
"Too
much of what's happening in our country today is not normal,” Mr. Biden said.
"Donald
Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very
foundations of our republic”.
Mr. Biden
sought to distinguish the MAGA Republicans who he accused of “extremism” and
other Republicans who refused to embrace Trump’s ideology.
"I want
to be very clear, very clear upfront. Not every Republican, not even a majority
of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their
extreme ideology. I know because I've been able to work with these mainstream
Republicans.
"But
there's no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and
intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to
this country. These are hard things”.
MAGA Republicans have no "respect" for U.S constitution
Identifying
himself as America’s president and not a leader of “red America, blue America,”
Biden accused MAGA Republicans of having no “respect” for the country’s
constitution.
"MAGA
Republicans do not respect the Constitution, do not believe in the rule of law.
They did not recognize the will of the people and refuse to accept the results
of a free election.
"And
they're working right now, as I speak in state after state, to give power to
the side elections in America. To partisans and cronies, empowering election
deniers and undermine democracy itself,” Mr. Biden said.
"MAGA
forces are determined to take this country backwards, 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.
"They
promote authoritarian leaders and they fanned the flames of political violence
that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, the rule
of law, the very soul of this country.
"They
see their MAGA failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020
election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections.
Mr. Biden
cited comments by a conservative, federal Circuit Court Judge Michael Luttig
who called “Trump and extreme MAGA Republicans a clear and present danger to
our democracy.”
The
President said there are more Americans who “who reject extreme MAGA ideology
than those who accept it. It is within our power. Folks, it's in our hands,
yours and mine, to stop the assault on American democracy.”
"I
agree Republicans have made their choice. They embrace anger. They thrive on
chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies.
He called on
Americans to prevent the nation’s democracy from being destroyed by “MAGA
Republicans”.
"Today,
there are dangers around us, we can't allow them to prevail. We hear, you heard
it: more and more talk about violence as an acceptable political tool in this
country. It can never be an acceptable tool.
"You
saw law enforcement brutally attacked on January the 6th. We've seen election
officials, poll workers and volunteers of both parties subjected to
intimidation and death threats. Can you believe it? FBI agents just doing their
job, as directed, facing threats to their own lives? From their own fellow citizens?
"On top
of that, there are public figures—today, yesterday, the day before—predicting
and all but calling for mass violence and rioting in the streets. This is
inflammatory. It's dangerous. It's against the rule of law. And we the people
must say, 'This is not who we are.'
The
President lambasted Trump supporters who he said only believes that an election
if free if they win and unfair when they lose.
"Democracy
cannot survive when one side believes there are only two outcomes in an
election: either they win or they were cheated. And that's where the MAGA
Republicans are today. They don't understand what every patriotic American
knows: You can't love your country only when you win. It's fundamental.
Mr. Biden
who repeatedly knocked “MAGA Republicans” said they “look at Americans and see
carnage and darkness and despair. They spread fear and lies, lies both for
profit and power.
"MAGA
Republicans believe that for them to succeed, everyone else has to fail. They
believe America is not like I believe about America. I believe America is big
enough for all of us to succeed. And that is a nation we're building, a nation
where no one is left behind,” Mr. Biden noted.