In Philadelphia, Joe Biden denounces the ‘extremism’ of Trump and his followers

First modification: 09/02/2022 – 13:07

With Guillaume Naudin, our Washington correspondent, and AFP.

Joe Biden probably hasn’t been this offensive since the one-year anniversary of the Capitol storming last January. 68 days before the elections for the majority in Congress and key positions in several states, the president frontally attacked supporters of Donald Trump and Make America Great Again (MAGA) in Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

“They feed on chaos”

“For a long time, we have convinced ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it isn’t. We have to defend it. Protect her. defend her. Each and every one of us,” Biden said solemnly in a 24-minute speech.

“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic,” he said, stressing that “blind loyalty to a leader and a readiness for political violence are fatal to democracy.”

“The MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards. Towards an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry the one you love,” said the 79-year-old president. Representatives of the radical right “applaud the anger. They feed on chaos. They do not live in the light of truth, but in the shadow of lies, ”he also emphasized.

Biden made it clear, however, that he was not referring to “all Republicans, or even most Republicans.” “But there is no doubt 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,” he insisted. The president hopes to maintain his narrow majority in November by mobilizing moderate Republicans, along with the Democratic electorate.

Democrats dream of a feat

Joe Biden, who had held his first rally as a presidential candidate in Philadelphia, also knows that Pennsylvania may hold the key to November’s midterm elections. And therefore of the continuation of his mandate.

According to a poll published Thursday by the Wall Street Journal, if the midterm elections were held today, 47% of voters would vote Democrat and 44% Republican. The right still held a 5-point lead in March.

The Democrats dream of a feat in these elections, which renew the entire House of Representatives and a third of the Senate, and which are traditionally unfavorable for the party represented in the White House.

Donald Trump, in an enigmatic reaction, posted on his social media site Truth on Thursday an image of Joe Biden brandishing both fists in this striking setting, flanked by a photo of him kissing an American flag.