American Democracy Is Under Assault from Trump and His Followers Warns President
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President Joseph Biden gave a live, unplanned address to the country from Independence Hall in Philadelphia Thursday night, where he called former president Donald J. Trump and his MAGA Republican supporters “a threat and assaulting the democracy of the United States.”
President Biden traveled to Independence Hall on Thursday to warn that America’s democratic values are under assault by forces of extremism loyal to former President Donald J. Trump, using a prime-time address to define the midterm elections as a “battle for the soul of this nation.”
The speech was intended to deliver a dark message about threats to the fabric of the country’s democracy. But aides said Mr. Biden sought to strike a balance just two months before elections that will determine control of Congress, seeking to offer a sense of optimism about the future and urging Americans to fight back against extremism.
In focus on violence, Biden alludes to growing fears of civil war.
“This is a nation that rejects violence as a political tool,” Biden declared early in his speech. He soon added, “There is no place for political violence in America.”
He underscored the point a week after the Economist and YouGov published a poll saying 43% of Americans believe the country is likely to see civil war in the next decade.
Security analysts and experts warn of an increasing risk of violence at the same time as Republicans such as Sen. Lindsey Graham make thinly veiled threats of violence, related to the potential prosecution of Donald Trump.
“This [violence] is brewing just below the surface,” former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes after the speech. Biden clearly sought to tap into growing fears of civil unrest and offer Americans an alternative option.
