A harried Biden paints Trumpers as un-American
Beset by tainted FBI scandals, Dem blasts Trump powerhouse
Engulfed by scandals on the FBI's high-handed raid on a political rival's home and the bureau's decision to wave away foreign kickback charges, Joe Biden lashed out at that rival, former President Donald Trump, and Trump's supporters as dangerous extremists that threaten America’s fundamental values.
As the November elections draw closer, Trump has consolidated his grip on the Republican Party as Trump's GOP foes have seen their political careers go down in flames.
“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,” Biden declared today in a taxpayer-funded appearance. He said pro-Trump Americans are "determined to take this country backward" and “promote authoritarian leaders" who incite violence.
Biden's brass-knuckles effort to marginalize Trump and his adherents marks a sharp turn for the Democrat, who once preached his desire to bring about national unity. White House officials said the turnabout reflects Biden's mounting concern about Trump allies’ ideological proposals and relentless skepticism about the nation’s 2020 election results.
Whatever the reason for the pivot, commentators are pretty much agreed that Biden is very worried about the potential for a GOP avalanche in November's midterm elections.
Biden unleashed his attack on the GOP's Trump wing in the wake of his attorney general authorizing an FBI raid on Trump's Florida home in a search for purportedly classified materials that previously the White House had seemed unconcerned about. The tarring of Trump's supporters also comes as Biden and the FBI try to contend with whistleblower reports that the FBI shielded the Democrat from charges of receiving emoluments from foreigners while serving as vice president. The evidence pointing to such charges is found on his son Hunter's laptop, which the FBI seized.
Biden's insistence on nearly compulsory mass vaccination and talk of a new round of draconian covid lockdowns were seen by many as extremist, but that debate has cooled off following the collapse of official covid extremism across the country.
“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards,” Biden said. “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.”
Biden was referring to the Supreme Court's decision to let states determine their own abortion laws and the possibility that the court could do the same for same-sex marriage and contraception. The court is not affiliated with the MAGA faction, though three justices were appointed by Trump.
“Now, America must choose to move forward or to move backwards,” Biden said, appealing for citizens to “vote, vote, vote” to protect their democracy. “For a long time, we’ve reassured ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it is not.”
Biden, who largely avoided even referring to “the former guy” by name during his first year in office, has grown increasingly vocal in calling out Trump personally. Last week Biden likened the “MAGA philosophy” to “semi-fascism.”
Biden said he wasn’t condemning the 74 million people who voted for Trump in 2020. “Not every Republican, not even a majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans,” Biden said. “But there’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans.”
“There are far more Americans, from every background and belief, who reject the extreme MAGA ideology, than those that accept it,″ Biden said. He urged Americans to “come together, unite behind the single purpose of defending our democracy regardless of your ideology.”
Biden also condemned political violence in all of its forms, saying, “We can’t allow violence to be normalized.”
The White House has tried to keep Biden removed from the legal and political storm surrounding the FBI's Mar a Lago raid. Biden in a previous speech painted critics of the FBI's action as being anti-law-and-order. Biden also blistered as un-American anyone who disagreed with the Democrats' portrayal of the Capitol Hill events of Jan. 6, 2021, sayng that “you can’t be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American.”
Trump has said that a number of those convicted of Jan. 6 offenses had been given raw deals and that in a second term as president he would grant them full pardons.