President Joe Biden, speaking in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, on Friday, asserted his unwavering stance against former President Donald Trump and “MAGA Republicans,” emphasizing that he will not let them compel the United States to “abandon democracy.”
“I refuse to believe that in 2024, we Americans will choose to walk away from what has made us the greatest nation in the history of the world: freedom, liberty,” he said. “Democracy is still a sacred cause, and there’s no country in the world better positioned to lead the world than America.”
During his speech, Biden sounded the alarm on the potential hazards of a second Trump term, delivering an impassioned argument that highlighted the perceived risks to American democracy. The President’s stark warning set the tone for what promises to be a contentious 2024 campaign season.
“The choice is clear, Donald Trump’s campaign is about him — not America, not you. Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future,” Biden said during remarks in Pennsylvania in his first campaign stop of the year. “He is willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power.”
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The president also criticized Trump for failing to condemn political violence, particularly in the aftermath of the January 6 insurrection.
“I will say what Donald Trump won’t. Political violence is never, ever acceptable in the United States political system, never, never, never. It has no place in a democracy, none,” Biden proclaimed to cheers from the crowd.
He also condemned the Capitol stormers as insurrectionists, not patriots, categorizing the event as a “violent assault” and not a peaceful protest. Biden accused Trump of attempting to distort the facts surrounding January 6, comparing it to his efforts to challenge the election results. The President emphasized, “We know the truth because we witnessed it firsthand.”
Biden ripped Trump’s response to the insurrection, stating, “He retreated to the White House as America was under attack, doing nothing while the entire nation and the world watched in horror.” He characterized Trump’s actions as one of the worst derelictions of duty by a U.S. president in history, lamenting the lack of intervention on that fateful day.
“Imagine if he had gone out and said stop. Still, Trump did nothing,” Biden said.
With the anniversary of the January 6 insurrection approaching, Biden framed the 2024 presidential election as a choice between preserving American democracy and Trump’s self-centered campaign.
In contrast, Biden portrayed his campaign as focused on voters of all backgrounds and ages, emphasizing the commitment to preserving and strengthening American democracy.
The president then slammed congressional Republicans for “abandoning” democracy as he invoked the historical context of George Washington’s fight for liberty and freedom, questioning whether democracy remains the nation’s “sacred cause” and labeling it the most urgent question of our time.
“Today we are here to answer the most important of questions: Is democracy still America’s sacred cause?” This isn’t rhetorical, academic, or hypothetical. Whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time,” Biden said.
“At the time, even Republican members of Congress and Fox News commentators publicly and privately condemned the attack. And as one Republican senator said, Trump’s behavior was embarrassing and humiliating for the country,” he added. But now as time has gone on — politics, fear, money – have all intervened. And those MAGA voices who know the truth about Trump and January 6th have abandoned the truth and abandoned our democracy. They’ve made their choice. Now the rest of us – Democrats, Independents, mainstream Republicans – we have to make our choice.”
Biden’s speech, originally scheduled for the January 6 anniversary, was moved a day earlier due to anticipated inclement weather, as announced by his reelection campaign.
