President Biden on Friday derided former President Donald Trump as a “loser” and called his political comeback effort a “bad fairy tale,” while at the same time comparing Biden's own re-election bid to George Washington. compared to the heroism of its troops. War of Independence.
Speaking near Washington's winter encampment (1777-1778) in Valley Forge, outside Philadelphia, Biden said that “we almost lost America” in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot. In response, Republicans in Congress, who supported the 77-year-old Trump's candidacy, argued that he had “abandoned democracy.” .
Valley Forge “tells the story of the pain and suffering and true patriotism it took to create America,” Biden, 81, began. “Today, we gather together some 246 years later, just one day before the New Year, January 6th. This date is forever seared into our memories because it means we lost America and all Because that was the day I almost lost my life.”
Encouraged by a cheering audience, Mr. Biden repeatedly cut into Mr. Trump during his roughly 30-minute speech. He accused his predecessor of intentionally using the violence of the Capitol riot as a tactic to stay in power, and even compared him, not for the first time, to a rival — to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
The incumbent criticized a rival candidate who held a campaign rally in Waco, Texas, last year by playing a singer's rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” January 6th mob prison choir.
“Trump's attacks on democracy are not just part of the past, they are what he promises for the future. He's outspoken. He's not hiding the ball,” Biden said. Ta.
“His first rally for his 2024 election campaign was held with a chorus of January 6th rioters in prison, while footage of the January 6th riot was played on a large screen behind his rally. It started with me singing on my cell phone. Can you believe that? It was like a fairy tale, a bad fairy tale.”
Biden has used his patriotic stance to argue that his candidacy continues America's founding traditions established by Washington, including the peaceful relinquishment of power after two terms as president.
Democrats used a similar message to rally the party ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. Despite critics saying this emphasis is divisive, Democrats fared better than expected in the Congressional elections.
“I want to be clear about the 2020 election: Mr. Trump has exhausted every legal means available to him to overturn the results. He won, but he came back to the truth that he was a loser,” Biden said, to jeers and applause.
The president's choice of the word “loser” was likely intentional, given its well-documented impact on the image-conscious former reality TV host and real estate developer.
“Knowing how his mind works, there was one more act left in him, another act of desperation left in him, and that was the violence of January 6th.” Biden said. At the Capitol, nearly 900 of them have been convicted or pleaded guilty. ”
To more cheers, he added: “In total, they have been sentenced to more than 840 years in prison.”
There is no evidence that Mr. Trump had advance knowledge of plans for violence by some of his supporters while Congress was counting electoral votes.
In separate comments Friday, Biden said Trump could lead the U.S. into an era of dictatorship and that other countries' leaders were told they “couldn't beat him” because “our country would be at risk.” Stated.
“He calls those who oppose him 'vermin.' He talks about Americans' blood being poisoned and repeats the exact same words used in Nazi Germany. He proudly posted on social media the words “revenge,” “power,” and “dictatorship” that best describe his 2024 campaign. There's no confusion about who Trump is or what he's trying to do,” Biden said.
“You can't be an insurrectionist and be pro-American,” the president added at one point, insisting that unlike Trump, “our campaign is about preserving and strengthening American democracy.” .
“Protecting and preserving American democracy has been, and will remain, a central purpose of my presidency,” Biden continued, before turning his anger on Trump's allies in Congress.
“As one Republican senator said, President Trump's actions were embarrassing and humiliating to the country. Now those same senators and those same people have changed their tune,” Biden said.
“As time went on, politics, fear, and money all intervened and the MAGA voices that now know the truth about Trump on January 6th abandoned the truth and abandoned democracy. , and now the rest of us – Democrats, independents, and mainstream Republicans – must make a choice.
“I know myself and I believe I know America.”
The Biden Justice Department, through special counsel Jack Smith, is indicting Trump for his actions in contesting the election and for mishandling national security documents after leaving office.
Mr. Trump, who claims that Mr. Smith's lawsuit itself is anti-democratic, has issued a preliminary rebuttal to Mr. Biden through his campaign, and has violated democratic norms by relying on social media companies to censor his political opinions. He said it was Mr. Biden who took the opposite action.
Trump's campaign says that by pursuing a “partisan-driven Russia investigation,” Democrats themselves are guilty of “weaponizing the administrative state against a democratically elected president,” and that He cited an investigation that has taken up more than half of its time and said it suggests a series of connections. He colluded with the Kremlin in 2016.
