Former Republican congressman Joe Walsh of Illinois said former President Trump was “appealing to the worst of us” when discussing his rhetoric, calling out President Biden in November. He urged them to “recognize the moment” when appealing to voters.
Walsh, who served one term in the House of Representatives, criticized President Trump, calling him an “evil demagogue.”
“What I’m saying is Trump is appealing to the worst of us. [Biden]Walsh said this during an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” on Saturday. “We live in an age of populism. Trump is an evil demagogue and throws terrible things at us about this moment of populism. The American people are angry.”
The former Republican lawmaker was responding to some of President Trump’s campaign statements. President Trump said at a March rally in Ohio that there would be a “disaster” in the auto industry if he was not elected in November. President Trump was also criticized for using the phrase “poisoning the blood of our country” when referring to immigrants entering the country during a rally in New Hampshire in December.
Mr. Walsh, who briefly ran against Mr. Trump in 2020, said Mr. Biden and the Democratic Party needed to take advantage of this moment, with just seven months until Election Day.
“I think Biden and his team need to recognize this moment and do their best to appeal,” he said. “This is not us. We know we’re angry, and Democrats need to recognize that anger, but they don’t need to incite it like Trump does.”
Mr. Walsh served in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013. Despite voting for Trump in 2016, he criticized the former president during his 2020 re-election campaign.
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