First lady Jill Biden slammed her husband’s main general election rival, Donald Trump, at the annual Pride festival in Pittsburgh on Saturday, calling the former president a “danger” to the LGBTQ+ community.
As well as criticising Trump, Biden also spoke about the progress the LGBTQ+ community has made so far, but warned that challenges remain.
“Donald Trump is a bully,” Biden said at Allegheny Commons Park, according to The Post. advocate“He is a danger to the LGBTQ+ community, our families and our country, and we cannot let him win. We must rise to this moment because our fundamental rights are at stake. We must rise to this moment because our democracy is at stake.”
Speaking to graduating students at Erie County Community College earlier in the day, Biden reflected on the importance of coming together each June to celebrate progress for the LGBTQ+ community, but also noted areas where more work needs to be done.
“Going to school and walking down the halls as your true self, holding someone’s hand on the bus, kissing someone goodbye on the sidewalk — it shouldn’t take courage,” she said Saturday, “and yet in too many places, it still does.”
Biden’s visit to Pennsylvania and remarks at the festival are another attempt to garner voter support ahead of the November election in a battleground state that Biden won by about 80,000 votes in 2020. While Biden has struggled in recent polls in his head-to-head matchup with President Trump, the first lady said she is optimistic that the polls will turn in Biden’s favor as the campaign gets underway and voters become more interested as the election draws closer.
“We’re going to meet people where they are,” she said Wednesday. “I travel every day and Joe travels as much as he can. We’re not going to take anything for granted. The polls are going to change. I’m confident in that.”
