President Joe Biden delivered a closing midterm message Wednesday evening, urging people to “think long and hard” about voting for “extreme MAGA Republicans” the president claimed are legitimate threats to democracy.
The president has delivered similar speeches on democracy since entering the White House. The remarks he delivered in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in early September made headlines for both his comments and his use of an ominous red backdrop and use of Marines as props.
CAPITOL POLICE OPEN ‘FAST TRACK’ INTERNAL REVIEW FOLLOWING PELOSI ATTACK
But on Wednesday, Biden, speaking at Union Station, just blocks away from the U.S. Capitol, painstakingly drew a direct line from former President Donald Trump and his supporters’ actions on and leading up to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and the savage home invasion and assault of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) husband, Paul, that occurred just days prior to Biden’s speech.
“This intimidation, this violence against Democrats, Republicans, and nonpartisan officials just doing their job are the consequences of lies told for power and profit,” he stated. “Lies of conspiracy and malice. Lies repeated over and over to generate a cycle of anger, hate, vitriol, and even violence. In this moment, we have to confront those lies with the truth.”
“You know, American democracy is under attack because the defeated former president of the United States refused to accept the results of the 2020 election,” Biden continued. “If he refuses to accept the will of the people. He refuses to accept the fact that he lost. He has abused his power and put loyalty to himself before law under the Constitution.”
The president additionally claimed there are many Republicans running for local and national office this November who are still denying he won in 2020 and are already beginning to question the legitimacy of future elections.
“I wish I could say the assault on our democracy ended that day, but I cannot,” Biden closed, again referencing Jan. 6. “As I stand here today, there are candidates running for every level of office in America, for governor, for Congress, for attorney general, for secretary of state, who won’t commit — they will not commit to accepting the results of the elections they’re in. That is the path to chaos in America. It’s unprecedented. It’s unlawful, and it is un-American. As I’ve said before, you can’t love your country only when you win.”
The Democratic National Committee worked feverishly Wednesday afternoon to put together the scene of Biden’s speech and gather a crowd to the point at which throngs of would-be audience members were barred from entering Union Station with the event already above capacity. Some critics, however, including a small number of protesters chanting “Ashli Babbitt,” the name of a Jan. 6 protester shot and killed by U.S. Capitol Police, were also in attendance Wednesday evening.
Still, national Republicans began criticizing Biden shortly after his speech had been announced earlier in the day.
“Desperate and dishonest. Joe Biden promised unity but has instead demonized and smeared Americans, while making life more expensive for all,” Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel added in a statement. “While Republicans remain focused on the issues that matter most to voters, Biden and Democrats are flailing in the final days because they have lost touch with the concerns of families struggling to get by.”
Biden has ramped up his attacks against the GOP in the final weeks of the election, but White House officials say this latest speech was already in the works when news of the Pelosi attack first broke on Oct. 28.
Though the president repeatedly referenced the Pelosi attack in recent days, White House aides tell the Washington Examiner that Biden specifically wanted to connect the attack with the greater threat to democracy he believes Republicans pose.
A CNN poll published Wednesday morning showed threats to democracy registering a top-three issue among likely voters, yet just 9% listed it as the most important issue this cycle. For comparison, 15% said abortion was their top issue, and an overwhelming 51% said they were most concerned with the economy and inflation.
Meanwhile, the president himself is again polling near his session low following an approval spike this summer, causing some to question whether he is actually helping Democrats by appearing with them on the campaign trail.
Biden has traveled extensively since August, both in his capacity as president and in direct support of some vulnerable Democrats, yet he has avoided traveling to the majority of battleground states. According to Cook Political Report, Bide has only traveled to six of the 14 states with the most competitive Senate and gubernatorial races this year.
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You can watch Biden’s remarks in full below.
Rachel Schilke contributed to this report.
