The president of United States, Joe Bidenassured this Thursday that the members of the Republican Party Supporters of former President Donald Trump are a danger to democracy. He also defined the former president as “extremist” and warned about the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement.
The Democratic president said in a speech in the state of Arizona that Trump was driven by a feeling of “revenge and revanchism” and who, together with his far-right allies, attacks the free press and the rule of law. “Although we have made progress, democracy remains in danger. And Now something dangerous is happening in the United States.. “There is an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs of our democracy: the MAGA movement,” Biden said.
In that sense, he stated that “not all Republicans, Not even the majority of Republicans adhere to extremist ideology ‘MAGA’. I know this because I have been able to work with Republicans my entire career. But there is no doubt that today’s Republican Party is led and intimidated by Republican MAGA extremists. His extreme agenda, if carried out, would fundamentally alter the institutions of American democracy as we know it,” he warned.
Biden stated that Trump supporters “do not hide” their attacks against the freedom of the presshe Rule of law nor his promotion of electoral subversion. In addition, he blamed them for the possible “closure” of the federal government, by which all funds for services dependent on the national administration would be led to a technical stoppage. “The extremists in Congress are more determined to shut down the Government, to burn it down, than to let the people’s business be carried out”he assured.
On the other hand, Biden criticized that the former president’s followers are promoting the idea that the president is “above the law.” “Trump says that the Constitution gave him ‘the right to do whatever he wants as president.’ I have never heard a president say that even in jest.. “It is not guided by the Constitution nor by common service and decency toward our fellow Americans, but by revenge,” he added.
Finally, the US president criticized Republicans for not reacting after Trump accused the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of treason, and insisted that the MAGA movement is a threat: “Democracies do not die only at gunpoint“, he reflected. “They can die when people remain silent, when they do not stand up or do not condemn threats to democracy itself.”
The context of an incendiary speech
As detailed AFPthis speech by the president in Arizona took place after Republican congressmen began this Thursday impeachment inquiry hearings against Bidenbased on unproven allegations that he lied about his son Hunter’s business dealings.
The president tried to attract the sympathies of other Republicans by mentioning in his speech the legacy of his political opponent, but also a close friend, John McCain, a senator from Arizona who died in 2018. A hero of the Vietnam War, McCain was defeated in the presidential election in 2008 by Democrat Barack Obama, of whom Biden was vice president.
Finally, both put aside their differences after Trump entered the government. McCain hated Trumpwithdrew his support for him in 2016 and said before his death from brain cancer that he did not want him at his funeral. The feeling was mutual.: Trump mocked his war hero status in 2015. Biden, by contrast, delivered a eulogy at McCain’s funeral.
Joe Biden picketer: participated in a protest in support of workers in the automotive sector
Although still There is more than a year until the presidential elections in the United States, Biden and Trump This week they had their first direct duel after visits to striking auto workers in Michigan, a state that, like Arizona, oscillates between Democrats and Republicans.
Biden’s speech also comes a day after seven other Republican White House hopefuls held a campaign debate in California. Trump, who has an overwhelming advantage over his rivals, ignored that event.
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