In a speech Thursday at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, President Joe Biden warned that America is in the midst of a battle for its soul — and America, he said, is defined by the “sacred proposition that all are created equal in the image of God, that all are entitled to be treated with decency, dignity, respect, that all deserve justice and a shot at lives of prosperity and consequence.
"Tonight I have come here to the place where it all began to speak plainly to the nation about the threats we face," Biden said on Thursday night. "About the power we have in our own hands to meet those threats. And about the incredible future that lies in front of us if only we choose it."
"As I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault," he said. "We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise."
"For a long time, we’ve reassured ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it is not. We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us," he added later.
Recent polling shows that such an issue is becoming one of increasing importance to voters. According to an NBC News survey released last month, voters said that "threats to democracy" was the top issue facing the country.
Biden referenced former president Donald Trump's followers and the ideologies that have taken root since his election, specifically the campaign against abortion rights that came to a head this summer.
"MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards," Biden said. "Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love."
Trump and his followers, the “MAGA Republicans," Biden said, are a are a danger and a threat to the country.
“Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology; I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans,” Biden said. “But there’s no question that the Republican party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the 'MAGA Republicans' and that is a threat to this country.”
The president referenced Trump’s so-called "Big Lie" — the baseless insistance that the 2020 election was “stolen” from Republicans — and the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. He also spoke of ongoing work within state legislatures and state elections, where “partisans and cronies” are “empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.”
"MAGA Republicans have made their choice," he said. "They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies."
After noting that democracy isn’t perfect, Biden made reference to a group of protesters who were sounding sirens and calling out through a bullhorn near the site of Independence Hall.
“Those folks who you hear on the other side there, they’re entitled to be outrageous. This is a democracy,” Biden said, though he later added that “good manners is nothing they’ve ever suffered from.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters earlier Thursday that the speech would not be a "political" speech, despite a number of key races ongoing in Pennsylvania, including elections for governor and U.S. Senate.
She said the remarks would be "optimistic" and about "uniting" the American people, while telling them how he believes the country's core values are at stake.
But the bulk of his speech was a call to action, pushing against political extremism — a call he’s sounded multiple times previously.
That said, the president did strike an optimitic tone when he discussed a string of recent legislative victories, including passing the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes largest-ever Congressional investment to fight climate change and lowers the cost of prescription drugs, a sweeping infrastructure bill and bipartisan gun safety reform.
He also urged Americans to turn out in record numbers for November's midterm elections,
“Now, America must choose to move forward or to move backwards,” he said, before calling for Americans to “vote, vote, vote” to protect American Democracy.
For the vast majority of his time in office, Biden has focused on being the everyman president, boasting of his ability to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and focusing primarily on attempting to unite the country.
Biden has revisited those themes in recent weeks, comparing the ideology of the “extreme MAGA Republicans” to “semi-fascism,” a comment that drew ire from members of the GOP and some Democrats alike.
Biden’s call for optimism celebrated his administration’s legislative victories in economic recovery packages, its infrastructure investments, new gun safety laws, and recently-passed climate legislation.
“Look, I know the last few years have been tough,” Biden said. “No matter what the white supremacists and extremists say, I made a bet on you, the American people, and that bet is paying off, proving that from the darkness…we can see the light.”
Biden's speech closed with hope, that — if Americans keep the faith and preserve democracy, future generations will celebrate America as a beacon, and an ideal to be recognized.
“God bless you all,” Biden said, before emphasizing, one more time, the one-word heart of his speech: "Democracy.”
Biden’s visit was his second to the Keystone State this week, and he is set to make yet another trip to Pittsburgh on Labor Day to celebrate “the dignity of American workers,” per the White House.
At an event Friday, amid President Biden defended his remarks amid criticism from Republicans who condemned his rhetoric about supporters of the former president. When asked if he considers all Trump supporters to be a threat to the country, Biden pushed back on that assertion.
"I did not make that case," Biden said. "I don't consider any Trump supporter to be a threat to the country. I do think anyone who calls for the use of violence, fails to condemn violence when it's used, refuses to acknowledge an election has been won, insists upon changing the way in which we rule and count votes, that is a threat to democracy. Democracy."
"Everything we stand for – everything we stand for – rests on the platform of democracy," Biden continued. "People who voted for Donald Trump and support him now, they weren't voting for attacking the Capitol. They weren't voting for overruling an election. They were voting for a philosophy he put forward."
"So I am not talking about anything other than, it is inappropriate — and it's not only happening here, but other parts of the world — a failure to recognize and condemn violence whenever it's used for political purposes," the president said. "Failure to condemn an attempt to manipulate electoral outcomes. Failure to acknowledge when elections are won or lost."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., counter-programmed Biden's remarks by delivering a speech of his own ahead of the president's in his birthplace of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
McCarthy called for Biden to apologize for recent comments he made about "extreme MAGA" Republicans, which members of the GOP criticized.
"President Biden has chosen to divide, demean, and disparage his fellow Americans," McCarthy said in his speech. "Why? Smply because they disagree with his policies. That is not leadership."
"When the president speaks tonight at Independence Hall, the first lines out of his mouth should be to apologize for slandering tens of millions of Americans as 'fascists,'" McCarthy added.
After the speech, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel also issued a statement calling Biden the "divider-in-chief" and said he "epitomizes the current state of the Democrat Party: one of divisiveness, disgust, and hostility towards half the country"