Biden called Trump an “extremist” and said the former Republican president is driven by “revenge and a “will to condemn” and that Trump’s supporters in the party are prepared to attack both the free press and the justice system.
However, in Biden’s speech, which was held in Tempe in the state of Arizona on Thursday, there were no direct references to the many lawsuits that Trump is involved in. The strategy is deliberate as Biden, as executive leader, wants to maintain an appropriate distance from the independent judiciary in the United States.
Democracy can die
But the 80-year-old Biden was sharp in a more general criticism of Trump and the right-wing phalanx within the Republicans, and what four years with them in power could mean for the United States:
— We must all remember that democracy does not always die in front of a gun barrel. It can die when people are silent, when they fail to stand up for their cause, or when they fail to condemn threats to democracy.
Biden also struck a very harsh tone against the followers of the Maga (Make America great again) movement who supported Trump both as president and in opposition to the current president. Biden said “something dangerous is happening in the United States” as Republicans are pushed forward by the Maga movement’s scare tactics.
Process for impeachment
President Biden delivered his speech as preliminary hearings were conducted in Washington DC to impeach Biden in connection with son Hunter Biden’s business dealings. It is unclear whether Republicans can muster a majority in the House of Representatives to then send the case to the Senate for impeachment.
James Corner of Kentucky hoped so in his speech on Thursday: “There is a mountain of evidence” showing that Joe Biden “has abused his official position for the financial prosperity of the family”.