Report: Joe Biden to Resume Framing Donald Trump as ‘Threat to Democracy’ After Assassination Attempt
President Joe Biden will reportedly continue to frame former President Donald Trump as a threat to democracy following the assassination attempt that nearly killed the former president.
The Biden campaign paused its attacks against Trump after the assassination attempt on Saturday, but those attacks are set to resume in Nevada on Tuesday, contradicting Biden’s calls for unity.
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Biden, who will return to the campaign trail for the first time post-assassination attempt, plans to renew attacks on Trump as a “threat to democracy,” the New York Times reported:
And even as Mr. Biden focuses on the economy, his administration has made clear that it will continue to frame Mr. Trump as a threat to democracy and the civil liberties of Black and Latino Americans. But after a would-be assassin’s bullet grazed Mr. Trump’s ear at a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, Mr. Biden will be treading newly perilous ground.
Although the gunman had no known strongly held political beliefs, some Republicans have accused Mr. Biden’s rhetoric of contributing to the violence. Mr. Biden defended his descriptions of his rival on Friday, and Democrats have balked at the criticism from allies of a former president who warned there would be a “bloodbath” if he lost the election in November.
Many political strategists, for months, criticized the Biden campaign for making its central pitch to voters about how Trump is a threat to democracy, an issue that is outflanked by soaring costs, the economy, and the open southern border, polls show. A majority of independent voters believe Biden is a greater threat to democracy than Trump, according to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll from May.
Concerns deepened about the viability of Biden’s pitch following the assassination attempt. Politicians on both sides of the aisle called for a de-escalation of inflammatory rhetoric, yet Biden’s plan to resume his well-worn attack defies his pledge to unify the nation.
“I want to speak to you tonight about the need for us to lower the temperature in our politics,” Biden claimed in a Sunday speech from the White House. “We’re neighbors. We’re friends, coworkers, citizens. Most importantly, we are fellow Americans, we must stand together.”
“We can’t allow this violence to be normalized,” Biden added. “I believe politics ought to be an arena for peaceful debate.”
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