Biden Warns "Republicans Leading the US Toward Chaos"

'Warning on Protecting Democracy and Political Violence'

U.S. President Joe Biden. (Photo by The Guardian)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] Six days before the midterm elections, U.S. President Joe Biden has taken a firm stance by highlighting the 'threat to democracy' to rally his support base. He also strongly emphasized the responsibility of former President Donald Trump, placing him at the center of this threat.

According to the Washington Post (WP) and others on the 2nd (local time), President Biden, in a speech held at Union Station a few blocks away from the Capitol where the January 6th insurrection occurred, stressed, "Voters are facing the question of whether this (midterm) election will protect or threaten democracy."

President Biden said, "Tonight, as I speak here, 27 million voters have already voted early, and millions more will vote by the 8th."

He added, "This election is the first since the angry mob stormed the Capitol on January 6th, and the attack on democracy did not end that day," appealing to voters not to support those who refuse to accept the election results.

He emphasized, "There are candidates at every level?governors, legislatures, state attorneys general?who refuse to accept the results, but such election denial is driving America toward chaos."

While other candidates are focusing on economic and other issues, President Biden has instead put the national system front and center, according to the New York Times (NYT). According to the NYT tally, more than 370 Republican lawmakers questioned the 2020 election results.

Although President Biden did not directly mention former President Donald Trump by name, he warned, "Democracy in the U.S. is under attack as the predecessor refuses to accept the 2020 election results," and "false claims of election fraud have fueled political violence and voter intimidation over the past two years."

He claimed, "A minority of hardline MAGA (Make America Great Again) supporters within the Republican Party are controlling the party."

He added that these Republicans "failed to overturn the election system by trampling on voters' rights in 2020, but this time they are trying to succeed."

President Biden also noted that threats against lawmakers have increased about tenfold since former President Trump’s election, and according to Capitol Police data, such political violence reached 96.25 million incidents last year alone.

Regarding the attack on Paul Pelosi, husband of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which occurred on the 28th of last month, he said, "There is a worrying increase in people who tolerate or remain silent about political violence in this country," condemning, "Silence is complicity."

Anita Dunn, White House senior advisor, explained to the online media Axios about President Biden’s speech, "The threat of political violence is a topic that Americans deeply detest," and "the idea that violence could be used for political purposes unites nearly all Americans."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.