Biden Blasts 'Semi-Fascist' MAGA Republicans In Powerful Midterm Address
President Joe Biden
On Thursday evening, President Joe Biden didn’t so much take the gloves off as he put them on. He then proceeded to deliver a 10-round pounding to the modern Republican Party, in a speech that marked a sharp departure for Biden—and set a tone Democrats would be wise to emulate in the weeks remaining before the midterm elections.
In a 30-minute speech delivered at a rally for Maryland gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore, Biden drew a sharp line between the traditional Republicans he has worked with and the past, and the “MAGA Republicans” currently threatening to tear America apart. Then he went on to make it clear that stopping the MAGA movement is a now or never fight to save America.
“The MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and economic security. They’re a threat to our very democracy. They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace—embrace—political violence. They don’t believe in democracy.”
Those words doubled-down on a statement Biden had earlier in the evening where, as CNN reports, Biden warned a crowd at a fundraiser that America is either on the brink of disaster, or at the moment of salvation.
“What we’re seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy. It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the—I’m going to say something—it’s like semi-fascism.”
The willingness of the president to work with Republicans, and to continue to seek bipartisan solutions, even as Republicans were doing their best to sabotage his efforts while painting him as both somehow simultaneously weak and an existential threat has been frustrating to many. But in this speech, Biden’s only outreach to Republicans was an urgent plea for those who have not been taken in by the semi-fascism of the MAGA movement: to join with Democrats in saving the nation.
“This is why in this moment, those of you who love this country—Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans— we must be stronger.”
Also on Thursday, the White House Twitter account lit a hot blue flame under Republican hypocrites who were feigning outrage over the idea of student loan forgiveness, while ignoring how they had been handed six- or seven-figure checks to forgive loans of their own. Many observers attribute that shift in tone on the Twitter account to the welcome addition of former “voice of New Jersey” Megan Coyne to the White House social media team.
But if anyone was thinking that the fire was going to be restricted to Twitter, Biden’s speech made clear that, as Democrats move toward the fall elections, he is approaching that moment with the zeal of someone who clearly sees the danger threatening our nation.
A moment that comes along only ever six or seven generations in world history...
Biden also referenced the invasion of Ukraine and the increasing belligerence of China during the Maryland speech, saying that he could see now how Donald Trump’s embrace of authoritarians had harmed America’s message and authority. “I underestimated how much damage the previous four years had done in terms of America’s reputation in the world,” said the president.
Yet Biden’s speech wasn’t only about underscoring the threat of those who model themselves after Trump. He also held up the accomplishments of the last two years, saying that "We never gave in and we're delivering for the American people now. Even our critics have been forced to acknowledge real progress."
Throughout the speech, Biden underscored the vast gulf between the positions of Democrats and the anti-democracy positions of the current Republican Party. Republicans, said Biden, “have made their choice to go backwards, full of anger, violence, hate and division. We've chosen a different path, forward, the future, unity, hope and optimism.”
And when it came to his “vision of a better America,” Biden also did not hold back when making clear exactly what that is. If Democrats can hold the House and gain two more seats in the Senate, Biden said, Democrats would soon be delivering on a list of policies that America desperately needs.
If Democrats can get two more Senators and keep the House...
“We’ll codify Roe v. Wade. We’ll ban assault weapons. We’ll protect Social Security and Medicare. We’ll pass universal Pre-K. We’ll restore the child care tax credit. We’ll protect voting rights, pass election reform, and make sure no one ever has the opportunity to steal an election again.”
Watch the full speech below, via WUSA:
Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos.
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