President Biden urged Americans on Thursday to come together and unite regardless of their political affiliation but condemned Trump supporters as an “extremist movement” bent on destroying bedrock American institutions.
In a somber speech from Tempe, Arizona, Mr. Biden issued an impassioned denunciation of former President Donald Trump and the Make America Great movement. He cast the MAGA movement as an existential threat to the nation’s rule of law. He said it was “breathing oxygen” into hate.
“There is something dangerous happening in America. There is an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs of our democracy — the MAGA movement,” Mr. Biden said.
The speech is the latest escalation of Mr. Biden’s attacks on supporters of Mr. Trump, who received 74 million votes in the 2020 election. Mr. Biden has delivered four major speeches warning that the MAGA movement would erode the nation’s democratic institutions and values.
In Thursday’s speech, Mr. Biden repeatedly shifted tones between calling on Americans to be more bipartisan and vilifying Trump adherents as dangerous extremists who ignore the Constitution to suit their needs.
“All of us are being asked right now — what will we do to maintain our democracy,” Mr. Biden said. “Will we put partisanship aside, put country first? I say we must and we will.”
But just a few minutes later, Mr. Biden warned the MAGA movement could end democracy itself.
“Their extreme agenda, if carried out, will fundamentally alter the institutions of American democracy as we know it,” he said.
He cast himself and Democrats as the heroes standing in the way of anti-democratic MAGA forces prepared to overrun the nation with authoritarianism.
“We have to stand up for America’s values embodied in our Declaration of Independence because we know MAGA extremists have already proven they won’t,” Mr. Biden said. “We have to stand up for our Constitution and the institutions of democracy because MAGA extremists have made clear they won’t.”
Thursday’s speech comes one day after the second Republican presidential debate and the same day the House held its first hearing of an impeachment inquiry into Mr. Biden.
By focusing on Mr. Trump’s loyal political followers, Mr. Biden is hoping to energize voters who are apathetic about a rematch between himself and Mr. Trump, who is the frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.
SEE ALSO: Poll: Most Republicans see Trump as ‘man of faith,’ rank him higher than GOP rivals
It’s also a way to move the conversation away from other issues that Mr. Biden has focused on but that haven’t resonated with voters, including his economic policies.
Despite castigating Trump supporters, Mr. Biden tried to avoid alienating Republicans who have opposed the former president.
“Not every Republican -– not even the majority of Republicans –- adhere to the extremist MAGA ideology. I know because I’ve been able to work with Republicans my whole career,” Mr. Biden said. “But there is no question that today’s Republican Party is driven and intimidated by MAGA extremists.”
Yet, he also decried Republicans for not standing up more forcefully to condemn Mr. Trump, saying, “Their silence is deafening.”
Mr. Biden’s first address on the threat MAGA supporters came on the first anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Although Mr. Biden didn’t mention Mr. Trump by name, he made 16 references to the “former president” and accused him of holding a “dagger” to the throat of democracy.
He followed that up with a speech from Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in September 2022, saying Mr. Trump’s followers “represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic.”
The third address, delivered just days before the 2022 midterm elections, warned that Republicans who refuse to accept election results will put the nation on a “path to chaos.”
The setting for Mr. Biden’s speech on Thursday was Arizona, a major battleground in the 2024 election. It is also home to the late Republican Sen. John McCain, who was friends with Mr. Biden for decades and the 2008 GOP presidential nominee.
Mr. Biden has referred to the late senator as a “brother” and an example of what the Republican Party stood for before Mr. Trump was elected.
Cindy McCain, the late senator’s widow, introduced Mr. Biden ahead of his remarks.
Arizona is also a state where Mr. Trump attempted to overturn the 2020 election results and voters rejected candidates who denied those results in the 2022 midterms.
During his remarks, Mr. Biden announced funding to construct the McCain Library.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.