President Joe Biden gave a primetime speech on Thursday night on what the White House calls “the continued battle for the soul of the nation”.
The speech focused on threats to democracy and took sharp aim at former President Donald Trump and his followers. However, the speech also looked ahead with optimism to the nation’s future.
Biden’s primetime speech comes just months before the November midterm elections, determining which party controls the nation’s main lawmaking bodies.
Here are four takeaways from the president’s address from Independence Hall in Philadelphia:
01
A Warning Against Extreme Ideologies That Threaten Democracy
Instead of making references to his “predecessor,” President Biden explicitly called out Donald Trump during his speech and warned against the extremism he says Trump and MAGA [Make America great again] Republicans represent.
“Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal. Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,” Biden said in the speech from the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.
He accused so-called “MAGA Republicans “of refusing to recognize free and fair elections, increasingly talking about violence in response to actions they don’t like, and of being determined to thwart “the will of the people.”
President Biden acknowledged that “not every Republican” is an extremist but addressed the grip that Trump still holds over the party, stating that” there’s no question that the Republican party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump.”
02
A Call To Fight Election Misinformation
President Biden warned that the integrity of American elections was at risk. He urged Americans to stand with him in opposing election misinformation and the restriction of voting rights, denouncing Trump and other Republicans who have questioned the validity of the 2020 elections and have threatened to do the same in the midterms.
“We can’t let the integrity of our elections be undermined,” he said. “We can’t allow violence to be normalized in this country,” he added, referencing the January 6 insurrection.
03
A Reminder Of The Pressing Social Issues The Country Faces
Biden’s speech focused on attacks on democracy, but he also touched on social issues, such as the recent Supreme Court ruling that ended the constitutional right to abortion.
“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards. Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love,” Biden said, pointing to other rights that liberals believe could come under attack.
04
An Official Address With A Campaign Like Feel
The president’s speech resembled a campaign speech, even though it was an official address. He urged Americans to get out and vote. He also made it a point to emphasize his administration’s accomplishments in the fields of healthcare, combating the Covid-19 pandemic and addressing climate change.
“I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future,” he said. “We’re going to end cancer as we know it. We’re going to create millions of new jobs in the clean energy economy. We’re going to think big. We’re going to make the 21st century another American century.”
