Biden giving political prime-time speech to address ‘extremist threat’ by MAGA Republicans
by Brett Samuels - 08/31/22 5:39 PM ET
President Biden on Thursday will use a prime-time address to make the case that the political movement led by his predecessor poses an “extreme threat” to democracy as his criticisms of Republicans become increasingly pointed as November’s midterms approach.
Biden will travel to Philadelphia for a speech at Independence Hall that the White House is dubbing “The Soul of the Nation.” Officials have offered few details about the actual contents of the speech, but the decision to deliver it in prime time marks a new effort for Biden to go after what he and the White House have described as “MAGA Republicans,” a reference to former President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” ideology.
“The president thinks that there is an extremist threat to our democracy. The president has been as clear as he can be on that particular piece,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday.
“When we talk about our democracy, when we talk about our freedoms, the way that he sees it is the MAGA Republicans are the most energized part of the Republican Party,” she continued. “This is an extreme threat to our democracy, to our freedom, to our rights. They just don’t respect the rule of law. You’ve heard that from the president. And they are pursuing an agenda that takes away people’s rights.”
Presidents rarely deliver major prime-time speeches, typically only doing so to speak directly to the public about issues of major national concern.
Biden in June gave a prime-time speech on gun violence after mass shootings at a Buffalo, N.Y., grocery store and an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school. He also gave one in 2021 to mark the anniversary of the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision to give Thursday’s speech in prime time reflects the urgent nature of the threat the White House believes certain Republicans pose if they potentially win majorities, with the midterm elections just two months away.
“Because he thinks our democracy is at risk,” Jean-Pierre said Wednesday when asked why Biden is giving the speech in prime time.
“The president’s not going to shy away from speaking up, from speaking out, and it is very important for him to speak directly to the American people,” she added.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3623080-biden-giving-political-primetime-speech-to-address-extremist-threat-by-maga-republicans/
