Mr. Biden, speaking at Union Station in Washington, right near the Capitol, which was attacked by a pro-Trump mob after the last major election, warned of continued attacks on American democracy.president A growing number of leading Republican candidates say they may follow in the footsteps of former President Donald Trump and refuse to concede even if he loses.
“It’s unheard of. It’s illegal. And it’s un-American,” Biden said. “Like I said before, you can’t love your country just because you won.”
The president’s virtually unprecedented message — a plea to Americans to embrace the basic principles of democracy — has millions of voters already casting their ballots or planning to go to the polls on Election Day. It was issued when the system is preserved.
Biden made the remarks days after a sledgehammer-armed assailant broke into the San Francisco home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, California, and beat her 82-year-old husband, Paul, according to police and prosecutors. did. Biden started by dealing with a horrifying assault early Friday morning.
“We must speak in an overwhelmingly unified voice, as a nation, and say that there is no place in America for intimidation or political violence against voters, whether they are Democrats or Republicans. “There is no place, period. There is no place.
Last week, several government agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, issued a memo warning that the threat from violent extremists in the country is likely to increase in the 90 days after the election, according to copies of documents obtained by Washington. issued. Position.
The memo lists scenarios that could provoke more violence, including “actual or perceived efforts to stifle access to the vote.”
“After the 2022 midterm elections, perceptions of election-related fraud and dissatisfaction with election results are likely to heighten the threat of violence against a wide range of targets, including ideological opponents and election officials,” the memo read. rice field.
Election officials said they weren’t sure what would happen given that various Trump-supporting organizations had promised to flood polling stations and tally stations with partisan observers. Trump’s allies have frequently urged his supporters to file objections, and officials say the action could disrupt the process.
Biden spoke more forcefully about the threat Republicans pose to democracy in recent months. He began alluding to “MAGA Republicans” in the spring — a nickname he uses to distinguish those who sympathize with Trump from more traditional conservatives — and Biden was unusually outspoken at a late August fundraiser. He addressed the issue in simple terms and warned that the Republican Party was heading in the right direction. “Semi-fascism”
On Wednesday night, Biden posed a danger to democracy as part of an ongoing offensive launched two years ago by Trump and the Republican Party he still leads. It’s trying to succeed where it failed: stifling voter rights and overthrowing the electoral system itself,” he said.
Even before Biden’s speech Wednesday, Republican National Committee Chairman Ronna McDaniel issued a statement calling his words “desperate and dishonest.”
“Joe Biden promised unity, but instead demonized and slandered Americans and made everyone’s life more expensive,” McDaniel said. “Republicans remain focused on the issues that matter most to voters, but Biden and Democrats are reeling.”
Wednesday night’s speech comes after he delivered a speech outside Philadelphia’s Independence Hall on Sept. 1, warning that “much of what is happening in our country today is not normal.” It was Biden’s most direct speech on the threats facing our democratic system.
“Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans represent extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.
Shortly after Biden’s Philadelphia speech, senior White House officials began talking about making a similar speech about threats to democracy.
Biden’s speech on Wednesday has been underway for weeks, the person said. However, the opening was rewritten to address attacks on Paul Pelosi. He also mentioned Republicans who have been exposed to
Biden urged voters to be patient after the election, noting that ballot-counting rules may not reveal some results immediately.
“It is always important for citizens of a democracy to be informed and engaged,” he said. “Right now, it is important for citizens to be patient as well.”
And he urged citizens to consider the future of democracy when making choices on Tuesday, saying they should vote “knowing what we risk becoming.”
“We know to our bones that democracy is in danger. It’s inside.”
Unlike their Democratic opponents, many Republicans who are anchored in major constituencies across the country have refused to say whether they accept Tuesday’s election results.
“We’ll see what happens,” Republican Sen. Ron Johnson told reporters in Wisconsin on Tuesday. He is in fierce competition with his state’s lieutenant governor, Democratic challenger Mandela Burns. “I mean, is something going to happen on Election Day? Do Democrats have something?”
The president’s speech came as developments in and out of court helped underscore fears about whether next week’s elections would go smoothly and whether the results would be widely accepted as legitimate.
The Justice Department said multiple divisions of its sprawling law enforcement agency are working to ensure the voting process is safe and smooth across the country.
The agency’s Office for Civil Rights, which is responsible for enforcing voting rights laws, said it will monitor voting processes across the country to ensure jurisdictions are complying with federal voting laws. The ministry has not disclosed how many people will be dispatched or where they will be sent. On Election Day 2020, we sent observers to 44 jurisdictions, including Gwinnett County in Georgia, Broward County in Florida, and Fairfax County in Virginia.
Already, the department is participating in an election lawsuit in Arizona, where monitoring ballot drop boxes, including filming voters depositing their ballots, could lead to illegal voter intimidation, an Arizona woman said. I support the claims of the Voters’ Federation.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Michael Libbledi, appointed to the bench by Trump, agreed with a sweeping order restricting what Clean Elections USA of Arizona or its allies can do or say near the ballot box. The ruling prevents Dropbox watchers from taking photos and videos of voters and using the material to spread unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud. Clean Elections USA is one of a group that subscribes to allegations that “ballot traffickers” illegally dropped multiple ballots into drop-boxes ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
Bill Gates, chairman of the board that oversees Maricopa County, where most of Arizona’s voters live, said that “the rest of the world” is concerned about how America will run the election as truth and misinformation collide. He said he would wait and see how it would be implemented.
Gates, a Republican, said, “There is real concern that something is wrong with our Democratic Republic … and Arizona … and Maricopa County is where these kinds of battles are being fought.
Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court has ordered counties not to count undated mail-in ballots, but how to resolve overcrowded top elections in key states. Important legal questions on the matter remained unanswered. I filed a lawsuit on this matter, claiming that I am requesting that the
Lawyers for Lee M. Chapman, the top state elections official in the administration of Gov. Tom Wolfe (D), have previously ruled that undated ballots should be counted. The county claimed that it had no way of determining whether the dates were correct. What is written on the mail envelope is “INCORRECT”. They argued that the decision not to count those votes would sow confusion and disenfranchise legitimate voters.
The lawsuit is part of a flood of lawsuits already being filed targeting election practices, which could see a surge in lawsuits after Election Day if major races get closer. The RNC said it is involved in lawsuits to expand access for partisan vote watchers and challengers in Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin.
A Wisconsin judge Wednesday granted more access to poll monitors, a day after a group of monitors sued the city clerk of Green Bay for failing to observe all aspects of early voting. ordered to City officials said they were making more areas available for observation in response to the lawsuit. The RNC hailed the ruling as a victory for transparency.
Democrats can challenge the Republican action in court and extend campaign action for several days after Tuesday’s vote. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro told reporters on a campaign bus in Pittsburgh on Tuesday that he would use the courts if necessary to protect the vote.
“I am confident that the will of the people will be respected if there is the necessary legal process.” The 2020 election was stolen.
Mastriano was one of 12 GOP candidates in a Washington Post poll in September.
In Wisconsin, Republican gubernatorial nominee Tim Michels suggested in a campaign halt Monday that his election would result in permanent Republican control in the state.
“Republicans will never lose an election in Wisconsin after I’m elected governor,” Michels said.
Michels is embroiled in fierce competition from Gov. Tony Evers (Democrat). A five-second clip of him saying that if Michels wins, the Republican Party will never lose an election again. Post to Twitter By the liberal group American Bridge.
His spokesman later said he only meant that he did a good job and that voters would reward his party.
Emma Brown, Amy Gardner, Colbie Itkowitz, Annie Lynskey, Patrick Marley, Yvonne Winget Sanchez, Maria Sacchetti, Annabel Timsit Contributed to this report.
