Speaking at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina on Monday, President Joe Biden didn’t pull his verbal punches when it came to the subject of former president Donald Trump, and the crowd at the church roared with approval in response to what he said.
Biden also touched on former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s comments that the “cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run — the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do.”
“So they say they embraced what’s known as the lost cause, a self-serving lie that the Civil War is not about slavery, but about states’ rights,” Biden said. “They’ve called that the noble cause. That was a lie, a lie that had not just a lie, but had terrible consequences. It brought on Jim Crow.”
Then the president pivoted to Trump.
“Time and again they lost in every court of law that challenged the results, 60 losses in courts of America!
“There’s one thing they don’t have. They don’t have respect for the 81 million people who voted the other way, voted for my candidacy! And voted to end the presidency–
“In their world, these Americans, including you, don’t count. But that’s not the real world. That’s not democracy. That’s not America! In America, we all count! In America we witness to serve all those who, in fact, participate. And losers are taught to concede when they lose. And he’s a loser!”
Biden added:
“Then we all came together to put the country before ourselves. The lies that led to January 6th are part of a broader attack on the truth of America today that we all have seen before. The same movement. That’s right. The mob at the United States Capitol isn’t just trying to rewrite history on January 6th. They’re trying to determine to erase history and your future!”
The president also touched on issues that will be central to the upcoming election: Freedom and democracy.
“Banning books, denying your right to vote and have it counted. Destroying diversity. Equality. Inclusion. All across America. Harboring hate and replacing hope with anger and resentment and dangerous view of America. A narrow view of America, a zero-sum view of America that says if you win, I lose. If you succeed, must be I fail. If you get ahead, I fall behind. And maybe worst of all: If I hold you down, I lift myself up.
“That’s not new in America. Every stride forward has often been met with ferocious backlashes. And those who fear the progress, and those who exploit that fear for their own personal gain, and those who traffic and lies told for profit and power.”
President Biden is on a roll, and he’s not about to let American voters forget the sort of dystopian nightmare Donald Trump would plunge this country into if he wins a second term.
