Following the divisive speech, President Joe Biden gave on Thursday (September 1), where he warned Americans against voting for “MAGA Republicans,” progressives have lauded the remarks for being truthful and leveling with voters.
During his prime-time remarks in Philadelphia, Biden claimed former President Donald Trump and those aligned to him were a “threat to this country.”
The speech signals Biden’s hard-line prose aimed at Republicans would be heightening in the run-up to the midterm elections, something progressives believe is long overdue.
Leader of the Philadelphia chapter of Indivisible, Vicki Miller, praised Biden’s comments for “calling out the truth,” adding that she talks to “at the doors here in Pennsylvania, they all see what’s happening.”
She continued, noting that had Biden “sugarcoated” his words, it would only be seen as “politician-speak” because he was “just saying what a lot of these voters already know: that everything is on the line.”
Biden’s address is also seen as igniting the rhetoric Democrats will use as the midterms rapidly approach: Democracy is on the line in these elections. The proof they’ll point to is many Republicans are running on the now-debunked premise that the 2020 election was stolen.
Biden sounded the first rendition of the soon-to-be official talking point of Democratic nominees, saying, “MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election.”
Veteran Democratic campaign strategist, Michael Starr Hopkins, summed up the direction of Biden’s remarks as “Either we defeat Trump and his acolytes or democracy as we know it is over.” Hopkins described this summary as the perfect frame for the midterms.
