Biden Banks on Democratic Outrage, Risking Deeper US Divisions

INA-  sources 

President Joe Biden is seeking to stoke voters’ outrage over the extremism of Donald Trump and his supporters ahead of November’s midterm elections, even if the strategy risks exacerbating political tensions in the US. 
In a prime-time address to the nation Thursday from Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, Biden sharpened the criticism he’s recently used to describe his predecessor and Trump supporters. 
Declaring that “equality and democracy are under assault”  from “extremist” Republicans, he implied that the only way to stop them was to vote against Republicans who support the former president. 
“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundation of our republic,” Biden said, referring to Trump’s slogan of “Make America Great Again.”
Thursday’s speech was Biden at his most combative. He strode to a lectern from the front door of the hall where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were both written, bathed in alarm-bell red lighting and braced by two Marines standing at parade rest.
For some time after taking office, Biden avoided mentioning Trump by name and declined to respond to his attacks. But circumstances have changed in the last year: Biden’s approval ratings nosedived as inflation soared, jeopardizing his party’s control of Congress, while Trump’s conduct has been thrust back into the spotlight after an FBI search of his Florida estate last month.
All the while, Biden has faced pressure from his left flank to more aggressively confront Trump and his adherents.

Darkness and Despair’ 

Biden went to some lengths to distinguish “the majority of Republicans” from Trump and his supporters whom he portrayed as dangerous to the country, citing their efforts to overturn the 2020 election and accusing them of encouraging violence against their opponents.
MAGA Republicans look at America and see carnage and darkness and despair. They spread fear and lies, lies told for profit and power,” Biden said. 
“They promote authoritarian leaders and they fan the flames of political violence; they are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country,” he added.
The setting for the speech echoed the nation’s political divide. Outside, protesters could be heard shouting “f--- Joe Biden” and “let’s go Brandon,” an insult adopted by Trump supporters. 
“Good manners is nothing they’ve ever suffered from,” Biden remarked. 
Earlier: Biden Compares Trump’s MAGA Ideology to ‘Semi-Fascism’
The speech reflected his view that the threat posed by anti-democratic elements in the GOP has become more dire, aides said, as well as his political advisers’ belief that stoking anger over Trump and his supporters gives Democrats a better shot at holding onto narrow majorities in the House and Senate. 
In midterm elections, when turnout is lower than presidential contests, anger can be a more powerful motivator for voters than inspiration. Trump has held rallies around the country aimed at keeping his base at a high froth.
Biden has escalated his criticism of Republicans in recent weeks, condemning the ideology espoused by Trump’s followers as “semi-fascism.”


Source: BLOOMBERG