President Joe Biden issued a dire warning for the future of American democracy ahead of the midterm elections, saying Donald Trump and his Republicans allies “threaten the very foundation of our republic.”
Biden gave the nationally broadcast speech Thursday from the Independence National Historical Park in downtown Philadelphia, where the U.S. Constitution was crafted in 1787. The address, which White House officials called the “battle for the soul of the nation,” saw Biden maintain his increasingly combative posture to the Republican Party and comes on the heels of recent legislative wins and a rise in his poll numbers.
During the speech, Biden called on Americans to preserve the Constitution and democracy, warning that “MAGA forces” are seeking to take the U.S. “backwards” to an era with fewer civil rights.
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Below is a full transcript of Biden’s address:
“I speak to you tonight from sacred ground and American Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
“This is where America made its Declaration of Independence to the world, where two centuries ago with an idea unique among nations and in America: We’re all created equal. This is where the United States Constitution was written and debated.
“This is where we set in motion the most extraordinary experiment of self-government, the world has ever known.
“With three simple words, “we the people … we the people.” These two documents and the ideas embody equality and democracy … [and] are the rock upon which this nation is built. They are how we became the greatest nation on earth.
“They’re why, for more than two centuries, America has been a beacon to the world. As I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault.
“We do ourselves no favor to pretend otherwise.
“But tonight, I’ve come to this place where it all began to speak as plainly as I can to the nation about the threat we face, about the power we have in our own hands to meet these threats, and about the incredible future that lies in front of us if only we choose it.
“But never forget. We the people are the true heirs of the American experiment that began more than two centuries ago.
“We the people are burning inside of each of us. The flame of liberty that was led here in Independence Hall. The flame the lit our way through abolition, the Civil War, suffrage, the Great Depression. World Wars, civil rights.
“That sacred flame still burns.
Now in our time—as we build an America that is more prosperous, free and just—that is the work of my presidency. A mission I believe in with my whole soul.
“But first, let’s be honest with each other and with ourselves.
“Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal.
“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.
“I want to be very clear, very clear upfront. Not every Republican, not even a majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.
“But there’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country. These are hard things.
“But I’m an American president. Not a president of red America, blue America. For all Americans.
“I believe it’s my duty, my duty to level with you, to tell the truth, no matter how difficult, no matter how painful.
“And here, in my view, is what is true.
“MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution, do not believe in the rule of law. They did not recognize the will of the people and refuse to accept the results of a free election.
“And they’re working right now, as I speak in state after state, to give power to the side elections in America. To partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers and undermine democracy itself.
“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards, backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.
“They promote authoritarian leaders and they fanned the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, the rule of law, the very soul of this country.
“And look at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on January 6, brutally attacking law enforcement, not as insurrectionists placing a dagger at the throat of our democracy, but they’re looked at as patriots.
“They see their MAGA failure to stop a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election as preparation for the 2022 and 2024 elections.
“They tried everything last time to nullify the votes of 81 million people.