In advance of next week’s midterm elections, US President Joe Biden has accused his predecessor Donald Trump and his followers of destroying democracy.
“Make no mistake, democracy is on the ballot for all of us,” said Mr. Biden, a Democrat, about threats by certain Republican contenders to refuse to accept the election results if they lose.
Republicans responded that Mr. Biden was attempting to “divide and deflect.”
The control of both houses of Congress is at risk in the election on November 8.
The majority of projections indicate that the Republicans will win control of the House of Representatives, while the Senate outcome is uncertain. The political composition of the chambers has a significant impact on how readily Mr. Biden and his party may approve new laws.
In Wednesday night’s nationally aired remarks, Mr. Biden accused former President Trump of stoking rage, hatred, bigotry, and violence by refusing to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Referring to the recent attack on the husband of Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives for the Democrats, he stated that violence was the result of lies created of plot and hate.
The US government warned law enforcement agencies this week of a “heightened threat” of domestic violent extremism ahead of the midterm elections, saying that individuals with “ideological grievances” could target candidates and election workers.
Mr. Biden’s speech was made at Union Station in Washington, DC, a few blocks from where Trump supporters attempted to reverse the results of the 2020 election last year.
“As I stand here today, there are candidates for every level of government in America – governor, Congress, attorney general, secretary of state – who refuse to accept the outcomes of the elections they’re in,” he remarked.
Republicans asserted that President Biden was attempting to divert Americans’ attention away from his dismal approval ratings and US inflation.
House Republican minority leader Kevin McCarthy, who would become speaker of the lower chamber of Congress if his party wins control next week, tweeted: “President Biden is trying to divide and deflect at a time when America needs to come together – because he can’t talk about his policies that have increased the cost of living.
The American public does not buy it
This week, a Reuters/Ipsos survey indicated that half of Americans believe voter fraud is a prevalent problem, even though such instances are highly rare.
According to the US partner of the BBC, CBS, little over half (306) of the 595 Republicans vying for statewide office have expressed misgivings about the 2020 presidential race.
