Mr Biden’s speech is his first major campaign event of the 2024 election season
President Joe Biden marked the third anniversary of the January 6 attack on the Capitol by warning that the issue of American democracy will be “what the 2024 election is all about,” as he runs against former president Donald Trump once more.
Mr Biden, who spoke near the Valley Forge historical site where George Washington and the Continental Army were encamped during the winter of 1777 and 1778, told attendees that they were there “to answer the most important of questions: Is democracy still America’s sacred cause?”
“This isn’t rhetorical, academic, or hypothetical. Whether democracy is still America’s sacred cause is the most urgent question of our time,” he said.
Mr Biden said his speech, his first major event of the 2024 election season, was “deadly serious,” and about a topic that needed to be raised at the outset of his campaign.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Mr Biden, who spoke near the Valley Forge historical site where George Washington and the Continental Army were encamped during the winter of 1777 and 1778, told attendees that they were there “to answer the most important of questions: Is democracy still America’s sacred cause?”
The president said the violence that day was the “one desperate act” left available to Mr Trump, and pointed out that even though Republicans in the House and Senate — and their allies on the Fox News Channel — had “publicly and privately condemned the attack,” the disgraced ex-president and many of his allies have chosen instead to accept a revisionist history, in which the attack was a peaceful protest and those who’ve been arrested for committing crimes that day are political prisoners.
The president’s appearance at Valley Forge comes as the Department of Justice marked the three-year anniversary of the January 6 attack by noting that there have been 1,265 arrests made of pro-Trump rioters, including 452 who’ve been charged with assaulting or otherwise obstructing police officers that day.
But the president noted how Mr Trump has chosen to lionise those criminals, and how he had “began his 2024 campaign by glorifying the failed violent insurrection at our capitol”.
Mr Biden contrasted the late first president with the disgraced 45th and his supporters, and pointed out that many of the rioters who stormed the Capitol in support of Mr Trump passed by the iconic portrait of then-General Washington resigning his commission as a general in the Continental Army at the end of the American Revolution, setting a precedent of civilian control over the military that persists in the US today.
Continuing, he reminded attendees that the painter, John Turnbull, once called that moment “one of the highest moral lessons ever given to the world” and recalled how Washington “could have held onto that power as long as he wanted”.
The original article contains 1,013 words, the summary contains 314 words. Saved 69%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
“democracy” was never americas “sacred cause”, you’re thinking of stealing land from indigenous people. I don’t think that’s going to stop even if we elect the red maga instead of the blue maga.
Yes, all politicians are exactly the same and you are such a special snowflake for seeing through the illusion, you very smart heckin valid person.
Wow maybe we should get rid of all of them and make a new government with some popular legitimacy. Oh you were being sarcastic because you support one of the genocide teams, have fun with your star wars or whatever lol.
It’s a pleasant fantasy, but unfortunately it’s just not that simple. Otherwise it’d have been fixed decades ago during the civil rights movement of the 60s and 70s. Real life has no magic that just makes things end well, so they’re far more likely to backfire. This isn’t a hollywood story.
Just, “things” in general, fail more often than not. Businesses, trial runs, new experiments, etc. The ones that succeed are the exceptions, not the rule.
Like, the French Revolution for instance. Did “getting rid of them” work out at all?
Okay. You get that started. What do we do? I assume you will be taking the leadership role and we will see you on the front lines.
“Both sides do it. Both sides do it.”
Your stupidity is my first belly-laugh of the day, thanks.
Yes let’s blame the virtually powerless person no one knows the name of for undermining our democracy and not aging career politicians who have done nothing except enrich themselves through insider trading and backroom deals
Marianne Williamson ought to run in the Republican primary.
She’s got no less chance of winning.
There’s no such thing as a definition of Republican anymore, so she might as well widen it further and in better directions.
There’s plenty of people there who need to hear the more sensible parts of her message, and even more crazy ones who will be attracted to the loonier parts.
Is democracy still America’s sacred cause?
With one of the shittier implementations of it in the world, I think it’s not. Capitalism seems more sacred to the US, anyway. In a truly democratic system, the US would have a decent and cheaper healthcare system, a sensible way to report taxes, a political class actually responsible to the people, no “political dynasties” etc.
Also, Biden wouldn’t be president, or at least he couldn’t campaign as a protest candidate against Trump.
Trump is not “willing to sacrifice democracy”. He’s actively fighting against it. The guy is not behaving like “democracy is important, but me being president is importanter”, he’s going “I lost because of democracy, so let’s get rid of it”.
American healthcare system is very good and affordable for a large majority of Americans. Sure it sucks if you’re poor, but most Americans are not poor.
Taxes are not that hard to do. The vast majority of people get a single income statement from an employer and use the standard deduction. Could it be better? Sure but it’s not bad for most people.
American healthcare system is very good and affordable for the vast majority of Americans. Sure it sucks if you’re poor, but most Americans are not poor.
Taxes are not that hard to do. The vast majority of people get a single income statement from an employer and use the standard deduction. Could it be better? Sure but it’s not bad for most people.
This is just…
My god dude. Try living in another country for a while. You’re speaking like an abuse victim who keeps defending their abuser. The US’s societal infrastructure, including health care and taxation, are 50 years behind the rest of the developed world. Americans pay top-tier costs for bottom-tier society.
“Sure it sucks if you’re poor” is the kinder sibling of saying “Got mine, fuck you!” Being poor sucks everywhere, just by nature, but the entire point of societal programs is to uplift the poorest and make it suck less, not to give handouts to the rich so they can say “Well geez, at least I’m not poor!”
“Sure it sucks if you’re poor” is the kinder sibling of saying “Got mine, fuck you!”
Yes it does suck. I didn’t say it was perfect, or that I was a fan.
But our healthcare system works very well for most people. Acting like it doesn’t work for some people is just ridiculous.
We’re not poor. We’re also over $10,000 in medical debt. Anyone can get sick. Sometimes very sick. Even if you say you have a good immune system because you exercise and take care of yourself.
And before you say it, we have good insurance.
You can always say, “it’s not that bad” but what I’m saying is that it’s worse than in much of the world.
In the places I’ve lived, if I got sick, especially if I got a long-term sickness, I am not just not paying for it, I get money from my insurance, so my life doesn’t go to shit because I can’t work. And the healthcare systems here are cheaper. My insurance costs around a grand a month, and there are no copays, maximums, deductibles or other bullshit. I am not bearing the risk of me falling ill. And it costs the state less than the US is paying for what they have, both per capita and in total.
And with taxes. I haven’t done my taxes ever. I get a mail saying that my taxes have been done for the year, and I should check it out, I usually have a look if I don’t forget. It is also a cheaper system on both my side and the state’s.
What a weird choice of words. It’s like saying “I’m willing to sacrifice this mosquito who’s been pissing me off for the past hour”.
