9/1/20
Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Monday issued a forceful rebuttal to President Trump’s claim that the former vice president would preside over a nation overwhelmed by disorder and lawlessness, asserting that it was Mr. Trump who had made the country unsafe through his erratic and incendiary governing style. Mr. Biden condemned the violence that has occasionally erupted amid largely peaceful protests over racial injustice, and noted that the chaos was occurring on the president’s watch. He said Mr. Trump had made things worse by stoking division amid a national outcry over racism and police brutality. “Does anyone believe there will be less violence in America if Donald Trump is re-elected?” he said. “We need justice in America. We’re facing multiple crises — crises that under Donald Trump, have kept multiplying.” Mr. Biden rejected the suggestion that lawlessness would go unchecked under his leadership. “Really? I want a safe America. Safe from Covid, safe from crime and looting, safe from racially motivated violence, safe from bad cops. Let me be crystal clear: safe from four more years of Donald Trump.” He promised he would seek to “lower the temperature in this country,” something he suggested Mr. Trump was unable to do. “He can’t stop the violence because for years he’s fomented it,” Mr. Biden said.
He repeatedly instructed voters to ignore Mr. Trump’s attempts to transfer responsibility to Democrats for the problems unfolding under his administration. “He keeps telling us if he was president you’d feel safe,” Mr. Biden said. “Well, he is president, whether he knows it or not.” The former vice president sought to refocus the spotlight on Mr. Trump and make the election a referendum on the president’s character and his stewardship of the pandemic. He cast Mr. Trump as a destabilizing force who had exacerbated the most urgent problems facing the nation, from the public health crisis, international affairs and unemployment to issues around police brutality, white supremacy and racism. “He may believe mouthing the words ‘law and order’ makes him strong, but his failure to call on his own supporters to stop acting as an armed militia in this country shows how weak he is,” Mr. Biden said. “They’ve been throwing all kinds of stuff at Joe Biden from the beginning,” said Representative Dina Titus, Democrat of Nevada. “It’s just a big, muddled message.” Mr. Trump is expected to visit Kenosha on Tuesday, though a growing chorus of Wisconsin officials have urged him to reconsider amid a tense environment on the ground.
