At a community college in suburban Philadelphia, President Joe Biden confirmed to the public that his extended holiday rest and relaxation had done little to ameliorate the growing concerns about the state of his mental health.
If anything, the unhinged rant about democracy, which rivaled his notorious midterm “red rally” at nearby Independence Hall hinted that his time absorbing the sun’s gamma rays in St. Croix may have exacerbated his cognitive decline.
Democrats from across the state showed up for Biden’s appearance, as well as a dozen pro-Trump protesters and about two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters demanding a ceasefire for the war between Israel and Hamas.
Biden, 81, who has lately refused all formal media appearances to discuss the actual affairs of the country he’s been tasked with running, kicked off his reelection campaign by decrying Donald Trump as a threat to American democracy.
“Trump talks about the blood of America being poisoned, echoing the same exact language used in Nazi Germany,” Biden said of his White House predecessor. “He proudly posts on social media the words that best describe his 2024 campaign: ‘Revenge. Power. Dictatorship.’”
The choice, Biden says, is clear.
“There’s no confusion about who Trump is or what he intends to do,” he said. “Trump is trying to steal history the same way he tried to steal the election.”
BREAKING: President Biden sensationally claims, "Trump is trying to steal history just like he tried to steal the election," says January 6 protesters were insurrectionists, not patriots as Trump calls them. He's speaking ahead of the third anniversary of Jan. 6. pic.twitter.com/smfMguf1A5
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 5, 2024
The president cast himself as the guardian of democracy, standing against Trump—or any other Republican nominee.
“The defense, protection, and preservation of American democracy will remain, as it has been, the central cause of my presidency,” Biden said.
“These MAGA voices who know the truth about Trump … have abandoned truth and abandoned democracy,” he continued. “They made their choice. Now the rest of us— Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans – have to make ours.”
Speaking a few miles from Valley Forge where he toured earlier in the day, Biden called upon the memory of Americans fighting against a powerful empire for “the sacred cause” of democracy, “the spirit of the troops” led by Gen. George Washington for “the soul of the nation struggling to be born.”
“With one heart and one mind, with fortitude and with patience, they would overcome every difficulty,” he said.
Biden contrasted American history to Jan. 6, 2021, a day “that we nearly lost America” as “insurrectionists came to stop the peaceful transfer of power.”
BREAKING: President Biden claims on January 6, 2021, 'We nearly lost America, lost it all', claims Trump's campaign is about Trump while his campaign with Harris is about the American people. WATCH pic.twitter.com/otAUzQ9lbg
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 5, 2024
“As America was attacked from within … the entire nation watched in horror, the whole world watched in disbelief—and Trump did nothing,” Biden said. “It was among the worst derelictions of duty by a president in American history.”
With utter lack of self-awareness about the violent rhetoric and activism within his own party, he decried political violence as a threat to America.
The American system is one, he said, where leaders don’t hold on to power relentlessly; they serve, then willingly return power to the people.
“You do your duty,” Biden said. “You serve your country—and our country is a country worthy of service.”
BREAKING: Biden claims Trump is promoting political violence and laughs about an intruder trying to hit Paul Pelosi with a hammer, he says, "At his rallies, he jokes about an intruder whipped up by the big Trump lie, taking a hammer to Paul Pelosi's skull and echoing the very… pic.twitter.com/04Bn9PmOzU
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) January 5, 2024
The president questioned Trump’s dedication to the country.
“Donald Trump’s campaign is about him. Not America, not you,” Biden said. “Donald Trump’s campaign is obsessed with the past, not the future. He’s willing to sacrifice our democracy, put himself in power. Our campaign is different—it’s about America, it’s about you.”
BIDEN (whose party is attempting to remove President Trump from the ballot): "We must be clear: democracy is on the ballot!" pic.twitter.com/9QsEbbVxfS
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 5, 2024
America, Biden said, is where people speak of possibilities, not carnage, where Americans aren’t weighed down by grievances and don’t walk around as victims.
“We’re not perfect, but at our best we face head-on the good, the bad, the truth of who we are … That’s what great nations do, and we’re the greatest nation on the face of the earth,” Biden said. “We take charge of our destiny.”
At the end of the half-hour speech, he was ushered off the stage by handler-in-chief Jill Biden.
Jill, Ed.D., escorts Biden off the stage following his remarks pic.twitter.com/jCaV2Rtk49
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 5, 2024
Biden currently has the lowest public approval rating of any president seeking re-election in modern history and is trailing Trump by 2.2 percentage points according to the latest average from RealClearPolitics.
Trump holds moderate advantages in all of the major battleground states: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, Arizona and Michigan.
Even far-left CNN currently projects Trump to win the November race with a 272–225 Electoral College victory while leaving the Democrat controlled Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin undecided.
Headline USA’s Ben Sellers contributed to this report.
