At Valley Forge, Biden Calls the 2024 Election "Deadly Serious," Saying "Democracy is On the Ballot."

With a welcoming audience near Valley Forge chanting "four more years," President Biden delivered a blistering attack on Donald Trump, saying "Democracy is on the ballot" in 2024.

Telling the audience and outside viewers that he was "deadly serious" about the theme of his address, the President made numerous references to George Washington, as a Revolutionary War General and as the first President under the Constitution, in highlighting the profound differences between the American Ideal and MAGA Trumpist Fascist Authoritarianism. 

The President reminded the audience that the goals of the Revolution were “Never again would we bow down to a king (a veiled swipe at Trump and his political leanings)" in pursuing the "sacred causes of freedom, liberty, and Democracy."

Toward the end of his speech, Mr. Biden reminded the audience that Washington could have been President for life but decided to retire after two terms. 

Then, in a reference to the historically illiterate and Constitutionally brain-dead mob that attacked the Nation's Capitol on January 6, 2021, the President pointed out that: 

“The mob that attacked the Capitol on January 6th, waving Trump flags and Confederate flags, stormed right past the portrait. The image of George Washington gave them no pause – but it should have."

“The artist who painted the portrait memorialized this moment because he said it was ‘one of the highest moral lessons ever given to the world."

“George Washington was at the height of his power having just defeated the most powerful empire on Earth. He could have held onto that power as long as he wanted… Could have been President until he died. But that wasn’t the America he and the American troops of Valley Forge had fought for."

"In America, our leaders don’t hold on to power relentlessly. Our leaders return power to the people – willingly. You do your duty. You serve your country. And ours is a country worthy of service…We are 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 are a great nation – the greatest of nations on the face of the Earth.”

When discussing the January 6, 2021, Domestic Terrorist attack on the Nation's Capitol, the President was very blunt, saying, “On that day, we nearly lost America” because that day was "the first time insurrectionists attacked the Capitol." 

Mr. Biden then went on to attack Trump and MAGA Republican attempts to "steal" and rewrite history" by saying things on the campaign like the violent mob was peaceful and the 1200 criminally charged (900 convicted so far) insurrectionists were really patriots filled with love, not hate. 

In his address, the President called out such attempts at whitewashing the MAGA Domestic Terrorist January 6 attack by pointing out:

"At the time, even Republican members of Congress and Fox News commentators publicly and privately condemned the attack. And as one Republican Senator said, Trump’s behavior was embarrassing and humiliating for the country."

“But now as time has gone on — politics, fear, money – have all intervened. And those MAGA voices who know the truth about Trump and January 6th have abandoned the truth and abandoned our democracy. They’ve made their choice. Now the rest of us – Democrats, Independents, mainstream Republicans – we have to make our choice."

"I know mine. And I believe I know America’s. We’ll honor the truth. We’ll defend the Constitution."

At another part of the speech the President repeated a statement he had made numerous times before, saying "You can't be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American."

Mr. Biden was pointedly critical of his predecessor throughout the address, saying "The choice is clear. Donald Trump’s campaign is about him, not America, not you.” 

He reminded everyone that:

• Trump was the "denier in chief." The President went on to say that Trump and his supporters "can’t love your country only when you win.”
• It was Donald Trump who said he would be side by side fighting with the insurrectionists on January 6, 2021, but then left and let "them do the dirty work for him" while doing nothing at the White House despite pleas from staff, family, and Republican Congressional Leaders hiding from the mob at the Capitol.
• Trump lost the 2020 popular vote by over seven million votes.
• Trump lost all the 2020 recounts he or his surrogates requested.
• Trump lost all 60 of the court cases in his attempt to call out election fraud that was not there.
• Trump and his surrogates, including the recently found liable for defamation Rudy Giuliani and the commentators at Fox 'We had to pay a $700 million settlement for spreading election lies,' targeted election workers and the machines tabulating the vote count with false accusations.
• Trump called fallen veterans "suckers" and "losers." Mr. Biden said, "How dare he."
• Trump made fun of Paul Pelosi after the former Speakers husband was attacked by a Trumpist-Maga supporter. The President called him "sick" for that.
• Trump is promising to be a dictator if reelected and to bring a wave of revenge and retribution if he returns to the Oval Office.
• Trump, an admirer of Putin and Kim Jong Un is invoking Fascist and Nazi phrasing, calling immigrants "vermin" and declaring they poison "the nation's blood."
• In this election, Trump and other Republicans were running on taking away freedom and banning books.

However, the predominant theme President Biden continually emphasized in his speech was the battle to protect and preserve American Democracy. 

Among the President's remarks were:

“Today we are here 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. It is what the 2024 election is all about.”

 “Democracy is on the ballot…Without Democracy, nothing else is possible...If Democracy falls… we lose the power of freedom and to shape our destiny.”

"America is the only nation in the world built on an idea that all men and women are created equal…and they should be treated equally."

“Freedom, liberty, Democracy is still a sacred cause.”

"I’ll promote  “decency and honor, and the idea that everyone deserves a shot.”

“We still believe in the We the People.”

“That’s the America I see in our future.

“We get up. We carry on. We never bow. We never bend. We speak of possibilities – not carnage. We’re not weighed down by grievance. We don’t foster fear. We don’t walk around as victims. We take charge of our destiny.

“We get the job done – in America-to help people find their place in a changing world and dream and build the future we all deserve.

“None of you believe America is failing. We know America is winning. That’s American patriotism.”

“We all know who Donald Trump is. We have to answer who are we.”

Reacting to the Biden address, Arizona House Congressional District One Candidate Andrei Cherny commented:

"Let's be blunt. I'm running for Congress because Democracy is on the ballot in 2024 and our Congressional District is ground zero for fighting extremism. My family knows what it's like to have Democracy fall around you. When my parents fled to the United States to build a family, they left behind a country racked with extremism and corruption. Today, President Biden reminded us that defending Democracy is a sacred cause. My opponent, David Schweikert, voted to overturn the results of the 2020 election and roll back the clock for millions of Americans by fighting for a total ban on abortion. Come November, we will finally defeat David Schweikert and take back the House."

Earlier in the day, the Arizona Democratic Party Chairperson Yolanda Bejarano issued a statement on Donald Trump and the January 6 Insurrectionists attacks on Democracy, offering:

“Three years ago, Arizonans watched as Donald Trump and Arizona Republicans encouraged a violent mob to storm the United States Capitol and attack law enforcement in an attempt to remain in power. Trump’s continuous assaults on the foundations of our country drove our democracy to the brink of ruin on January 6, 2021, and he’s threatening to throw our nation into chaos once again. Arizonans value our democracy and our freedoms and we want them strengthened, not attacked which is why in November we will once again reject Republican extremism.”