President Biden on Friday delivered a ferocious condemnation of Donald J. Trump, his likely 2024 opponent, warning in searing language that the former president had directed an insurrection and would aim to undo the nation’s bedrock democracy if he returned to power.

On the eve of the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Mr. Trump’s supporters, Mr. Biden framed the coming election as a choice between a candidate devoted to upholding America’s centuries-old ideals and a chaos agent willing to discard them for his personal benefit.

“There’s no confusion about who Trump is or what he intends to do,” Mr. Biden warned in a speech at a community college not far from Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, where George Washington commanded troops during the Revolutionary War. Exhorting supporters to prepare to vote this fall, he said: “We all know who Donald Trump is. The question is: Who are we?”

In an intensely personal address that at one point nearly led Mr. Biden to curse Mr. Trump by name, the president compared his rival to foreign autocrats who rule by fiat and lies. He said Mr. Trump had failed the basic test of American leaders, to trust the people to choose their elected officials and abide by their decisions.

“We must be clear,” Mr. Biden said. “Democracy is on the ballot. Your freedom is on the ballot.”

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  • Tinidril@midwest.social
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    10 months ago

    I know how we could short circuit the “both sides” arguments. Let’s reform the Democratic primary process into something actually democratic.

    • Everyone gets to vote on the same day.

    • Replace “first past the post” with any of the more functional systems for all elected offices.

    • Let a neutral organization manage debates as an open and consistent process.

    The Democratic party has total control over their primary process. Presenting themselves as the “defenders of democracy” while continuing to subvert democracy is a losing strategy, and no amount of complaining about “both sides” arguments will change that.

    • FlowVoid@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Everyone gets to vote on the same day.

      You realize this would give a huge boost to the “establishment” candidate, right? Primaries are staggered to give lesser known candidates a chance to build up momentum.

      Replace “first past the post”

      The primary isn’t FPTP. For example, in the 2020 NH primary both Sanders and Buttigieg won 9 delegates, and Klobuchar won 6.

      • JJROKCZ@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Sounds like removal or remote/mail in voting which is a bad idea. We do need to make voting day a federal required off day so everyone can actually go do it, making that happen wouldn’t eliminate the need for mail in votes though

        • SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world
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          10 months ago

          Personally I think the polls should be open for a week just to make sure everyone has a chance to go.

          Keep mail in of course for the people who can’t or don’t want to make it in.

          • JJROKCZ@lemmy.world
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            10 months ago

            We have to have mail in for those that live super remote and our soldiers stationed abroad.

            I agree a week of voting, nov1-7 would solve a lot of issue, make it a federal requirement that business have to provide at least one of those days off

      • Tinidril@midwest.social
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        10 months ago

        What exactly do you think populism is? Are you aware that you are specifically promoting oligarchy?