President Biden’s Philadelphia address
He delivered remarks on what he calls the “continued battle for the soul of the nation” in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia on Sept, 1. 2022.
President Biden speaks at Independence Hall in Philadelphia on September 1, 2022. White House photo.
Standing in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, President Joe Biden gave a fiery prime time address to the nation where he warned of an existential threat to democracy from former president Donald Trump and his allies.
Biden came to Philadelphia, the birthplace of the nation, to give remarks on what he calls the “continued battle for the soul of the nation.”
Using the acronym for Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan, Biden said ‘MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution, they do not believe in the rule of law, they do not recognize the will of the people.”
He came to deliver an urgent warning to Americans about the dangers to democracy in front of Independence Hall, where both the United States Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution were debated and adopted by America's Founding Fathers.
This is a message that many don’t want to hear or choose to ignore.
“As Biden warned about democracy’s collapse, TV networks aired reruns,” was the headline of a story in the Washington Post.
“While broadcasters typically air a prime-time address by the president, they determined that this speech was more ‘political’ than newsworthy for live coverage
The three major broadcast networks stuck with their usual 8 p.m. Eastern time programming.
While Biden was warning of threats to democracy, ABC was airing a game show, “Press Your Luck.” NBC aired a rerun of “Law and Order.” And CBS showed a rerun of “Young Sheldon.”
Biden’s speech was carried live on CNN and MSNBC, but it was not aired on the conservative Fox News, the most-watched of the cable-news channels.
The networks reportedly deemed Biden’s remarks as “political” in nature and therefore decided not to televise it.
Biden did make brief political remarks about recent legislative victories and reference to the recent Supreme Court decision banning the federal right to an abortion.
These remarks were ill-timed and were better suited for a campaign rally.
Still the networks’ rejection of Biden’s speech was unfortunate.
The vast majority of Biden’s speech fit the requirement for when networks typically broadcast a primetime speech from a sitting president.
There is little doubt that Biden’s address to the nation was also rejected because some news executives were also sensitive to the speech’s criticism of Trump — who may run in the Republican presidential primaries in 2024 — and its timing two months before the midterm elections.
In the address, Biden argued that Trump and his supporters “represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.”
“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards, backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.”, Biden argued.
He also referenced the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, saying, “We can’t be pro-insurrectionist and pro-American. They’re incompatible.”
These are brave words considering that more than 74 million people voted for Trump in 2020.
Biden campaigned on unifying the nation. He tried for months to not even mention Trump’s name.
But we can no longer afford such illusions. Trump and his allies will not go quietly away because others choose to ignore them. This summer, Trump loyalists and extremists dominated Republican primaries.
Last month, conservatives invited far-right Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to speak at their annual Conservative Political Action Conference, known as CPAC in Dallas and to appear alongside Trump.
Orban has extolled the value of racial purity. He is widely criticized around the world for systematically dismantling his country’s once developing democracy during his 12 years in power.
But he is admired by many on the right, whom Biden called semi-fascists.
America led the fight to defeat the fascists regimes of Germany, Italy and Japan during World War II.
Today’s “semi-fascists” also embrace authoritarianism, ultra nationalism, a dictatorial leader and forcible suppression of opposition.
There has been an insurrection to stop the certification of a presidential election, laws passed by Republican-dominated state legislatures to restrict voting, increasing acts of domestic violence, threats to judges, election officials and FBI agents and a veiled threat by a U.S. senator of “riots in the streets” if Trump is indicted for mishandling classified documents.
The country is at a crossroad.
Will this multiracial democracy move forward toward more justice and equality in pursuit of a more perfect union, or descend to an authoritarian state?
Biden came to Philadelphia to warn the nation that there are some Americans who only believe in democracy if their side wins elections and if only their rights are respected. These extremists are willing to use deception and political violence to achieve their goals.
We should heed the warning and act accordingly.
This is a time for courageous leadership from those in politics, business, media, education and faith-based institutions. Silence is acquiescence.
This is a time for Americans to vote as if democracy is on the ballot, because it is.
Irv Randolph is the managing editor of the Philadelphia Tribune, the nation’s oldest continuously published African American newspaper in the nation and co-founder of The Randolph Report, a newsletter on politics, culture and career and professional news relevant to Black Americans.