Biden news – live: President says ‘fund the police’, ahead of televised primetime ‘soul of the nation’ speech
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President Joe Biden will deliver a prime-time speech on the “battle for the soul of the nation” this week ahead of the midterm elections later this year.
The White House says that Mr Biden will travel to Philadelphia on Thursday to give the speech at the city’s Independence National Historical Park.
An official told NBC News that the speech in the battleground state of Pennsylvania would focus on how America’s “rights and freedoms are still under attack”, echoing his message from his 2020 victory over Donald Trump.
Last week, in his sternest denunciation of Republicans to date, Mr Biden excoriated his predecessor’s core Maga philosophy as “semi-fascism” and declared that the extreme right are committed to “destroying America”.
His comparison of some Republicans to fascism drew the ire of GOP leaders who were quick to hit back at Mr Biden’s comment.
Thursday’s speech will be the president’s second visit to key battleground state of Pennsylvania this week. On Tuesday, he is speaking about his crime prevention plans and gun control legislation.
21:07 , Oliver O'Connell
“More children in America die from guns than active-duty police and active-duty military personnel combined. We have to act.”
The president gets emotional talking about his visit to Uvalde, Texas after a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers in a classroom, noting that some grieving families had to submit DNA in order to identify their children’s remains.
“Do you realise the bullet out of an AR-15 travels five times as rapidly as a bullet shot out of any other guns and can pierce Kevlar?” Mr Biden says. “Imagine being a parent just losing a child not being able to physically identify the child.”
“What the hell’s the matter with us?” he asks.
20:57 , Oliver O'Connell
Big applause for Biden when he delivers a line about beating the National Rifle Association:“We took them on and we beat them straight up. You have no idea how intimidating they are to elected officials.”
“I’m determined to ban assault weapons in this country — determined!” he adds. “I did it once before and I’ll do it again.”
20:54 , Oliver O'Connell
“You gotta know and be able to trust the police. The police have to be able to trust the community. But we slipped away from that. We have a hell of a lot fewer cops today than we did when I wrote that initial crime bill. But now we have to get back to it.”
20:50 , Oliver O'Connell
“I’m old enough to remember when cops used to walk the beat, in Wilmington and in Scranton, because they knew everybody. They knew if someone was in trouble, they knew whose house to go knock on the door, and say, ‘mom, your son just did.’ I’m not being facetious.”
20:50 , Oliver O'Connell
Biden, to cheers in Wilkes-Barre: “You know, I call it the Safer America Plan. And both of your members of Congress voted for it. It’s based on a simple notion — when it comes to public safety in this nation, the answer is not defund the police, it’s fund the police.”
Biden delivering remarks on Safer America Plan
20:47 , Oliver O'Connell
President Joe Biden is delivering remarks on the Safer America Plan in the small city of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
He spends time praising Pennsylvania lawmakers and notes the proximity of his hometown.
“We’re almost in heaven; we’re almost in Scranton, almost.”
Singling out Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, running for the Senate, he says: “I used to be, in the old days, a pretty good athlete. And if someone was really big and tough you’d say, ‘I wouldn’t screw with him if I had a sledgehammer’.”
The president adds: “I tell you what, Fetterman’s a hell of a guy. A powerful voice for working people. And he’s going to make a great United States senator.”
ICYMI: Biden likens Trump’s Maga movement to ‘semi-fascism’
20:30 , Oliver O'Connell
In his sternest denunciations of Republicans to date, Joe Biden has excoriated his predecessor Donald Trump’s core Maga philosophy as “semi-fascism” and declared that the extreme right are committed to “destroying America”.
Mr Biden made the remarks as he hit the midterm campaign trail in earnest for the first time, tearing into pro-Trump Republicans at a closed-door Democratic fundraiser and in a fiery speech in Maryland.
Shweta Sharma reports.
Joe Biden likens Trump’s Maga movement to ‘semi-fascism’
Why are Biden and Trump both going to this small Pennsylvania city?
20:09 , Oliver O'Connell
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden is travelling to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to discuss gun violence.
Then, on Saturday, former president Donald Trump will head to the same small town to hold a rally at the Mohegan Sun Arena to support Pennsylvania GOP Senate candidate Mehmet Oz and gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano.
On the surface, it might be surprising to see two presidents visit a city with less than 41,000 residents that is a two-hour drive from Philadelphia — Eric Garcia explains why that’s not the case.
Why are Joe Biden and Donald Trump both going to this small Pennsylvania City?
Is the Safer America Plan the 1994 Crime Bill reheated?
19:55 , Oliver O'Connell
It’s 1994 again in Washington.
Americans are once again worried about rising crime rates. Democrats are once again worried that Republican attacks about them being “soft on crime” will cost them at the polls. And a backslapping, centrist Delaware legislator named Joe Biden is once again leading the charge to hire 100,000 new police officers, just as he did with his signature 1994 crime bill.
In 2022, the president is asking Congress to fund the $37bn Safer America Plan, which includes nearly $13bn to put 100,000 more police officers on the street.
Josh Marcus and Alex Woodward take a look at President Biden’s latest crime prevention plan, the subject of today’s speech in Pennsylvania.
Why does Biden want to hire 100,000 more police officers?
Biden to give primetime speech on ‘soul of the nation’
19:45 , Oliver O'Connell
President Joe Biden will deliver a prime-time speech on the “battle for the soul of the nation” this week ahead of the midterm elections later this year.
The White House says that Mr Biden will travel to Philadelphia on Thursday to give the speech at the city’s Independence National Historical Park.
Graeme Massie reports.
Biden to give primetime speech on ‘soul of the nation’ in Philadelphia
