President Joe Biden will mark third anniversary with political speech as former President Donald Trump continues to hold campaign rallies.
Former President Donald Trump will spend Saturday's third anniversary of the Capitol riot by holding two campaign rallies in leadoff-voting Iowa in his bid to win back the White House as reported by the Associated Press. To pay heed to the moment, President Joe Biden intends to visit a site near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on Friday where George Washington and the struggling Continental Army endured a tough winter during the American Revolution, said the outlet.
Biden campaign aides have explicitly indicated that they consider the Valley Forge address as part of their new strategy to highlight the existential threat they believe Trump poses. Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez revealed to The Hill in a media call, "We are running a campaign like the fate of our democracy depends on it. Because it does."
The Hill also said that in recent months, former President Trump has referred to political opponents as "vermin," mused about using the justice system to impede future rivals, and told supporters he will be their "retribution."
Thousands of Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to stop the official certification of the Republican president's election defeat, resulting in millions of dollars in damage. Reuters reported four people died in the attack, and one Capitol Police Officer who fought against the rioters succumbed to his injuries the following day. Four officers have since taken their own lives and 120 others were injured.
Trump has been impeached by Congress and faces federal charges for his extensive attempts to overturn the 2020 election and has been kicked off ballots in Colorado and Maine due to his role in inciting the Capitol attack. Lawyers for Trump have argued his involvement in the insurrection and continue to dispute his remarks to supporters on the day of the 2021 riot saying they were protected by his constitutional right to free speech.
Reuters went on to reveal Trump's campaign advisers, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles released a memo on Tuesday outlining their view of the presidential race. They blamed Biden for legal indictments of Trump and for judicial decisions to declare Trump ineligible for the ballot.
"Please make no mistake: Joe Biden and his allies are a real and compelling threat to our Democracy," they wrote. "In fact, in a way never seen before in our history, they are waging a war against it."
However, views overall of the attack have hardened along partisan lines.
According to the latest Reuters poll, Trump holds a 2-point lead in a head-to-head matchup, 38% to 36%, with 26% of respondents saying they were unsure or might vote for someone else. The poll also showed that Trump is currently the frontrunner for the Republican nomination by a wide margin.
Biden's campaign also announced an advertising push set to debut Saturday with a spot centering on the Capitol attack. His re-election campaign plans to run the 60-second ads on national television news and local evening news across the nation.
Daniel Ziblatt, a government professor at Harvard University and co-author of the book "How Democracies Die," remarked, "When each side starts talking about the other as a threat to democracy - whatever the reality is - that's a sign of a democracy that's deconsolidating."
