ATLANTA —President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump They warned of the dire consequences for the country if their opponent wins another term in the White House, while both held rallies in Georgia on Saturday shortly after scoring big wins in Super Tuesday contests that positioned them for an almost certain rematch in November.
Biden traveled to Atlanta to mobilize the African-American and Hispanic electorate. His advanced age and the immigration crisis since he arrived at the White House are two recurring themes in his battle ahead of the November presidential elections.
Once again he directly attacked his Republican predecessor, who had said he could be dictator “for a day.”
“When he says he wants to be a dictator, I believe him,” Biden said at a rally, praising what he considers the “good economic health” of the United States, despite the fact that at home people do not live off the successes to which Biden relies. refers. He promised to act on spending on housing, health care, and higher education.
“Illegal”
Before his rally, Biden expressed regret for using the term “illegal” during his State of the Union address to describe the suspect in Riley’s murder, prompting criticism from Trump’s team. The latter, who took the stage when Biden was still speaking in another part of the state, criticized the president for the apology and asked “Are we driving them crazy?”
“I should not have talked about an ‘illegal’ immigrant, he is ‘undocumented,'” said Biden, criticized by the far-left wing of his party and associations for his choice of words.
For his part, Trump criticized Biden for the border issue and blamed him for the death that occurred last month of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student originally from Georgia. A Venezuelan immigrant who entered the United States without authorization has been arrested and charged with her murder. The former president received Riley’s family at his rally in Greene’s hometown of Rome.
“Laken Riley would be alive today if Joe Biden had not willfully and stealthily destroyed the borders,” the former president said.
He criticized his rival for apologizing to the alleged killer, adding: “Biden should apologize for apologizing to this killer.”
“I said I was an illegal alien. He was an illegal immigrant. He was an illegal migrant. And he should not have been in our country and he never would have been under Trump’s policy,” he said to cheers.
Trump also began mocking Biden’s stutter and his competitor’s physical and mental state.
Trump’s rally began with a message asking attendees to stand in support of the hundreds of people jailed for their role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol, when hundreds of Trump supporters tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election by stopping the counting of Electoral College votes.
The intensity of the rhetoric portends a grueling campaign over the next eight months in that state.
“We are truly a swing state right now,” said Rep. Nikema Williams, an Atlanta Democrat who also serves as the party’s state chair.
The bell
Biden’s campaign launched a television ad on Saturday in which the president talks about his age, a major concern among voters.
“I’m not very young, that’s no secret. But I do know how to get results for Americans,” says the 81-year-old Democrat.
Trump’s team immediately responded with a video message that begins with that phrase from Biden and continues with images of the American president falling.
Surrounded by legal proceedings, the 77-year-old tycoon is accused, among other things, of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 elections in Georgia. Biden led him by less than 12,000 votes.
The American electoral system works in such a way that what counts is not the majority of votes at the national level, but in each state.
In 2020, Biden defeated Trump in most of the swing states, those that are usually in each election between Democrats and Republicans.
That year, the Democratic president narrowly won and Georgia could be decisive again in the 2024 elections.
For the November election, polls have Trump first in most of these key states.
Source: With information from AFP and AP
