President Joe Biden branded his Republican predecessor Donald Trump’s followers on Wednesday an “extreme” group in a sharp rhetorical escalation ahead of crucial elections.
Speaking to reporters about the Supreme Court’s potential scrapping of nationwide abortion rights, Biden warned that Trump’s Make America Great Again or MAGA movement poses a danger to US values in the runup to November midterm elections.
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“What are the next things that are going to be attacked? Because this MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that’s existed in American history, in recent American history,” he said.
Biden also described Republican economic policies as “extreme, as most MAGA things are.”
The Democrat painted Republican plans as favoring the wealthy, in contrast to what he said was his working-class agenda — a theme likely to be pushed heavily on the campaign trail ahead of the midterms, which will decide control of Congress.
Biden, who defeated Trump in 2020, began his presidency largely trying to avoid mentioning Trump. But Trump, who in an unprecedented assault on modern US democracy continues to state the lie that he won the election, is still a strong force.
The real estate entrepreneur and former reality TV performer is showing his continued electoral power in backing winning candidates in Republican primary contests ahead of the midterms. He has also repeatedly indicated that he is likely to seek the presidency again in 2024, setting up a possible rematch with Biden.
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