Faced with fear, hope. Facing racial resentments, self-criticism. Faced with stark incitements to division, the promise of national reconciliation. The Democratic candidate for White House, Joe Biden, he responded thus, with a message full of optimism among uncomfortable admissions about the history of the country, to the catastrophic and nationalist speeches made this weekend by the president Donald Trump.
“Our country was founded on an idea,” the equality of all human beings, but “it never lived up to it,” says Biden in a video message for the Fourth of July party. “Thomas Jefferson it wasn’t. He had slaves, women were excluded … But once proposed, it was an idea that could not be stopped, “says the Democrat, among images of the fight for civil rights and allusions to the Civil War, the era of segregation racial and the death of George Floyd.
“Despite everything, these words have corroded our conscience and brought us to justice. The story of U.S It is not a fairy tale. It has been a continuous push and pull between two traits of our character, the idea that all men are equal and the racism that has divided us, “said Biden in this strange July 4, which Trump has used to carry out campaign acts. under the guise of official acts in the bush Rushmore and the White House.
“We have an opportunity to root out the roots of systemic racism in this country. We have the opportunity to live up to the words that founded this nation “, encourages Biden, assuming an expression, that of structural racism, which is at the foot of the street, but which bothers many Republicans, and in particular Donald Trump .
“US history is not a fairy tale,” says Democratic candidate for the White House.
His message marks a subtle turn in his way of referring to the country’s past that can help him connect better with the collective examination of conscience that is taking place. In his first months as a candidate, the former vice president cultivated the idea that after four years of Trump in the White House, it was necessary to “restore the soul of the nation,” simply rewind, without making major changes, without revolutions such as those proposed Bernie Sanders The Elizabeth Warren. He nostalgic tone of his speech It distanced him from many voters, especially young people, who believe that it is time to tackle the root of the country’s problems.
So the coronavirus was still a distant threat that had not exposed the public health risks of its US health system or the president’s inability to manage a pandemic. So George Floyd was still alive. At the Capitol of Mississippi a flag still waved with symbols of the ancient Confederacy and the statue of its president,
Jefferson Davis, dominated Richmond’s main boulevard. Back then there were not thousands of people protesting in the streets against racism and police violence.
Biden’s last speech assumes and embraces that new social context. “Now we have the opportunity to give l
marginalized, demonized, isolated and oppressed its full part of the American dream. An opportunity to end the roots of systemic racism in this country, to live up to the words on which this nation was founded, “says Biden in an optimistic, optimistic tone, which contrasts with the tremendousness of Trump’s speech in Rushmore, where he presented the “new extreme left fascism” and not the pandemic as the greatest threat hanging over the United States today.
Former Obama number two, who will be confirmed as an official candidate of the Democratic Party in August, he has embraced the main cause of the protesters, but has distanced himself from his more radical claims and actions, such as proposals to dismantle the police or the demolition of statues of George Washington, in line with the general sentiment of most Americans. Despite the changes that the country is experiencing, the president has clung to the immaculate image of the founding fathers and presents those who criticize them as “radicals”. With the coronavirus pandemic out of control and the economic recovery in the air, statues are not, however, the issue that most worries voters.
Biden’s speech marks a subtle twist to connect with the US self-examination.
Because of his background, which all Americans know well, the Trump campaign has a hard time convincing them that Biden is a member of the new “far-left cultural movement” or the antifa But he does not miss an opportunity to present him as a senile and manipulable person, a puppet in the hands of the most radical factions of the party, whom he identifies as responsible for the looting scenes recorded in many cities in the heat of the protests, anti-patriots who they want to “erase history” with “a web of lies” and “finish with America
”.
The minor participation in presidential elections historically benefits conservatives, and the goal of Republican strategists is not so much to attract new supporters for the president as to discourage potential Biden voters, especially collectives like voters over 65 and women with University training, who have deserted the Republican field in recent weeks.
Although in a press box also published last weekend, Biden did attack his rival directly and accused him of trying to “dismantle democracy”, in his video message for the national holiday he did not mention it at any time. It is also a twist on the start of his campaign, when he did not hesitate to respond to his insults and challenges. His strategy –in light of the polls, where he is ahead by an average of nine points, which is currently successful– goes through let Trump burn himself.
Will Trump get reelected after his tenure at Covid and the racial protests?
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