Former Vice President Joe Biden blasted President Trump on Tuesday for his recent efforts to silence nationwide anti-racism protests with the use of tear gas, flash grenades and military muscle — a move aimed, in part, at dominating peaceful demonstration, but mostly to boost Trump politically.
“When peaceful protesters are dispersed by the order of the President from the doorstep of the people’s house, the White House — using tear gas and flash grenades — in order to stage a photo op at a noble church, we can be forgiven for believing that the President is more interested in power than in principle,” Biden said.
The Democratic presidential candidate condemned both the sweeping away of “guardrails” that have long protected democracy and President Trump’s intensifying use of force on demonstrators in remarks delivered at Philadelphia City Hall.
Trump "might also want to open the US Constitution once in a while. If he did, he'd find a thing called the First Amendment… the right of the people peaceably to assemble," Joe Biden says. "That's America… not using the American military to move against the American people." pic.twitter.com/UsPRWXc510
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) June 2, 2020
Ripping on the President for sowing deeper division, Biden said the country is “crying out” for better leadership.
“Leadership that can unite us, leadership that brings us together,” Biden said. “Leadership that can recognize pain and deep grief of communities that have had a knee on their neck for a long time.”
The Trump-Pence campaign hurriedly took to Twitter to criticize Biden for reports that members of his campaign staff were making contributions to bailout funds for protesters. The move capitalizes on recent racial inequality demonstrations to erect a new narrative about the President: a restorer of “law and order” amid “rioters” and “mayhem.” But Trump’s aggressive military tactics to silence peaceful protesters did not sit well with some Republicans, like Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), who occasionally mildly breaks with Trump.
.@BenSasse: “I’m against clearing out a peaceful protest for a photo op that treats the Word of God as a political prop.” pic.twitter.com/Rd2VfORphi
— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) June 2, 2020
