Biden evokes McCain’s memory as he warns of Trump’s threat to democracy

TEMPE, Ariz. — President Joe Biden on Thursday declared that America must overcome new tests to its democracy, delivering his clearest warnings yet about what he believes is at stake in his coming reelection campaign against the likely Republican nominee, Donald Trump.

Biden selected Arizona — a state where the former president attempted to challenge the 2020 election results and considered a major battleground again next year — as the setting for his fourth major speech on protecting democracy. It is also home to the late Sen. John McCain, who Biden has pointed to as an example of what the Republican Party used to stand for before Trump was elected.

Biden centered his speech around McCain’s legacy to make the case that preserving American institutions should not be a partisan issue. The president is fond of saying that McCain, a vocal Trump critic who died in 2018, would put patriotism before party — and he expressed concern that too many members of the senator’s Republican Party would instead pledge their loyalty to Trump over the Constitution.

“For John, it was country first,” said Biden. “All of us are being asked right now what we will do to maintain our democracy? We will put a partnership aside and put country first? I say we must. And we will.”

Hitting on familiar themes and recalling the legacy of his late friend, Biden stressed that the nation should “not walk away from the sacrifices generations of Americans have made to defend our democracy.”

“We have to stand up for America’s values embodied in our Declaration of Independence because we know MAGA extremists have already proven they won’t,” Biden said. “We have to stand up for our Constitution and the institutions of democracy because MAGA extremists have made clear they won’t.”

That was one factor that pushed Biden to deliver another speech on the need to protect the nation’s democracy. The topic has also featured prominently in his remarks at recent closed-door fundraisers, including several in the past week in California and New York. In those more relaxed, off-camera settings, Biden has warned that “democracy is on the ballot” and has taken a series of his most direct swipes at Trump yet.

He did the same in Arizona. He invoked Trump’s name only once but spent the bulk of his speech clearly outlining the danger the former president poses.

“There is something dangerous happening in America,” Biden said. “There is an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs of our democracy. The MAGA Movement.”

Biden rattled over the warning signs: the erosion of trust of democratic institutions; election denialism, the banning of books. He then warned against the GOP frontrunner’s stated agenda for a second term, which includes an expansion of presidential power, the destruction of the federal bureaucracy and Trump’s declaration that he would be his followers’ “retribution.” Biden also called out Trump’s recent declarations that Gen. Mark Milley, the outgoing chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, should be tried for treason.

Biden’s comments come a day after the second Republican primary debate, during which candidates took a handful of swipes at Trump — who skipped the event altogether — but seemed to fail to make a meaningful dent in his clear path to the nomination. As the general election comes into clearer focus, Biden aides are betting that homing in on democracy will buoy the president’s campaign, especially after a spasm of political violence and threats to election integrity have shocked the American system in recent years.

Biden’s comments come a day after the second Republican primary debate, during which candidates took a handful of swipes at Trump — who skipped the event altogether — but seemed to fail to make a meaningful dent in his clear path to the nomination. As the general election comes into clearer focus, Biden aides are betting that homing in on democracy will buoy the president’s campaign, especially after a spasm of political violence and threats to election integrity have shocked the American system in recent years.

Those close to Biden believe that the issue, along with abortion rights, helped propel Democrats to a far stronger than expected showing during the 2022 midterm elections. Biden has both publicly and privately noted that pundits were wrong in suggesting his closing argument last November should have been about the economy rather than the dangers of political extremism, according to three people close to the president granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss those conversations.

The Biden team had thought the danger posed by Trump would fade over time, or that attacks from Republican primary candidates would drag him down. Instead, Trump has continued to dominate the Republican field even as criminal indictments against him have mounted.

That was one factor that pushed Biden to deliver another speech on the need to protect the nation’s democracy. The topic has also featured prominently in his remarks at recent closed-door fundraisers, including several in the past week in California and New York. In those more relaxed, off-camera settings, Biden has warned that “democracy is on the ballot” and has taken a series of his most direct swipes at Trump yet.

“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans are determined to destroy American democracy because they want to break down institutional structures,” Biden said Tuesday at a San Francisco fundraiser. “Political violence in America is never, never, never, never acceptable.”

In the coming months, Biden intends to adhere to his plan not to directly address Trump’s legal issues for fear of being seen as influencing the process. Instead, he and his staff believe a series of warnings by the president about the ongoing threats to the nation’s foundation will help drive home the point. On Thursday, Biden said he was moved to speak out again because of “fears about the diminishment of our democracy.”

“We should all remember: democracies don't have to die at the end of a rifle,” he said. “They can die when people are silent, when they fail to stand up and condemn threats to democracy.”

Aides originally thought about delivering this speech at another American historical landmark — George Washington’s former military base at Valley Forge, Pa., was considered — but ultimately decided to use the moment to also honor McCain. Biden was introduced by McCain’s widow, Cindy McCain, who heads the U.N. World Food Program and said the president and first lady Jill Biden introduced her to her late husband.

Biden — who at one point was briefly interrupted by a protester — also announced funding from the American Rescue Plan to construct the McCain Library in conjunction with Arizona State University. Earlier this month while visiting Hanoi, Biden was joined by old friends in paying tribute to McCain and he later told associates it was one of the most moving moments of his presidency, according to one of the people close to the president.

“I thought about how America missed John right now, that America needs John right now,” Biden said.