Joe Biden believes it is “time to ban” the AR-15 rifle, the model used in the assassination attempt on Donald Trump on Saturday. After the event, which was seen by several political analysts as a setback for his campaign, the US President used the issue of the impact of gun violence on US communities to divert attention from the Republican story.
Speaking at his first public event since apologizing for his remarks about targeting Trump, the US leader said: “An AR-15 was used in the shooting of Donald Trump. This is the weapon that has killed so many people, including children. It is time to ban them.” Biden then went on to say, referring to his role in passing the 1994 ban on such weapons (which expired 10 years later): “I did it once, and I will do it again.”
At the NAACP convention (a US organization committed to alleviating social inequalities suffered by African-Americans), the White House candidate introduced himself: “My name is Joe Biden, and I am a life member of the NAACP.” He then tried to belittle the efforts of his Democratic colleagues to find a more popular candidate, alluding to the phrase credited to former President Harry Truman: “If you want a friend in Washington, buy a dog.”
“After the last few weeks, I know what he means,” Biden joked. He then went back to the drawing board, criticizing Trump for his “black jobs” comment. (Trump said during their first debate that illegal immigrants are “taking black jobs now.”)
“Of course he’s thinking about black jobs,” Biden told the crowd at the convention of the NAACP, the civil rights group in the United States. “I love his phrase: Black jobs. It says a lot about the man and his character. I know what a black job is. He’s a vice president of the United States. I know what a black job is. The first black president… Barack Obama.” It was then that the crowd there began chanting “four more years.”
Joe Biden also wants to restore the constitutional right to abortion. “And guess what, no matter what happens, we will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land,” he declared. In the middle of the NAACP convention, the US President assured the audience that a second term for Donald Trump would “dissolve everything” they stand for.
According to Biden, throughout his career he has been concerned “about the working people of this country,” in contrast to his predecessor. “They’re going to undo everything, undo everything the NAACP stands for.”
At the end of his speech, the US head of state defended himself, assuring that he has the capacity to continue serving as president, despite growing concerns among Democrats about his advanced age.
“I hope that with age I have shown some wisdom. Here is what I know: I can tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to do this work, and I know that the good Lord did not bring us this far to leave us now that there is more work to do.”
Source: expresso.pt
