Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called for all Americans to unite, casting the country as “a house divided” in a final message to voters with just four weeks to go until Election Day.
Speaking from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Mr. Biden spoke for 22 minutes as he highlighted the high-stakes of the November election, framing the country as a house divided while looking back at the historical aspects the country overcame.
“As I look across America today, I’m concerned,” he said. “The country is in a dangerous place. Our trust in each other is ebbing. Hope is elusive. Too many Americans see our public life not as an arena for the mediation of our differences. Rather, they see it as an occasion for total, unrelenting partisan warfare. Instead of treating the other party as the opposition, we treat them as the enemy. This must end.”
The former Vice President never mentioned President Donald Trump by name but it became very clear who he was talking about. The Democratic nominee said the country is in “a battle for the soul of the nation”, a central theme of his candidacy.
“You don’t have to agree with me on everything, or even on most things,” Biden said. “To see that what we’re experiencing today is neither good nor normal.”
The remarks come as Mr. Biden leads the President by nine pointsnationally with 28 days to go until Election Day and leads in several battleground states.
The remarks are a stark contrast to Mr. Trump, who used his Republican National Convention speech to paint a dark picture of America if Mr. Biden won the election but did little to mention the coronavirus pandemic.
“Too many Americans seek not to overcome our divisions, but to deepen them,” Biden said. “We must seek not to build walls, but bridges. We must seek not to have our fists clinched but our arms open. We have to seek not to tear each other apart. We have to seek to come together.”
In his speech, Mr. Biden hit the key points that America is dealing with at the moment, including the pandemic, racial injustice, economic crises, and health care. The message came as Mr. Trump ended talks on a stimulus bill with millions of Americans still struggling with the financial fallout of the pandemic.
“This pandemic is not a red-state or blue-state issue,” Biden said. “The virus doesn’t care where you live, what political party you belong to. It affects us all. It will take anyone’s life. It’s a virus — it’s not a political weapon.”