By Larry Bodine, LD18 Democrats Chair
President Joe Biden warned that Trump and his MAGA lackeys are a dire threat to American Democracy. “There’s something dangerous happening in America now. There’s an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs of our democracy. The MAGA movement. It’s an extremist ideology,” Biden said.
The White House invited me to hear President Biden’s remarks at the Tempe, AZ, Center for the Arts on September 28, 2023. The President addressed 500+ Republicans and Democrats at the dedication of the new John McCain National Library at ASU.
Biden attacked the extreme MAGA movement for whitewashing the January 6 insurrection, attempting to seize and abuse power, spewing conspiracy theories, spreading lies for profit and power, and inciting violence. “This MAGA movement is a threat to the brick and mortar of our democratic institutions,” Biden said.
“And although I don’t believe even the majority of Republicans think that, the silence is deafening. The silence is deafening,” he said.
“The defeated former president refused to pay respects at an American cemetery near Paris. He called servicemen suckers and losers. I’m not making this up. I know we all try not to remember it. That’s what he said.
It’s up to us
He called the audience to take action. “Democracies don’t have to die at the end of a rifle. They can die when people are silent, when they fail to stand up or condemn or threaten democracy. When people are willing to give away that which is most precious to them, because they feel frustrated, disillusioned, tired, and alienated.”
“It’s up to us, the American people. In my view, the more people vote, the more engaged the whole nation becomes, the stronger democracy will be. So, the answer to the threats we face is engagement. It’s not to sit on the sidelines. It’s to build coalitions and community. To remind ourselves, a clear majority of us believe in our democracy and are ready to protect it,” he said.
If you want to save democracy, get active in the Democratic Party today:
- Join me to become a volunteer or precinct committee person with the Legislative District 18 Democrats.
- Contact the Pima Democratic Party, which works to elect Democratic candidates in Pima County.
Transcript highlights of remarks by President Joe Biden, September 28, 2023, Tempe, Arizona.
Today, let’s be clear. Democracy is still at risk. This is not hyperbole. It’s a simple truth. A simple truth. I’ve spoken about the danger of election denialism and political violence. And the battle for the soul of America today in America to honor an institution devoted to the defense of democracy named and honored a true patriot. I’m here to speak about another threat to our democracy we often ignore: the threat to our political institution and our constitution itself.
I’ve come to honor the McCain Institute and the Library because they are the home of a proud Republican who put his country first.
Our commitment should be no less, because democracy should unite all Americans, regardless of political affiliation. And there’s something dangerous happening in America now. There’s an extremist movement that does not share the basic beliefs of our democracy. The MAGA movement. Not every Republican, not even a majority of Republicans adheres to the MAGA. It’s an extremist ideology.
I know because I’ve been able to work with Republicans my whole career. But there’s no question that today’s Republican party is driven and intimidated by MAGA Republican extremists. Their extreme agenda has been carried out against fundamentally all of the institutions of American democracy as we know it. My friends, they’re not hiding their attacks.
They’re openly promoting them and attacking the free press as the enemy of the people. Attacking the rule of law as an impediment. Promoting voter suppression. And election subversion. Did you ever think we’d be having debates in your state, in your careers, where banning books from burying history?
Extremists in Congress were determined to shut down the government to burn the place down and then let the people’s business be done.
Our US military, and this is not hyperbole, is the strongest military in the history of the world. It’s being accused of being weak and woke by the opposition. One guy in Alabama [Sen. Tommy Tuberville] is holding up the promotion of hundreds of these officers.
Frankly, these extremists have no idea what the hell they’re talking about. I’m serious. They’re pushing a notion that the defeated former president expressed when he was in office who believes it applies only to him.
This is a dangerous notion. This president is above the law, no limits on power. Trump says the Constitution gave him, quote, the right to do whatever he wants as president, end of quote.
What’s that they intend to do? Once they erode the constitutional order of checks and balances and separation of powers? Limit the independence of federal agencies? Put them under the thumb of a president? Give the president the power to refuse to spend money that Congress has appropriated? Get rid of long-standing protections for civil service?
Remember what he did, when he was leaving office, he imposed a new thing, the civil service. But then he imposed a new schedule. Schedule F, it was called. These civil servants had to pledge loyalty to the President, not the Constitution. They did not require any protections for the press to be able to wholesale fire them, because they had no civil service protection. One of the first things I got rid of when I became president. Just consider these as actual quotes from the MAGA movement: I am your retribution. Slitting the throats of civil servants, replacing them with extreme political cronies.
I’ve never heard a president say that in jest, not guided by the Constitution or by common service and decency toward our fellow Americans, but by vengeance and vindictiveness. You see the headlines. Quote: sweeping expansion of presidential power. The goal, to quote, “alter the balance of power by increasing the president’s authority over every part of the federal government.”
MAGA extremists proclaim support for law enforcement only to say we, quote, we must destroy the FBI. It’s not one person. It’s a controlling element of the House Republican Party. Whitewash the attacks of January 6th by calling the spearing and stomping of police, quote, a legitimate political discourse?
Do you ever think you’d hear leaders of political parties in the United States of America speak like that? Seizing power. Concentrating power. Attempting to abuse power. Purging and packing key institutions. Spewing conspiracy theories. Spreading lies for profit and power. To divide America in every way, inciting violence against those who risk their lives to keep America safe.
Weaponizing against the very soul of who we are as Americans. This MAGA threat is a threat to the brick and mortar of our democratic institutions. None of this is surprising now.
They’ve tried to cover it that way before. Thank God they failed. But they haven’t given up. Just look at recent days. [Trump’s] accusations of treason, treason, against a major news network because they don’t like its coverage.
Tomorrow, I have the honor of overseeing the change of responsibilities of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from one genuine hero and patriot, General Mark Milley, to another, General C. Q. Brown. Both defining leaders of our time. And yet, here is what you hear from MAGA extremists [Rep. Paul Gosar] about the retiring patriot General honoring his oath to the Constitution, quote, he’s a traitor”. In times gone by, the punishment, quote, in times gone by, the punishment would have been death.”
And although I don’t believe even the majority of Republicans think that, the silence is deafening. The silence is deafening. Hardly any Republican called out such heinous statements. You watch one MAGA senator [Sen. Tommy Tuberville] outrage, they said blocking the promotions of hundreds of top military leaders, affecting not only those leaders, but their families, their children.
Many extremists claim support of our troops, but the harming military readiness, leadership, troop morale, freezing pay, freezing military families in the limbo, just say look the other way.
When the defeated former president refused to pay respects at an American cemetery near Paris. You find an American serviceman buried there, as suckers and losers. I’m not making this up. I know we all try not to remember it. That’s what he said. He called servicemen suckers and losers.
Is John [McCain] a sucker? Was my son Beau, who lived next to a burn pit for a year, came home and died? Was he a sucker for volunteering in a service country? The same guy who denigrates the eras of John McCain. It’s not only wrong, it’s un-American. But it never changes. The MAGA of extremists across the country have made it clear where they stand.
So the challenge for the rest of America, for the majority of Americans, is to make clear where we stand. Do we still believe in the Constitution? Do we believe in basic decency and respect? The whole country should honestly ask itself, and this sincerely, what it wants in understanding the threats to our democracy.
I believe very strongly that the defining feature of our democracy is our Constitution. I believe in the separation of powers and checks and balances, that debate and disagreement do not lead to disunion. I believe in free and fair elections and a peaceful transfer of power. I believe there’s no place in America none for political violence.
We have to denounce hate, not embolden it.
People, that’s not hyperbole again, which is why I’m asking you to, regardless of whether you’re a Democrat, Republican, or independent. Put the preservation of our democracy before everything else, and put our country first over the past few years, we can and should be proud of American democracy, proud of what we’ve been able to hold on to.
We can’t take democracy for granted. Remember when you were in high school and college and you took political science? So, every generation has to protect democracy. I used to think that was just a saying, but here I am as president of the United States of America, making this speech about my fear of the diminishment of democracy, folks, every generation has to be vigilant.
I thought you could defeat hate. You can’t defeat it. Just bury it. When someone comes along and lifts up the rock and breathes a little oxygen in there, it comes roaring back. It comes roaring back.
We should all remember that democracies don’t have to die at the end of a rifle. They can die when people are silent, when they fail to stand up or condemn or threaten democracy. When people are willing to give away that which is most precious to them, because they feel frustrated, disillusioned, tired, and alienated.
If democracy survives and thrives, it will not be smashed by a movement more interested in power than in principle.
It’s up to us, the American people. In my view, the more people vote, the more engaged the whole nation becomes, the stronger democracy will be. So, the answer to the threats we face is engagement. It’s not to sit on the sidelines. It’s to build coalitions and community. To remind ourselves, a clear majority of us believe in our democracy and are ready to protect it.
We’re at an inflection point in our history. The decisions made in the short period of time we’re in now are going to determine the course of this country and the world for the next six or seven decades.
History’s watching. The world is watching. Most important, our children and grandchildren will hold us responsible. So, let me close with this. In three years, we’ll commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. A moment not only about our past, celebrating all we’ve done, but a moment about the future.
Now’s our time to continue to choose and secure a sacred cause of American democracy. I know we can meet this moment. John [McCain] knew we could meet this moment. He believed that so many patriots before him knew the character, destiny, and our own lives.
So, let’s never quit. Let’s never hide from history. Let’s make history. If we do that, we’ll have done our duty to our country and to each other. Future generations will say, we kept the faith.
We just need to remember who we are. We are the United States of America. There is nothing beyond our capacity when we act together, God bless you all may God bless John McCain, his family, may God protect our troops.