In a video message released on the Fourth of July, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden offered his take on the struggles facing the United States and the opportunities for the road ahead. He solemnly acknowledged the serious and frequently violent racism that has rocked the United States throughout much of its history, and he called on observers to continue to work to overcome problems like the rampant racism of America’s past and present. Compare his remarks with some of the nonsense put out by Trump around the Fourth of July — Trump, in a July 3rd speech, actually defended the statues around the U.S. that honor racists like leaders of the Confederacy.
In his video message, Biden said:
‘Our country was founded on an idea: we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. We’ve never lived up to it… [But] once proposed, it was an idea that couldn’t be constrained… American history is no fairy tale. It’s been a constant push-and-pull between two parts of our character: the idea that all men and women — all people — are created equal, and the racism that has torn us apart… This Independence Day, let’s not just celebrate the words. Let’s celebrate that promise, and commit to work — the work we must do to fulfill that promise.’
Watch below:
Our nation was founded on a simple idea: We're all created equal. We've never lived up to it — but we've never stopped trying. This Independence Day, let's not just celebrate those words, let's commit to finally fulfill them. Happy #FourthOfJuly! pic.twitter.com/1WrATlx8Xl
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 4, 2020
In his own video message released on the Fourth of July, President Trump put some truly bizarre rhetoric on display. Trump claimed that the U.S. was “doing better than any country had ever done in history” until the “plague from China” — meaning the Coronavirus — “hit” the United States. Those comments are a fundamentally delusional assessment of the situation. They represent an imaginary reality in which China launched some kind of affront against American greatness but brave patriots — or whatever — fought back and defended their great land — or something. It’s all laughably delusional. Down in reality, President Donald Trump himself bungled the response to the Coronavirus, which is definitely not just a “Chinese” disease, and Trump’s initial refusal to act helped give the virus the chance to spread to catastrophic levels.
Happy Fourth of July from President @realDonaldTrump! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/jhOOEzN0F2
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 4, 2020
In a July 3rd speech delivered in the vicinity of Mt. Rushmore, Trump went to other strange extremes. He harshly criticized those who’ve advocated for the removal of statues honoring racists from the Confederacy.
Check out Twitter’s response to Biden:
