Joe Biden calls for national unity, says ‘forces of darkness’ are dividing America

With US presidential election fast approaching, the Democratic nominee Joe Biden, on October 7, said that if elected as president he would strive to ‘end the hate and fear’ consuming the nation. In a speech in Gettysburg, which is a site of a famous US Civil War battle and the inspirational second inaugural address by former President Abraham Lincoln, Biden warned that the ‘forces of darkness’ are dividing the nation. He said that that he will not allow ‘extremists and white supremacists’ to overturn the America of Lincoln if he beats Republican leader Donald Trump in the upcoming election. 

The former vice president said, “The forces of darkness, the forces of division, the forces of yesterday are pulling us apart, holding us down and holding us back”. 

He added, “We cannot and will not allow extremists and white supremacists to overturn the America of Lincoln and (abolitionists) Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, to overturn the America that has been a haven and a home for everyone no matter their background”. 

On Tuesday, Biden issued a sweeping call for national unity and even warned that the US again is in a ‘dangerous place’. He argued that America can overcome centuries of economic and racial divisions, along with deep partisans rift that have accelerated in recent years. The Democratic leader added that some semblance of bipartisanship is necessary to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuilt a battered economy. 

READ: Biden Slams Trump For Ending COVID Stimulus Talks, Says He 'turned His Back' On Americans

READ: Joe Biden Quotes New 76ers Head Coach Doc Rivers In Pennsylvania Campaign Speech

Biden slams politicisation of COVID-19 

At the same campaign event, the Democratic leader also slammed the politicisation of COVID-19 pandemic and urged lawmakers to not use the deadly virus as a ‘political weapon’. Biden, who has been critical of President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic, said that wearing a mask or maintaining social distance is not a ‘political statement’ but a ‘scientific recommendation’. He urged people to ‘follow science’ and ‘end politics’ and said ‘we can do so much better’. 

Further, the 77-year-old said that the pandemic is not a ‘red or blue state issue’. “It affects us all and can take anyone’s life. It’s a virus and not a political weapon,” he said. Biden also suggested that Trump was among a group of people in the US who had thrown information about the virus into an arsenal of tools to use in ‘total partisan unrelenting warfare’ and that he would, if elected, attempt to heal the political and cultural divides that he hinted the president helped create. 

(Image: AP) 

READ: 'If Trump Still Has COVID, We Shouldn't Have A Second Debate': Joe Biden

READ: Biden Slams Politicisation Of COVID-19, Says 'It's A Virus, Not A Political Weapon'