President Biden on Friday strove to turn the nation’s attention back to former President Donald J. Trump, delivering a fiery and energetic speech in battleground Michigan that painted his Republican rival as a convict, a rapist and a cheater while simultaneously attacking the news media for an insufficient focus on such misdeeds.
Even as Mr. Biden faces mounting pressure from congressional Democrats and major donors, he largely ignored the brewing Democratic revolt over his refusal to drop out of the race, beyond an emphatic statement that “I am running, and we’re going to win.”The president’s defiance, and the crowd’s enthusiastic response, helped give the Biden event at a Detroit high school gym the flavor of a Trump rally at times.
When Mr. Biden referred to his political opponent, there were chants of “Lock him up” — which the president did not discourage.
When he criticized news media coverage, big cheers followed, with his supporters turning to boo and point fingers at reporters.
Mr. Biden thundered that his rival was a “convicted criminal” and a “business fraud,” and said that he had “raped” the writer E. Jean Carroll, whom Mr. Trump was found liable of sexually abusing by a civil court.
Persons:
Biden, Donald J, “, Mr, Biden thundered, ”, Jean Carroll, Trump
Organizations:
Trump
Locations:
Michigan, Detroit