Former President Donald Trump on Saturday attempted to turn the tables on his likely rival in November, President Joe Biden, arguing that the man whose election victory Trump tried to overturn is “the destroyer of American democracy.”

Trump’s allegations about Biden, a Democrat, echo the ones that Biden has been making for years against his predecessor. As Trump has dominated the Republican presidential primary and talked about targeting his rivals and the news media if he wins the White House again, Biden has stepped up his own warnings, contending Trump is “ determined to destroy American democracy.”

On Saturday, Trump made his most explicit argument to date on why voters should instead see his rival as the bigger democratic threat. Trump repeated his longstanding contention that the four criminal indictments against him show Biden is misusing the federal justice system against his rival.

“He’s been weaponizing government against his political opponents like a Third World political tyrant,” Trump said to a crowd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. “Biden and his radical left allies like to pose as standing up as allies of democracy,” Trump continued, arguing: “Joe Biden is not the defender of American democracy, Joe Biden is the destroyer of American democracy.”

  • SinningStromgald@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    49
    ·
    1 year ago

    Former President Donald Trump on Saturday attempted to turn the tables on his likely rival in November, President Joe Biden, arguing that the man whose election victory Trump tried to overturn is “the destroyer of American democracy.”

    Interesting but horrible argument.

    Trump repeated his longstanding contention that the four criminal indictments against him show Biden is misusing the federal justice system against his rival.

    Yeah, but see you actually broke the law and need to be punished. And Joe Biden had nothing to do with you breaking the law or getting caught. If you had never run for president it’s likely you would still be skating by breaking the law.

    Trump has long promised to prosecute Biden in retaliation should he return to the White House.

    Oh! You just want an excuse to do the same thing you say your opponent is doing. So weaponized justice system for me but not thee.

  • jjjalljs@ttrpg.network
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    42
    ·
    1 year ago

    Republicans are an existential threat to the united states.

    We need to stop treating them like they just have a different opinion.

    If you ever wondered what you would do if you found yourself in germany before WW2, now’s your chance to find out.

  • NounsAndWords@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    36
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    I think there are two parts to this:

    1 - obvious projection based on what’s already known about him

    2 - using the words ‘destroy’ and ‘democracy’ in the same sentence to his cult…just to get the idea of destroying our democracy into the ol’ zeitgeist

  • recapitated@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    21
    ·
    1 year ago

    Trump is going to alienate his “we’re not a democracy we’re a republic” base with this commie talk.

    • hoanbridgetroll@midwest.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      15
      ·
      1 year ago

      Holy hell - I had a MAGA woman pontificate about this recently, going on and on about the “mob rule” of democracy. I know how our government works, Tamara, and I still don’t support your fourth reich aspirations.

      • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        1 year ago

        They have been doing this “well, actually” thing about democracy for as long as I can remember, most especially the Libertarians and the “classical liberal” type of Republicans.

        But they have been mainstreaming this more and more and it’s been turned up to 11, and I think there is a reason their thought leaders have been leading them down this path…and it’s not a good reason.

        As always, I recommend people read Democracy in Chains. If there is/are related documentary(ies) that forward the same information, I’d love to know about them.

      • recapitated@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        I’m pretty certain it’s just because those words have similar names to the stupid cultist political parties.

    • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      1 year ago

      Nah, his followers have selective amnesia where they individually forget anything he says that they don’t like. Remember when he said he was going to confiscate guns without due process?

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Projection, always projection. It has been the case with Republicans for decade upon decade.

    This is why I say no Republican should be allowed into office, ever.

  • BigMacHole@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Trump: Biden is destroying Democracy! Also Trump: I’m waging a War on Democracy!

    Republicans: Both make sense and I think for myself!

  • TomMasz@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    1 year ago

    Just think, we haven’t hit peak 1984 yet. “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.”