Joe Biden warned Americans that “MAGA Republicans” are “trying to succeed where they failed in 2020” to subvert voters’ will in the upcoming midterm elections.
In a speech six days before the polls closed, the US president said democracy was under attack as Donald Trump refused to accept the results of the 2020 election.
Referring to the attack on the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Biden warned that Mr. Trump’s false claims about election theft had “fueled a dangerous rise in political violence and voter intimidation over the past two years.”
Last week, 82-year-old Paul Pelosi was seriously injured when he was hit with a hammer at his California home.
“The number of people in this country who condone political violence or simply remain silent has grown staggeringly,” Mr Biden said.
“Silence is complicity.”
He singled out “Super MAGA Republicans” — a reference to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan — calling them a minority in the Republican Party but a “driving force” for the party.
He added that the group is “trying to succeed in 2020 where it failed to suppress voter rights and upend the electoral system”.
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“There are candidates at every level in the United States, governor, Congress, attorney general, secretary of state, and they’re not going to commit to accepting the results of the elections they’re in.
“That’s America’s path to chaos. It’s unprecedented. It’s illegal. And it’s un-American.”
In a country where many people vote early, more than 27 million Americans have already voted in their first election since the Jan. 6, 2021, uprising.
Five people were killed and more than 140 police officers injured the day Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. The Capitol is the seat of U.S. power in Washington, D.C.
Mr Trump has been accused of inciting his supporters to try to overturn the results of an election held months ago.
On Wednesday, Mr Biden implored voters to “think hard about the moment we’re in”, adding: “In a typical year, we don’t often face the question of whether the votes we cast will preserve democracy. Or put it at risk – but we are this year.”