President Trump To Attack Joe Biden, Address Civil Unrest In Republican Nomination Acceptance Speech

A preview of President Trump’s Republican nomination acceptance speech Thursday indicates he will attack Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as a radical who damaged the country in his more than four decades in government, Politico reported.

The president is expected to assert there is a stark choice between the two candidates, and that choosing Biden will lead to a dark future, campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said.

Trump closes out the four-day Republican National Convention Thursday night with a speech from the South Lawn of the White House to make his case for four more years.

“At no time before have voters faced a clearer choice between two parties, two visions, two philosophies, or two agendas," Politico quotes the speech as reading. “We have spent the last four years reversing the damage Joe Biden inflicted over the last 47 years. At the Democrat convention, you barely heard a word about their agenda. But that's not because they don't have one. It's because their agenda is the most extreme set of proposals ever put forward by a major party nominee.”

The Republican convention decided against adopting any platform for 2020, opting instead to embrace Trump. Democrats have one.

The campaign said he would address the violence that has wracked the country since the Memorial Day death of George Floyd, who died gasping for air as a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck, along with Hurricane Laura, which slammed into the Gulf Coast overnight.

Trump also is expected to address the coronavirus pandemic, announcing a $750 million deal with Abbott Laboratories to acquire 150 million inexpensive tests that produce results in 15 minutes.

Trump has appeared on each night of the RNC, and a large percentage of convention speakers have been family members who have attempted to recast Trump’s tenure, painting him as good to immigrants; strong on defense, law and order and border security, and decisive in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. They also have claimed repeatedly that Biden wants to defund the police and turn the United States into a socialist paradise.

Four years ago, Trump painted a bleak picture of the country and said he is the only one who could fix it, pledging to stand with all Americans. In contrast, Politico said Thursday’s speech includes some uplifting lines, lauding the unity of the Republican party and extending a hand to “Democrats, independents and anyone who believes in the greatness of America and the righteous heart of the American people.”

The speech also talks about the “towering American spirit [that] has prevailed over every challenge and lifted us to the summit of human endeavor.”

This week’s convention has been light on vision, relying on attacks on Democrats, and thus far has failed to draw as many viewers as last week’s Democratic National Convention.

“We’re in a battle for the soul of our nation and the American people deserve leaders who will meet this moment, speak truth to power, and above all else – act," Biden said in a statement.

In an interview on MSNBC, Biden accused the president of rooting for more civil unrest.

"He views this as a political benefit to him. You know, he’s rooting for more violence, not less. And he’s clear about that. And what’s he doing, he’s pouring more gasoline on the fire," Biden said

Biden has been picking up endorsements from mainstream Republicans, including former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Sen. John McCain’s widow, Cindy McCain. The campaign said more than 200 former Bush administration officials have endorsed the former vice president.