President Joe Biden give tons of emphasis to the importance of voter turnout in the upcoming election, warning that choosing not to vote could lead to a loss to former President Donald Trump and jeopardize civil rights. In an interview with Andrea Lawful-Sanders on WURD’s The Source, Biden expressed concern that Trump, if re-elected, could use his second term to gain “complete power,” especially after the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling, potentially leading to actions like “exacting revenge” or “organizing a coup.”
Biden criticized Trump’s history, highlighting his role in the ‘Birther’ conspiracy theory against former President Barack Obama and his call for the imprisonment of the falsely accused Central Park Five in 1989. He urged Black voters to participate in the election for their safety and the protection of their rights.
When asked about those considering not voting, Biden shared a lesson from the Civil Rights movement: inaction makes one complicit. He stressed the critical nature of voting, recounting how his political career was motivated by a desire to ensure fairness and equal opportunities for Black Americans.
Biden also condemned Trump’s attempts to obstruct voting and his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 election despite numerous legal defeats. He warned that Trump’s inflammatory remarks about a “bloodbath” if he loses in 2024, combined with the Supreme Court’s decision, could threaten democracy, freedom, and the economy.
ANDREA LAWFUL-SANDERS: Yes, sir. My last question for you. What do you say to the people who plan on sitting this election out?
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Same thing that was said to me when I was a young kid getting out of school during the Civil Rights movement: If you don’t do something about, you’re to blame. You’re responsible. And we did in my generation, we got up and we got involved. That’s how I got involved in politics.
I never planned on running. I love reading biographies about how I knew I was going to be president. All I wanted to do was make sure that my state, which has the eighth largest Black population per percentage of population, that people had a fair chance – that they could sit at lunch counters. I think of all those things, you know, what would that have happened if we didn’t have people showing up and voting?
Yeah, [Trump] has tried to block… He’s made it harder for people to vote. He did everything from… He still has admitted that he lost the 2020 election, even though he [faced] a zillion court cases all the way to the Supreme Court. He said there’s no basis for what he’s doing. And now he said if he loses in 2024, it’ll be a bloodbath. Can you imagine the president saying that? Bloodbath?
ANDREA LAWFUL-SANDERS: Can I imagine?
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: No, I really mean it. And the Supreme Court justices, a decision that threatens America, the principle that there are no kings in America, that no one is above the law. He gave Trump complete power to use his office to exact revenge, organize a coup, become the dictator. Because, again, if he’s doing in this capacity, when he’s in office, based on how this gets interpreted, then he has immunity. My God, the stakes are really high. They’re really high. Democracy, freedom, our economy are all on the line.
The other side is working overtime to chip away the right to cast our ballot. We’re working harder and harder to protect it, so show up and vote for your own safety. Show up and vote for your own safety’s sake. And, by the way, you guys, like he talks about Black jobs? He just talks down to people. There’s no respect. It’s a shameful comment. It’s not surprising.
This is the guy, as I said, questioned George Floyd’s humanity, led the Birther movement against President Obama, accused the Central Park Five – they should be in jail. By the way, I’m proud to be, as I said, the first vice president, first Black woman served with a Black president. I’m proud of the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. There’s just so much that we can do because together we… there’s nothing… Look, this is the United States of America. Nothing is beyond our capacity if we work together.
