US President Joe Biden and potential White House challenger Donald Trump engaged in a war of words on Saturday, focusing on age and immigration issues as they directed their attention to the crucial battleground state of Georgia.
Biden, buoyed by the momentum following his assertive State of the Union address on Thursday, made a strategic visit to Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, to rally Black and Hispanic voters. During his rally, he took aim at his Republican predecessor, who had previously declared his intentions to act as a “dictator” for a day.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden also made an appearance at a campaign event for President Joe Biden at Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, March 9, 2024. AFP PHOTO
Speaking at the rally, Biden emphasized the robustness of the US economy while pledging to take steps to reduce expenses in critical areas such as housing, healthcare, and education. He reiterated his concerns about Trump’s authoritarian inclinations, stating, “When he claims he wants to be a dictator, I take him at his word.”
In a televised interview with MSNBC later that evening, Biden expressed regret for using the term “an illegal” when referring to the perpetrator of a recent tragic incident involving the death of a nursing student in Georgia. “I should not have used ‘illegal’; it should have been ‘undocumented,'” Biden acknowledged, responding to criticism from progressive groups and members of his own party for adopting language typically associated with Republicans.
Meanwhile, Trump, who has made cracking down on illegal immigration a central theme of his campaign, seized the opportunity during his rally to extensively discuss the case of the deceased student. He asserted, “Laken Riley would be alive today if Joe Biden had not deliberately and maliciously weakened the borders of the United States,” addressing a crowd of supporters in Georgia’s predominantly Republican region.
Trump criticized Biden for retracting his use of the term “illegal” in reference to the suspect from Venezuela involved in the incident, suggesting that “Biden should be apologizing for apologizing to this perpetrator.”
During his rally, Trump also impersonated a stuttering Biden, mocking his 81-year-old opponent. In response, Biden’s campaign released a television advertisement in which the president directly confronted concerns about his advanced age, a significant issue for many voters. “I may not be a young man, that’s no secret. But here’s the bottom line: I know how to deliver results for the American people,” Biden asserted in the ad.
Trump’s team swiftly countered with a video compilation that juxtaposed Biden’s statement with clips of the president stumbling, falling, or appearing confused.
Georgia emerged as a closely contested state in the 2020 election, with Biden securing victory by a margin of fewer than 12,000 votes. Trump’s controversial phone call to a senior state official, urging him to “find” additional votes, underscored the intensity of the competition.
Amidst a backdrop of legal challenges, Trump faces criminal allegations in Georgia related to his efforts to overturn the state’s election results. The recent appearances by both candidates in Georgia occurred shortly after Trump’s near-sweep of the crucial Super Tuesday primaries, leading to the withdrawal of his last Republican opponent, Nikki Haley.
While Biden prevailed in the Democratic primaries, he and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to tour all the battleground states in the upcoming weeks, according to his campaign. Georgia, traditionally a Republican stronghold, has evolved into a more contested territory. Recent polls indicate Trump maintains a slight advantage in the state, mirroring trends in other swing states that could sway the outcome of the November election.
To bolster his campaign efforts, Biden’s team announced a $30 million investment in television advertisements targeting the closely divided states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina.
