US Politics

FBI materials seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home included 90 empty foldersRevelation raises possibility that some of government’s most highly sensitive documents may still be unaccounted for Among the items the FBI retrieved from Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort this month were 90 empty folders marked classified or for return to the White House staff secretary or a military aide, according to a detailed inventory of items made public on Friday.The inventory – unsealed by a federal judge overseeing the former president’s request to get a so-called special master to determine what materials the justice department can use in its investigation – provided the fullest picture to date of what Trump had retained.New legal filings paint Trump as a flailing liar surrounded by lackeys | Lloyd GreenRead moreIn itemizing the contents of boxes of seized materials, the inventory, put together by the justice department, showed the FBI retrieved 71 empty folders from Trump’s office and 19 empty folders from a storage room when agents executed a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month.The empty folders carried one of two designations, according to the inventory: some files had “Classified” banners, while other files were labeled “Return to Staff Secretary/Military Aide”, appearing to indicate that highly sensitive documents were not returned as designated.The startling discovery immediately raised, for the first time, the prospect that some of the US government’s most closely guarded secrets could remain unaccounted for, even after the FBI went through Mar-a-Lago and retrieved vast amounts of materials from the property.Still, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence is conducting a risk assessment – not a damage assessment – of Trump’s unauthorized retention of classified documents, signaling that at least for now, it believes the material has not otherwise been compromised.Federal agents also seized thousands of government documents – some with classification markings ranging from “Confidential” to “Top Secret”, and others that appeared to be presidential records – as well as hundreds of newspaper and magazine clippings from 2008 to 2020, gifts and clothes, the inventory showed.In a status report from its case team conducting the criminal investigation into the Mar-a-Lago documents that accompanied the inventory, the justice department said that although it had completed an initial review of the materials, its full review process was ongoing.“The seized materials will continue to be used to further the government’s investigation, and the investigative team will continue to use and evaluate the seized materials as it takes further investigative steps, such as through additional witness interviews and grand jury practices,” it read.The justice department added in the status report that it intended to use all evidence about the documents, including their nature and their location, to inform the criminal investigation examining potential obstruction and potential violations of the Espionage Act.Trump remained quiet about the release of the inventory on Friday, though a spokesman said it showed the FBI overreached: “The new ‘detailed’ inventory list only further proves that this unprecedented and unnecessary raid of President Trump’s home … was a smash and grab.”The detailed list of 33 boxes seized from Mar-a-Lago, which followed the release of the initial property receipt filled out by the FBI at the time of the search, additionally provided more information about how sensitive documents were commingled with more general items Trump potentially kept as souvenirs.Item number 26 – described by the Justice department as a “Box/Container from Storage Room” – included, for example, eight press clippings from 2017-2020, three documents marked “Top Secret”, an article of clothing, a book, and 1,841 government documents or photographs without classification markings.The chaotic and wide-ranging contents of the boxes reflected previous reporting by the Guardian and others that the West Wing and the White House residence was packed up in a hurry, and in haphazard fashion, during the final days and hours of the Trump presidency.Trump was something of a “pack rat” who hoarded materials he saw as his, according to former aides, and partly as a consequence of his refusal to accept he lost the 2020 election, many items from the White House were collected into boxes that were transported to Mar-a-Lago.The items listed in the inventory have already been screened for potential attorney-client privilege, the justice department said. Judge Aileen Cannon is expected to rule shortly on whether to grant Trump’s request to have a special master conduct the filter instead.At least 320 classified documents have been recovered from Mar-a-Lago since January. More than 100 of those were seized in the August search. The justice department has also released a photograph of folders marked “Secret” and “Top secret” scattered over a Mar-a-Lago carpet. Some were stamped “NOFORN”, indicating they should not be seen by any non-US citizen without permission.Trump has decried the investigation as a politically motivated attack on him and nearly all top Republicans have closed ranks around him and rallied to his defense. His lawyers have sought to argue that the case should be treated akin to failing to return a late library book – not a real threat or conspiracy.Trump has never explained his motive in retaining the documents, and top Democrats have said his resistance to returning them to the justice department – even after being subpoenaed – is evidence of obstruction that the justice department should prosecute.Democrats have also said the documents reveal a fundamental lawlessness in Trump’s behavior, characterized by acting with impunity and a disregard for the US norms and traditions that usually govern former presidents.At the same time the scandal has probably harmed Trump’s frequent hints that he wants to run for the White House again in 2024. Joe Biden has used the FBI search as part of a general warning of the extremist nature of Trump and his followers which in a primetime speech on Thursday night he portrayed as a growing threat to American democracy and a potential cause of political violence.Since the FBI raid numerous law enforcement officials have warned that federal buildings and government workers are at risk of attack, especially as rightwing politicians and media pundits have sought to blame them for seeking to stop any Trump political comeback.TopicsDonald TrumpMar-a-LagoFBIUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

Chicago’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, criticised Texas’s governor, Greg Abbott, accusing him of cruelty and racism for expelling dozens of migrants from Texas by bus. ‘With these continued political stunts, Governor Abbott has confirmed, what unfortunately many of us had already known – that he is a man without any morals, humanity or shame,’ said Lightfoot at a press conference on Thursday. Seventy-nine Venezuelans arrived at Chicago’s Union Station late on Wednesday, officials said. ‘Last night, we showed our mettle, the best of who we are,’ Lightfoot continued, praising the city’s effort to welcome the new arrivals.

‘They are human beings’: Chicago mayor welcomes migrants bussed by Texas More

‘They are human beings’: Chicago mayor welcomes migrants bussed by TexasLori Lightfoot offers ‘open arms’ as Governor Greg Abbott escalates political stunt of sending asylum seekers to Democratic-led cities01:37The mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, has vowed to welcome immigrants bussed to the city from the Mexican border, as the hard-right governor of Texas opened a third front in his confrontation with the Biden administration and Democratic sanctuary cities.Lightfoot delivered a defiant speech on Thursday in which she accused Governor Greg Abbott of cruelty and racism, and pledged to respond to the Texan’s controversial scheme by greeting the released migrants with open arms.Pentagon rejects DC request for national guard help with migrants bussed to cityRead moreChicago received its first busloads of 79 migrants, in this case Venezuelans, on Wednesday night.They were dispatched by Abbott, who has already sent about 9,000 people who crossed the US-Mexico border without documents giving them entry to the US to Washington DC and New York City.The move is a point-scoring stunt designed to level blame for chaotic conditions on the southern border at the White House and Democratic-controlled cities.The Republican governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, is pursuing a similar ruse albeit on a smaller scale.At a press conference, Lightfoot said she could not “fully make up for the cruelty that our new neighbours have experienced”. But she said: “We have and we will continue to welcome them with open arms. I refuse to turn our back on them at a time when they need support the most.”01:37She said that in opening up a new Chicago front, Abbott had shown himself to be a “cheap politician” and “a man without any morals, humanity or shame”. The migrants he was loading on to buses and carting across a strange country were “moms and dads, young children, elders who deserve our respect and dignity. They’re not cargo. They are not chattel. They are human beings.”Among the 75 arrivals to Chicago were seven infants, and a total of 20 children and teens, according to local authorities. They were met at the bus with an offering of food, clothes, a shower and shelter.Chicago is now bracing itself for the arrival of further busloads of migrants after the city became the third target of Abbott’s political gambit.It began in April when he initially targeted the nation’s capital, forcing Washington officials to scramble for ways to house the asylum seekers.The move was immediately controversial, inviting criticism even from fellow Republicans – some within the Texas assembly. The bussing was then expanded to New York earlier this month.Abbott has appeared on the conservative Fox News TV network presenting his ploy as a way of exposing the hypocrisy of Democratic leaders in northern “sanctuary cities”.He appeared on rightwinger Sean Hannity’s Fox News show at the time the New York scheme began and said: “These liberal leaders up in the north-east think, ‘That border crisis created by Joe Biden, that’s fine as long as Texas has to deal with it.’ But as soon as they have to deal with the real consequences of Biden’s border-caused crisis, they are up in arms.”The Democratic mayor of New York, Eric Adams, has counter-attacked by accusing the Texas governor of inhumanity. Migrants were having to endure bus rides lasting almost two days with restricted breaks and food.“I think that Governor Abbott, what he’s doing is just so inhumane,” Adams said.New York’s immigration commissioner, Manuel Castro, this week lamented the bussing as a “rightwing political extremist crisis”. He said Abbott was fomenting “anti-immigrant and anti-Latino hate, which impacts all of us whether we arrived here today or decades ago”.Under basic US immigration regulations, migrants passing through Mexico and crossing the border into the US who do not have documentation are released from custody after processing. They can move around the country while awaiting court decisions on their asylum applications.One of the paradoxical aspects of Abbott’s aggressive stance is that it is creating an additional burden on Texas taxpayers. The cost of travelling from the border state to another part of the US normally falls entirely on the migrants themselves, but under the bussing scheme the travel is provided free.Abbott has said the bus rides are voluntary for migrants, but that is also in dispute. They are often aiming to reach much closer destinations in the south-west, to join relatives, but do not have the money to get there and are offered the rides to northern cities and, apparently without liaison with those cities’ leaders, aid and prospects upon arrival.CNN used freedom of information powers to extract information from the Texas division of emergency management that showed that it has already spent more than $12m. The money went to Wynne Transportation, which provides the buses.Migrants arriving in Chicago will not be asked about their immigration status, and their information will not be shared with federal authorities or law enforcement, under city rules. They will be able to apply for a full range of public services.TopicsChicagoMigrationUS immigrationTexasUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

The US has a ruling class – and Americans must stand up to itBernie SandersIn the year 2022, three multibillionaires own more wealth than the bottom half of American society – 160 million Americans. This is unsustainable Let’s be clear. The most important economic and political issues facing this country are the extraordinary levels of income and wealth inequality, the rapidly growing concentration of ownership, the long-term decline of the American middle class and the evolution of this country into oligarchy.We know how important these issues are because our ruling class works overtime to prevent them from being seriously discussed. They are barely mentioned in the halls of Congress, where most members are dependent on the campaign contributions of the wealthy and their Super Pacs. They are not much discussed in the corporate media, in which a handful of conglomerates determine what we see, hear and discuss.So what’s going on?We now have more income and wealth inequality than at any time in the last hundred years. In the year 2022, three multibillionaires own more wealth than the bottom half of American society – 160 million Americans. Today, 45% of all new income goes to the top 1%, and CEOs of large corporations make a record-breaking 350 times what their workers earn.Meanwhile, as the very rich become much richer, working families continue to struggle. Unbelievably, despite huge increases in worker productivity, wages (accounting for real inflation) are lower today than they were almost 50 years ago. When I was a kid growing up, most families were able to be supported by one breadwinner. Now an overwhelming majority of households need two paychecks to survive.Today, half of our people live paycheck to paycheck and millions struggle on starvation wages. Despite a lifetime of work, half of older Americans have no savings and no idea how they will ever be able to retire with dignity, while 55% of seniors are trying to survive on an income of less than $25,000 a year.Since 1975, there has been a massive redistribution of wealth in America that has gone in exactly the wrong direction. Over the past 47 years, according to the Rand Corporation, $50tn in wealth has been redistributed from the bottom 90% of American society to the top 1%, primarily because a growing percentage of corporate profits has been flowing into the stock portfolios of the wealthy and the powerful.During this terrible pandemic, when thousands of essential workers died doing their jobs, some 700 billionaires in America became nearly $2tn richer. Today, while the working class falls further behind, multibillionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson are off taking joyrides on rocket ships to outer space, buying $500m super-yachts and living in mansions with 25 bathrooms.Disgracefully, we now have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any developed nation on Earth and millions of kids, disproportionately Black and brown, face food insecurity. While psychologists tell us that the first four years are the most important for human development, our childcare system is largely dysfunctional – with an inadequate number of slots, outrageously high costs and pathetically low wages for staff. We remain the only major country without paid family and medical leave.In terms of higher education, we should remember that 50 years ago tuition was free or virtually free in major public universities throughout the country. Today, higher education is unaffordable for millions of young people. There are now some 45 million Americans struggling with student debt.Today over 70 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured and millions more are finding it hard to pay for the rising cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, which are more expensive here than anywhere else in the world. The cost of housing is also soaring. Not only are some 600,000 Americans homeless, but nearly 18m households are spending 50% or more of their limited incomes on housing.It’s not just income and wealth inequality that is plaguing our nation. It is the maldistribution of economic and political power.Today we have more concentration of ownership than at any time in the modern history of this country. In sector after sector a handful of giant corporations control what is produced and how much we pay for it. Unbelievably, just three Wall Street firms (Blackrock, Vanguard and State Street) control assets of over $20tn and are the major stockholders in 96% of S&P 500 companies. In terms of media, some eight multinational media conglomerates control what we see, hear and read.In terms of political power, the situation is the same. A small number of billionaires and CEOs, through their Super Pacs, dark money and campaign contributions, play a huge role in determining who gets elected and who gets defeated. There are now an increasing number of campaigns in which Super Pacs actually spend more money on campaigns than the candidates, who become the puppets to their big money puppeteers. In the 2022 Democratic primaries, billionaires spent tens of millions trying to defeat progressive candidates who were standing up for working families.Dr Martin Luther King Jr was right when he said: “We must recognize that we can’t solve our problem now until there is a radical redistribution of economic and political power” in America. That statement is even more true today.Let us have the courage to stand together and fight back against corporate greed. Let us fight back against massive income and wealth inequality. Let us fight back against a corrupt political system.Let us stand together and finally create an economy and a government that works for all, not just the 1%.
Bernie Sanders is a US senator from Vermont and the chairman of the Senate budget committee
TopicsUS politicsOpinionUS CongressBernie SandersRichard BransonElon MuskUS economyJeff BezoscommentReuse this content More

‘A white nationalist pyramid scheme’: how Patriot Front recruits young members The rightwing group’s workings resemble a media production company more than a classic neo-Nazi group, researchers sayIn June, police in Idaho arrested 31 members of the white nationalist group Patriot Front packed into the back of a U-Haul near a Coeur d’Alene Pride event. The group had planned to riot during the LGBTQ+ celebrations, authorities said, and carried riot gear, a smoke grenade, shin guards and shields.Trump sought to mount ‘armed revolution’, militia ex-spokesman saysRead moreThe mass arrest not only revealed the names of members of an extremist group that had long worked to keep those hidden, it provided extremist experts with new insight into how the group is meticulously planning, financing, organizing and publicizing armed demonstrations at public events that celebrate diversity.Patriot Front’s fundraising and mobilizing efforts, those experts say, reveal a corporate-style organization that more resembles a media production company with satellite offices than a classic neo-Nazi group.“No other white supremacist group operating in the US today is able to match Patriot Front’s ability to produce media, ability to mobilize across the country, and ability to finance,” says Morgan Moon, investigative researcher with the ADL Center on Extremism. “That’s what makes them a particular concern.”When white nationalism meets media productionPatriot Front was founded after the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville by Thomas Rousseau, a former member of the small, neo-Nazi group Vanguard America.Disaffected members of Vanguard America left to join Rousseau’s organization, and for two years, primarily stickered college campuses and dropped banners with slogans like “Reclaim America” over highway overpasses.In the 18 months after the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, many anti-government extremist groups, like the Proud Boys, Oathkeepers and Three Percenters, have lain low. But Patriot Front has geared up. The group has made unpermitted demonstrations its “bread and butter”, says Moon, making sure each event is heavily publicized on social media.Since last December, the group has organized five such flash demonstrations. Two of them – the event in Idaho and a contentious march along Boston’s Freedom Trail on the Fourth of July holiday – resulted in national media attention.At the rallies, Rousseau typically addresses the crowd, urging onlookers to rise up physically and “reclaim your country”.To capture different angles of a rally, several camera operators circulate and shoot video while members wear body-worn cameras, according to Jeff Tischauser, senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Then, the media team edits the footage and circulates a video package on alt-tech platforms like Gab, Odyssey and Telegram.Afterward, Patriot Front’s social media team monitors the group’s mentions, shares news coverage on private servers, and tells members which social media accounts to harass, Tischauser says.The video packages are specifically designed toward attracting a younger audience, says Stephen Piggott, program analyst with Western States Center, a Portland-based non-profit that promotes inclusive democracy. And while other far-right and white nationalist groups are engaging in meme culture and recruiting people online, the group has been effective at attracting young radicals and getting them off their laptops and into the streets, he adds.Throughout its propaganda, the group is careful to craft an image that will appeal to younger users, promoting the “idea of a young warrior” and becoming the “warrior elite”, says Moon, the ADL researcher. The group emphasizes fitness, diet and training and often holds paramilitary drills before demonstrations.Also attractive to young recruits is the premium the group puts on anonymity. Banner drops and mural defacing typically happen after dark, and members keep their faces covered. Internal chats show members using code names. At protests, Rousseau is typically the only person whose face is shown.‘A white nationalist pyramid scheme’Undergirding Patriot Front’s activities is a rigid, top-down hierarchy, researchers say.Rousseau is at the head. Lieutenants run departments of the group, including media production, recruitment and online security. Fifteen regional network directors organize local and national activities, and supervise members.Once recruits become members, they are required to attend monthly roundups, hit a weekly activism quota, and show up to demonstrations, according to Moon. If they don’t, Rousseau expels them from Patriot Front.Internal chats obtained by extremist experts show members complaining about the ongoing expenses they incur paying for stickers, stencils and other mandatory propaganda materials, which Rousseau charges them for.Rousseau charges members a premium for Patriot Front propaganda material, Tischauser said, adding that network directors are expected to push members to purchase flyers to go on several flyering runs a month. “In this sense, Patriot Front is close to a white nationalist pyramid scheme,” Tischauser notes.The tightly organized structure enables Patriot Front to be responsible for up to 14 hate incidents a day, according to the ADL. Under the direction of network directors, Patriot Front members defaced 29 murals honoring Black history, LGBTQ+ pride, migrant history and police shooting victims, said Tischauser.Patriot Front did not respond to a request for comment.‘It lifted the veil a bit’Recent events have somewhat disrupted the group’s carefully constructed image. Earlier this year, the leftwing non-profit Unicorn Riot leaked the group’s internal audio and chats, which helped investigators discover the identity of the national team, regional directors and many other members. And following the arrest in Coeur d’Alene, all 31 names of arrested members were broadcasted and published in local media outlets, along with their mugshots.“They got kind of the opposite of what they wanted: they weren’t able to disrupt the LGBTQ Pride events, and they got a whole lot of mainstream media attention,” Piggott said.The Idaho arrests also exposed that their members flew into the state from different parts of the country, Piggott added. “It lifted the veil a bit. They may not have the numbers they say they have.”Still, civil rights groups are increasingly concerned about violence breaking out at flash demonstrations. During Patriot Front’s unpermitted rally in Boston this July, for example, members of the group allegedly assaulted a Black artist and activist, Charles Murrell.Murrell did not respond to an interview request.The ADL, the Western States Center and other civil rights groups have urged the Department of Justice to launch a comprehensive investigation into the group, arguing that some of its activities could violate federal legislation.“More must be done to hold the group accountable and ensure they do not continue to intimidate historically marginalized communities,” the organizations wrote in a letter to the US attorney general, Merrick Garland.“This is particularly true at a time when Patriot Front is becoming increasingly emboldened and coordinating its activity at a national level, targeting specific locations across the country,” they added. “The Department of Justice may indeed be the only entity able to address these concerns effectively.”TopicsUS newsUS Capitol attackUS politicsThe far rightIdahofeaturesReuse this content More

More ways to listen

Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Spotify

RSS Feed

Download

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share via Email

A year ago, American troops withdrew from Afghanistan after a 20-year war. The Taliban quickly returned to power and the country has since experienced famine, economic collapse and a widespread erosion of women’s rights.
This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to the former US defense secretary Leon Panetta, who was at the heart of the Obama administration’s Afghanistan policy, about what he thinks of the Afghan withdrawal and what the future holds for Joe Biden and the Democrats

How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know

Archives: MSNBC, CNN, the Guardian Send your questions and feedback to [email protected] Help support the Guardian by going to theguardian.com/supportpodcasts More

AnalysisFive key takeaways from Biden’s speech on the threat to democracyMaanvi SinghIn a rare primetime address, Biden pitched the midterms as a battle for the nation’s soul and directly called out Trump A more aggressive tone on Trump and “Maga” RepublicansJoe Biden – who usually makes couched references to “the former guy” and his “predecessor” – explicitly named and called out Donald Trump during his speech. The president warned that Trump and the “Maga (Make America great again)” Republicans “represent an extremism that threatens the very foundation of our republic”.With the stipulation that “not every Republican” is an extremist, he went on to directly address the grip his predecessor still holds over the party, saying: “There’s no question that the Republican party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump.” He even made reference to the commotion surrounding the Justice Department’s discovery that Trump was holding on to classified documents at Mar-a-Lago – something he’s largely avoided discussing. Biden’s directness tonight was a culmination of a new, aggressive approach he’s taken recently in aiming to marginalize and Trump’s agenda.An appeal to America’s better natureBiden planned to evoke a battle for “the soul of the nation”, and throughout his address he aligned himself with the founding ideals of the country – casting Trump and extremist Republicans as an existential threat to the nation.Speaking in front of Philadelphia’s Independence Hall – where the Declaration of Independence and the US constitution were signed – Biden began his speech with the words: “I speak to you tonight from sacred ground.” Backlit in red, white and blue, and welcomed on and off stage by a Marine band playing anthems from the 1800s, it was a night that leaned heavily on patriotism. “America is an idea,” he said at one point, flanked by Marines at parade rest. “The most powerful idea in the history of the world.”“I know your hearts. And I know our history,” he said, addressing the “American people”. “This is a nation that honors our constitution,” he said.02:58A campaign pitch to the American peopleThe speech tonight was billed as an official address, but it also had the feel of a campaign appeal. Biden touted his and Democrats’ policy goals – urging Americans to “vote, vote, vote”.During a rare optimistic segment in what an otherwise dark speech, Biden touted his administration’s progress on healthcare, combatting climate change and addressing the Covid-19 pandemic. “I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future,” he said. “We’re going to end cancer as we know it. We’re going to create millions of new jobs in the clean energy economy. We’re going to think big, we’re going to make 21st century another American century.”Threat of election deniers looms largeThe president issued stern warnings that the integrity of American elections was vulnerable. Condemning Trump and other Republicans who have denied the legitimacy of the 2020 elections – and have threatened to do so in the midterms – Biden asked Americans to join him in resisting election misinformation and the rollback of voting rights.“We can’t let the integrity of our elections be undermined,” he said. “We can’t allow violence to be normalized in this country,” he added, referencing the January 6 insurrection.A missed opportunity?Biden may have missed a chance to highlight the public’s outrage over the supreme court’s decision to revoke the constitutional right to abortion. The issue energized Democrats ahead of the midterm, and abortion rights advocates have expressed frustration at Biden and other Democrats for not speaking more directly and forcefully about it.Biden did mention that “Maga Republicans” want to take the country “backwards to an America where there is no right to choose. No right to privacy. No right to contraception.” But he lost a chance to directly play the issue up as an urgent example of rights at stake.TopicsJoe BidenUS politicsDemocratsRepublicansBiden administrationnewsReuse this content More

AnalysisBiden’s stern warning on extremism shows the rose-colored glasses are offDavid Smith in WashingtonThe president’s primetime speech named Trump and ‘Maga Republicans’ as a threat facing American democracy Joe Biden’s journey from idealist to realist continues. But it is not quite complete.After 36 years in the Senate, he stepped into the US presidency in 2021 as an apostle of bipartisanship, convinced that his authoritarian-minded predecessor Donald Trump would fade away and the Republican party would rediscover its bearings.By the start of this year he had come to understand that Trump’s malign influence still runs deep. “We must be absolutely clear about what is true and what is a lie,” Biden said on 6 January, the first anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol, stopping short of using Trump’s name.Biden warns US democracy imperiled by Trump and Maga extremistsRead moreThen, a month ago, a group of historians reportedly gathered in the White House map room for two hours to give the president a dire warning about the threats facing American democracy. They included Jon Meacham, author of The Soul of America.Polls show a country still unravelling. More than two-fifths of Americans believe civil war is at least somewhat likely in the next decade, a share that increases to more than half among self-identified “strong Republicans”, according to research by YouGov and the Economist.Given that context, Biden used a primetime “soul of the nation” speech on Thursday night to deliver the starkest warning of his long career about the danger of Trump – whom he did name this time, – extremist “Maga” (Make America great again) Republicans and political violence.“This is a nation that rejects violence as a political tool,” he said. “We are still, at our core, a democracy. Yet history tells us that blind loyalty to a single leader and the willingness to engage in political violence is fatal in a democracy.”It was pugnacious talk that many progressives, worried that Biden is trapped in a rose-tinted past, have been urging for a long time. It was also sure to enrage Trump and his allies although Biden, who recently called the Maga philosophy “semi-fascism”, did not repeat that f-word.But the speech also, perhaps understandably, tried to err on the side of optimism by drawing a distinction between Maga Republicans and mainstream Republicans. Biden cast the former as a weird rebel sect that opposes the rule of law, seeks to overturn elections and revels in violence. Maga has, he implied, imposed minority rule on a party of otherwise reasonable people.“Donald Trump and the Maga Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic. Now, I want to be very clear up front: not every Republican, not even a majority of Republicans, are Maga Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know, because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.”He continued: “But there’s no question that the Republican party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the Maga Republicans and that is a threat to this country.”Perhaps. The point is at least debatable after the past seven years. Numerous mainstream Republicans have retired or been purged, most recently congresswoman Liz Cheney. Polls show a majority of Republicans believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Trump and Florida governor Ron DeSantis, both extremists, are the two leading contenders for the party nomination in 2024. There is no moderate alternative with any reasonable chance.In what may be a triumph of hope over experience, Biden still wants to believe that Maga is being enforced from the top down. But there is a case to be made that it comes from the bottom up, with millions of grassroots Republicans willing to buy into false conspiracy theories and vote for extremist midterm candidates. As Trump may discover to his cost, the base has taken on a life of its own.If Biden, with elaborate stagecraft at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the nation’s founding documents were written, was striving to isolate Maga and bring Democrats and democrats together to reject it, he may have more work to do. The right was bound to compare his critique to Hillary Clinton’s infamous 2016 “basket of deplorables” comment anyway.Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News network did not show the full speech and, when it did, questioned why Biden spoke against a dramatically lit “blood red” backdrop. Far-right host Tucker Carlson, the most watched prime time figure on cable news, sneered and deployed chyrons such as: “This is by far Biden’s most shameful moment.”The network’s 9pm bulletin added, “Biden vilifies millions of Americans”, “Biden uses primetime address to fuel more division” and “Clueless Biden spews hate in dark, dismal speech”.Biden has evolved a long way from the man who suggested that he could turn back the clock to a golden age of Democrats and Republicans debating together, dining together and respectfully agreeing to disagree. But in November’s midterm elections, or in 2024’s presidential poll, his harshest lesson may yet be to come.TopicsJoe BidenBiden administrationDemocratsRepublicansUS politicsanalysisReuse this content More