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Before the 2024 US election, the issue of abortion is also in focus.
So far, Biden has been rather reserved, but in Virginia he had to be more clear.
MANASSAS, Va. (AP) — President Biden, Vice President Harris and their wives appeared together here for a campaign rally focused on "reproductive freedom," a political show of force aimed at criticizing former President Donald Trump over abortion and the to bring the issue to the forefront ahead of the November elections.
Tuesday afternoon's rally, which was interrupted several times by pro-Palestinian protesters, came as New Hampshire voters cast their ballots in a primary that could prove pivotal in determining the course of the 2024 presidential campaign.
Aware that a Trump win in New Hampshire could end the GOP nomination contest and set up the general election earlier than at any time in recent memory, Biden repeatedly attacked his predecessor by name.
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Several interruptions in Biden speech: “This will go on for a while”
“Let us remember that it was Donald Trump and his Supreme Court that curtailed the rights and freedoms of women in America,” he said at a cultural center near George Mason University.
“It will be Joe Biden and Kamala D. Harris and all of you who will restore these rights.”
His speech was interrupted at least 10 times by pro-Palestinian protesters chanting "Genocide Joe!" and "Free Palestine!" and waving flags that read "Stop Genocide."
“This is going to go on for a while,” Biden said after an outburst.
“You planned this.”
After each interruption, the crowd broke into chants of "Four more years" and "Let's go Joe," and Biden continued his speech without addressing the situation in Gaza.
But the constant interruptions showed how much Biden's support for Israel's military action in Gaza - which has resulted in the deaths of more than 25,000 people - has become an ever-present political liability for the president.
Biden's comments on abortion underscored a key issue on which Democrats have had repeated success over the past two years: Voters turned out in droves and spoke out against restrictions on the procedure imposed by the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling , the Roe v.
Wade repealed, were made possible.
US election 2024: So far, Joe Biden has held back on the issue of abortion
Biden, a practicing Catholic, has at times been very reserved in his public statements on abortion as he balances his personal beliefs and politics.
At a fundraiser last year, he said, "I'm not a big pro-abortion advocate," but reiterated that he would like to see Roe's protections enshrined in law.
At a meeting of his top officials at the White House on Monday, Biden made clear that he was not advocating "abortion on demand" but rather a federal policy that codifies the protections established by the Supreme Court in its 1973 Roe decision.
President Biden takes the stage at a campaign rally at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas, Virginia, on Tuesday.
© Salwan Georges/The Washington Post
“I believe that Roe v.
Wade was right.
I don't support - they didn't support abortion on demand," he said at the event marking the 51st. "It was Roe v.
Calf.
Roe v.
Wade was the decision.
And the majority of Americans agreed.”
Harris has at times spearheaded the administration's messaging on the issue, attacking "extremist" Republicans for banning abortion.
“Across our country, women are suffering — and let us be clear about who is responsible,” Harris said Tuesday.
“Former President Trump picked three Supreme Court justices because he intended for them to overturn Roe.
He wanted them to take away your freedoms.
He is the architect of this health crisis.
And he’s not done yet.”
Her appearance came a day after she traveled to Wisconsin to launch a national tour on abortion, portrayed by the Biden campaign as part of a broader range of personal freedoms threatened by a second Trump presidency.
Controversial topic of abortion: Trump describes ban as “tough”
Trump, for his part, has sought to take a more politically palatable approach to abortion after Republicans suffered losses in races where abortion access was a key issue.
During a Fox News town hall this month, he advocated allowing the procedure in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother's life is in danger.
Trump, who has called the six-week abortion ban "harsh," said at the town hall that "many women don't know whether they are five or six weeks pregnant," echoing a message that Democrats have successfully pushed have used.
He did not advocate for a national abortion ban.
“I’ll just say this: You have to win elections,” Trump said.
“Otherwise you will be back where you were.
This must never happen again.”
Democrats and advocates point out that it was Trump who appointed three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v.
Wade in 2022.
They have resurfaced and circulated clips of Trump boasting about the Supreme Court's decision and suggesting that women who have abortions should be "punished" in some way.
“Donald Trump is responsible for overturning Roe,” said Mini Timmaraju, head of Reproductive Freedom for All, the activist organization formerly known as the National Abortion Rights Action League.
“We have to pin it on him.”
Trump's performance in the New Hampshire primary, which is typically attended by moderate voters, could be a test of his handling of the abortion issue.
Biden's name will not be on the ballot in that state after Democrats changed their 2024 primary plan and chose the more diverse South Carolina for the first primary on February 3.
President Biden leaves the stage after his speech on Tuesday.
“Let us remember that it was Donald Trump and his Supreme Court that restricted the rights and freedoms of women in America,” he told the crowd.
© Salwan Georges/The Washington Post
Biden speaks to crowd about “freedom” and “care”
While Republicans focused on New Hampshire, Biden, Harris, Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff spoke to a few hundred supporters about 35 miles outside Washington.
Biden said the location of the rally in Northern Virginia was well chosen because the state's Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, had sought to prove last year that the 15-week abortion restriction he advocated was a sensible position, which is supported by a majority of voters.
Youngkin's party lost several seats in the November general election and Democrats took control of the House of Representatives.
While the president has largely avoided the word "abortion," instead using terms like "freedom," "choice" and "care," his Republican critics have not shied away from challenging him on the issue.
"Joe Biden is dodging questions about abortion restrictions because he knows that Democrats' support for abortion on demand ... is not mainstream," Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement Tuesday.
At the same time, even some Democrats are suggesting that Biden could provide more clarity on the issue.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently said that it would be good if Biden spoke more about abortion in public.
"I think people want to know that this is a president who fights," she said on CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
“And I think he said that.
Using more blunt language might be helpful.
To the author
Toluse “Tolu” Olorunnipa
is the White House bureau chief at The Washington Post and co-author of “His Name is George Floyd,” which won the 2023 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction.
He has worked for the Post since 2019 and has covered the last three presidents.
He previously worked at Bloomberg News and the Miami Herald, reporting from Washington and Florida.
We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English into German.
This article was first published in English on January 24, 2024 at the “Washingtonpost.com” - as part of a cooperation, it is now also available in translation to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.