Biden Condemns Violence On Left And Right ‘Unequivocally,’ Challenges Trump To Do Same

TOPLINE

Former Vice President Joe Biden issued his strongest condemnation yet of violence in Portland, Oregon, amid allegations by Republicans that he has not gone far enough, specifically condemning violence on both sides of the political spectrum and challenging President Trump to do so as well.

KEY FACTS

Key Background

Biden has frequently framed his campaign as a crusade to “restore the soul of the nation,” with his campaign announcement video taking aim at Trump’s response to violence at the Charlottesville protests in August, 2017.

Crucial Quote

“He may believe tweeting about law and order makes him strong – but his failure to call on his supporters to stop seeking conflict shows just how weak he is,” Biden’s statement says of Trump. “He may think that war in our streets is good for his reelection chances, but that is not presidential leadership – or even basic human compassion.”

Chief Critic

Conservatives were quick to cast the statement as toothless and platitudinous for not featuring specific calls for punishment. “Another Biden statement condemning violence in the abstract but refusing to support the police, call for arrests, demand prosecutions and jail sentences, etc — you know, the stuff that actually stops violence,” Washington Free Beacon contributor Noah Pollak tweeted, claiming that Biden “is afraid of alienating Dems who hate law enforcement.” Though Biden said in July that violent and lawless protesters should be “found, arrested and tried.”