USA

Biden Warns Democracy Threatened

FILE: US President Joe Biden speaks during a rally hosted by the Democratic National Committee at Richard Montgomery High School, Aug. 25, 2022, in Rockville, Md.

President Joe Biden will sound the alarm on threats to US democracy in a rare prime-time address to the nation in the key swing state of Pennsylvania Thursday as his party fights to hold on to Congress in the midterm elections.

The Democratic leader will echo his 2020 campaign theme about the battle for the "soul of nation" in historic Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were written.

He will set out how an imperiled democracy threatens America's standing on the international stage, according to White House officials, highlighting action to protect voting rights but warning that access to the ballot box is still at risk.

Initially preferring to present himself as a unifier in a deeply divided country, Biden has recently been concentrating his fire on Trumpist Republicans he has accused of embracing "semi-fascism."

Biden, the Democratic leader, will echo his 2020 campaign theme about the battle for the "soul of nation" in historic Philadelphia, where the Declaration of Independence and US Constitution were written.

The 79-year-old Democrat, who narrowly beat Trump in Pennsylvania in 2020, will bookend Thursday's address with two other visits to the state.

He will set out how an imperiled democracy threatens America's standing on the international stage, according to White House officials, highlighting action to protect voting rights but warning that access to the ballot box is still at risk.

The outcome of the upcoming Senate election in Pennsylvania could decide whether the Democrats cede control of the evenly divided upper chamber of Congress to the Republicans for the next two years.

The Cook Political Report moved the race to "lean Democrat" this month, however, citing widespread Republican concerns with Trump-backed celebrity physician Mehmet Oz's campaign.

In every post-World War II midterm election, the president's party has lost an average of 26 seats in the House of Representatives and four Senate seats.

Republicans were heavy favorites to make big gains in both chambers in this cycle but an unexpected special election victory in New York's Hudson Valley has given Democrats hope of averting a washout.

A spate of Democratic legislative achievements has also started to pierce the consensus about a Republican wave -- along with a recent drop in gas prices, stumbling Trump-backed Senate candidates in several states and a backlash to efforts to restrict abortion.

Every seat in the House is up for election in November, while 36 of the 100 Senate spots are up for grabs -- 20 of which are currently held by Republicans.