Biden says that white supremacy is the biggest "terrorist threat" in the United States.
The president stated that racism "has long torn apart" the United States and that this "is a battle that never ends."
May 15, 2023 | 00:18
Newsroom El Recado: Redaccion@elrecado.pe / Information El Recado Internacional: internacional@elrecado.pe
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, said this Saturday that white supremacism is the most dangerous "terrorist threat" in the country and called to stop political violence ahead of next year's elections.
This is how the president expressed himself at a graduation ceremony at Howard University in Washington, an educational institution that has traditionally trained African-American students, including the vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris.
His statements coincide with the authorities' investigation into the racist motivations of the attacker who last week killed eight people in a shooting at a mall in Allen (Texas).
"White supremacy is the most dangerous terrorist threat to our national security. And I'm not saying that because I'm now at a traditionally black university, but I repeat it wherever I go," Biden told hundreds of students.
The president said that racism "has torn America apart for a long time" and that this "is a battle that never ends."
Biden turned his appearance at the university into a campaign rally for the 2024 presidential election, in which he hopes to be re-elected to another four years in office.
His main competitor, former President Donald Trump (2017-2021), also has a rally scheduled this Saturday in Iowa, the same state where Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is on tour, who is expected to soon formalize his campaign to get the nomination. Republican in the elections.
The Democratic president called for rejecting the political violence that, he considers, has been "emboldened" by Trump and the most extremist Republicans, who instigated the assault on the Capitol in 2021.
Howard University itself and other African-American schools have received bomb alerts in recent years.
"Vote for democracy at the polls to reject extremism and political violence," said the president.
He also urged to vote to "protect the fundamental rights of women", after several states have restricted abortion, taking advantage of the fact that the Supreme Court overturned last year the constitutional shielding of this right.
And he called for the vote to maintain free treatments for trans minors, which several Republican-ruled states are limiting, as well as to curb right-wing censorship of books with progressive ideas.
Despite everything, Biden said he was optimistic about the future because today's young people are "the most gifted, tolerant and best prepared generation in the history of the United States."