Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are alarmed by Donald Trump's threat to American democracy

President Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris, who aspires to succeed him, expressed alarm on Wednesday about the threat that their rival Donald Trump would pose to American democracy, regardless of the outcome of the presidential election in November.

“If Trump loses, I'm not at all certain” that a peaceful transition of power will take place, the Democratic leader said in an interview on CBS, saying he feared violence.

The interview, which will be broadcast in full on Sunday, is the 81-year-old president's first since he gave up running for a second term in late July.

Donald Trump, the former Republican president, has never acknowledged his 2020 defeat, has undergone two impeachment proceedings, two indictments for attempts to reverse the results of that election, one for his role in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and has been criminally convicted for hidden payments during his victorious 2016 campaign.

At a rally in Wisconsin and Michigan, two key states crucial to retaining the White House, his vice-president Kamala Harris warned against a victory for the billionaire.

“Donald Trump openly promised that, if re-elected, he would be a dictator from day one, that he would use the Justice system against his political enemies (…) and even that he would, I quote, +repeal the Constitution+”, warned the Democratic candidate in Eau Claire, in the heart of the “Midwest”.

– “Never again” Trump –

“Someone who suggests repealing the Constitution of the United States should never again have the opportunity to stand behind the Seal of the President of the United States,” said the magistrate, accompanied by her newly appointed running mate Tim Walz.

US Vice President and Democratic candidate for the 2024 presidential election speaks during a campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on August 7, 2024 © AFP – KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI

A repeated attack Wednesday evening in Detroit, Michigan, during another rally in front of 15,000 people. The Democratic crowd then chanted: “To jail! To jail!”, a slogan initially used in 2016 by Donald Trump supporters against Hillary Clinton.

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Unlike the former Republican president, who allowed this rallying cry to flourish, Ms. Harris silenced her supporters: “The courts will take care of this, we will beat him in November.”

She portrayed the duo formed with Mr. Walz as a pair of “joyous warriors”, representatives of the “middle classes”, on a crusade against the restrictions on freedom that Donald Trump would like to impose.

With the cardinal value of defending the right to abortion, which the conservative Supreme Court shaped by the former president no longer guarantees.

“They can claim whatever they want, they are banning abortion across the country,” said Mr. Walz, true to his reputation as a slayer of the Republican “ticket,” which he describes as “bizarre.”

After Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz must continue their tour of key states this week. On Thursday, a new event awaits them in Michigan.

– “Communist country” –

The governor of Minnesota, little known until now, is taking the opportunity to show his complementarity with the vice president. A self-confessed hunter, Mr. Walz boasts of his rural roots, his past as an ex-military in the National Guard and his former American football coach.

The Republican camp portrays him as a “dangerous extremist leftist” because this former geography teacher supported progressive measures, such as the legalization of marijuana and the strengthening of controls on the purchase of firearms.

Conservatives also criticize his management of Covid-19 and the demonstrations following the death of African-American George Floyd in 2020 in Minneapolis.

Donald Trump ironically said on Fox News that he was “delighted” with the choice of Mr. Walz, “(so) that this country becomes communist immediately.”

But the task has become complicated for the tempestuous 78-year-old businessman who has had to adapt his speech in the face of this new competition, an 18-year-old black woman cadette.

The Republican billionaire has no campaign rallies this week and has sent his running mate to the same key states as the Democratic “ticket.”

After Joe Biden's withdrawal, Ms. Harris is enjoying real enthusiasm: she has managed to close the gap with Donald Trump in the polls, which now show the two camps neck and neck.

But she will have to prove her ability to ride this wave over time. In her rallies, she has so far carefully avoided discussing the inflation of recent years in the United States and said nothing about international politics.

In Detroit, she was interrupted by pro-Palestinian activists shouting “we will not vote for genocide!”.

“If you want Donald Trump to win, say that,” she said with aplomb. “Otherwise, I'll talk.”

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