President Joe Biden addressed the 115th NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas on Tuesday, marking his return to the campaign trail after a shaky debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
Following the June 27 debate, some Democrats have called for Biden to drop out of the race and expressed concerns about his performance.
The NAACP, the oldest and largest U.S. civil rights organization, represents a key constituency for the Democratic Party. While Blacks turned out heavily for Biden in 2020, polls have shown waning support for him among Black voters in this election.
“I am Joe Biden and I am a lifetime member of the NAACP,” he said. “And I am all in!”
Homing in on violence, rhetoric and the future of Black communities in the United States, Biden garnered hearty cheers and chants of “four more years” throughout the speech.
The president attacked Trump’s debate talking point of “Black jobs,” claiming that the GOP frontrunner is “lying like Hell” about Black unemployment under the Biden-Harris administration.
“I know what a ‘Black job’ is,” Biden said. “It’s vice president of the United States.”
He reiterated common platform points like health care, economic strength, student debt, marijuana incarceration and diversity, promising to take care of Black communities first if reelected.
Derrick Johnson, the NAACP president, told Reuters that he hopes Biden lays out a plan to help Black Americans who are struggling economically and who are fearful that their rights are under threat.
“People are concerned about the price of gas, price of bread, but they’re also concerned with their growing knowledge around Project 2025,” Johnson said, referring to a set of conservative policy proposals that have become a lightning rod for Trump critics.
“It’s not enough to talk about the past. We need a vision for the future,” Biden said.
He mapped out his first 100 days in a second term, including his goals to:
Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, Pass the Freedom to Vote Act, Restore Roe v. Wade, “come Hell or high water”, Sign George Floyd Policing Act into law, Increase taxes on billionaires, Build two million affordable homes, Continue student debt relief policy and Raise minimum wage.
Referencing a psalm, the Catholic candidate called on his constituents to back him as the speech finished.
“Hopefully with age, I’ve demonstrated a little bit of wisdom. Here’s what I do know: I know how to tell the truth, I know right from wrong, I know how to do this job,” Biden said. “And I know the good lord hasn’t brought us this far to leave us now.”
GOP lawmakers urge voters, gun owners to remain vigilant.
Biden repeated a call for unity following the tragedy, telling the NAACP crowd: “Our politics has gotten too heated … We all have a responsibility to lower the temperature and condemn violence in any form.”
“Violence is not the answer. That’s what we should rally around as a nation. That’s the unity I’m talking about,” Biden added.
The incumbent president spoke specifically about gun violence in America, vowing to outlaw assault weapons.
“[They] killed too many children. It’s time to outlaw them. I did it once, I will do it again,” he said.
Reported by NewsNation
