Biden to deliver address in Philadelphia on the 'battle for the soul of the nation'

President Biden.
(Image credit: Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

During a visit to Philadelphia's National Historical Park on Thursday, President Biden plans to deliver a prime-time address on democracy in the United States and "the continued battle for the soul of the nation," a White House official told The Washington Post.

Biden is giving the speech at the same site where the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were debated and signed, and "will talk about the progress we have made as a nation to protect our democracy, but how our rights and freedoms are still under attack," the official said. "He will make clear who is fighting for those rights, fighting for those freedoms, and fighting for our democracy."

In recent weeks, the president has stepped up his denunciation of those who are unwilling to accept the results of elections and are flirting with authoritarianism, declaring during a speech in Maryland that "the MAGA Republicans don't just threaten our personal rights and economic security. They're a threat to our very democracy. They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace ... political violence. They don't believe in democracy." He called on "those of you who love this country, Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans" to "be stronger, more determined, and more committed to saving America than the MAGA Republicans are to destroying America."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.