Biden calls for unity and a revival of 'the spirit of bipartisanship in this country'

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden traveled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, where he delivered a speech calling on Americans to "revive the spirit of bipartisanship in this country, the spirit of being able to work with one another."

Biden said people don't have to "agree with me on everything, or even on most things," to clearly see that from the coronavirus pandemic to President Trump calling into question the fairness of elections, what "we're experiencing today is neither good nor normal." There is "unrelenting partisan warfare" between Democrats and Republicans, making the United States "a house divided," Biden said, and that "can no longer be. We are facing too many crises, we have too much work to do, we have too bright a future to have it shipwrecked on the shoals of anger and hate and division."

Biden said he believes in "law and order," and has "never supported defunding the police," but he also knows that "injustice is real. We do not have to choose between law and order and racial justice in America. We can have both." He urged Americans to find common ground and stay calm amid the chaos, and embrace common sense when it comes to the pandemic. The coronavirus "doesn't care where you live, what political party you belong to," he said, and it's time to "end the politics and follow the science. Wearing a mask is not a political statement. It's a scientific recommendation. Social distancing isn't a political statement. It's a scientific recommendation."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up