Biden offers an optimistic July 4 message in stark contrast to Trump’s split.

Former Vice President Joe Biden offered a message of hope and unity on the fourth of July that contrasted with the divisive tone of President Donald Trump’s speech at Mount Rushmore on Friday. With a message focused on racial justice, Biden said the United States “never lived up to” its founding principle that “all men are created equal.” In a video that includes images of protests and references to the Black Lives Matter movement, Biden offered a hopeful tone, saying that “we have an opportunity to uproot the roots of systemic racism outside this country” and “live up to the words that founded this nation. ” Trump, on the other hand, delivered a “dark speech” that amounted to “a full culture war against a left-wing version of the straw man he described as inciting chaos and moving the country toward totalitarianism,” as the New says. York Times that.

The alleged Democratic presidential candidate did not mention Trump in his video message, but his words made a clear distinction for Trump, who said that anyone who dared to question the country’s “heroes” is part of a “radical ideology.” Trump insisted that recent protests that have engulfed the country had consolidated divisions. “Our nation is witnessing a ruthless campaign to erase our history, defame our heroes, erase our values ​​and indoctrinate our children,” said Trump. “Angry mobs are trying to tear down the statues of our founders, disfigure our most sacred monuments, and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.”

While Trump insisted that a “left-wing cultural revolution” was trying to rewrite the history of the United States, Biden stressed that it is important to remember that the country’s past is not exactly perfect. “American history is not a fairy tale,” said Biden. “It has been a constant push between two parts of our character, the idea that all men and women, all people, are created equal and the racism that has torn us apart.”

In an op-ed, Biden went further on this idea, noting that “Independence Day is a celebration of our persistent march toward greater justice.” He also directly criticized Trump in the op-ed, saying that he is the primary person responsible for leading the nation off the path in his quest for a more perfect union. “Every day, he finds new ways to tarnish and dismantle our democracy, from unfounded attacks on our voting rights to the use of military force against Americans who peacefully protest racial justice,” Biden wrote. “He has consistently gone behind the barriers of our democracy: the free press, the courts, and our fundamental belief that no one in the United States, not even the president, is above the law.”

Biden’s campaign also harshly criticized Trump’s speech on Friday. “Our entire country is suffering the excruciating costs of having a negligent and divisive president who cares nothing for his own benefit,” campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement. It did not take long for the Trump campaign to respond as the divisive message doubled. “The idea that Biden, with his 40-plus years of DC failure, has any notion or ability to strengthen our union is absurd,” said campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh. “Due to political pressure from the left, Biden is forced to accept that the United States was fundamentally flawed from the start and continues to be so today. On the contrary, President Trump is proud of our history and firmly believes in our greatness today. “