Biden warns GOP could set nation on 'path to chaos' as democratic system faces strain - The Washington Post

Speaking astatine Washington’s Union Station — steps from the U.S. Capitol, which was attacked by a pro-Trump mob successful the aftermath of the nation’s past large predetermination — Biden warned of an ongoing battle connected American democracy. The president spoke arsenic a increasing fig of large Republican candidates person said they whitethorn travel successful erstwhile president Donald Trump’s footsteps and garbage to concede should they lose.

“It’s unprecedented. It’s unlawful. And it is un-American,” Biden said. “As I’ve said before, you can’t emotion your state lone erstwhile you win.”

The virtually unprecedented statesmanlike connection — a plea to Americans to judge the basal tenets of their ideology — came arsenic millions of voters person already formed their ballots oregon are readying to spell to the polls connected Election Day, and arsenic immoderate predetermination officials expressed assurance that the strategy would hold.

Biden spoke days aft an assailant equipped with a hammer broke into the San Francisco location of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and, according to constabulary and prosecutors, bludgeoned her 82-year-old husband, Paul. Biden opened by addressing the gruesome aboriginal Friday greeting assault.

“We must, with 1 overwhelming unified voice, talk arsenic a state and accidental there’s nary place, nary spot for elector intimidation oregon governmental unit successful America, whether it’s directed astatine Democrats oregon Republicans,” helium said. “No place, period. No place, ever.”

Last week, aggregate authorities agencies, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, issued a memo informing that threats posed by home convulsive extremists would astir apt summation successful the 90-day station predetermination period, according to a transcript of the papers obtained by The Washington Post.

The memo listed imaginable scenarios that could trigger much violence, including “actual oregon perceived efforts to suppress voting access.”

“Following the 2022 midterm election, perceptions of election-related fraud and dissatisfaction with electoral outcomes apt volition effect successful heightened threats of unit against a wide scope of targets — specified arsenic ideological opponents and predetermination workers,” the memo read.

Election officials person said they don’t rather cognize what to expect, fixed promises from assorted Trump-supporting organizations to flood polls and counting stations with partisan observers. Trump allies person urged his backers to lodge predominant challenges, enactment that officials accidental could disrupt the process.

Biden has spoken much forcefully astir the threats Republicans airs to ideology successful caller months. While helium began alluding to “MAGA Republicans” successful the outpouring — a moniker helium uses to separate those aligned with Trump from much accepted conservatives — Biden addressed the contented successful unusually blunt presumption astatine a fundraiser successful precocious August, informing that the GOP was headed toward “semi-fascism.”

On Wednesday night, Biden formed the information to ideology arsenic portion of an ongoing battle launched 2 years agone by Trump and the Republican Party helium inactive leads. The pro-Trump faction of the party, helium said, “is trying to win wherever they failed successful 2020: to suppress the close of voters and subvert the electoral strategy itself.”

Even earlier Biden spoke Wednesday, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel issued a connection calling his words “desperate and dishonest.”

“Joe Biden promised unity but has alternatively demonized and smeared Americans, portion making beingness much costly for all,” McDaniel said. “While Republicans stay focused connected the issues that substance astir to voters, Biden and Democrats are flailing.”

The code Wednesday evening was Biden’s astir nonstop code astir the threats the American antiauthoritarian strategy faces since Sept. 1, erstwhile helium delivered a code extracurricular Philadelphia’s Independence Hall and warned that “too overmuch of what’s happening successful our state contiguous is not normal.”

“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans correspond an extremism that threatens the precise foundations of our republic,” helium said then.

Shortly aft Biden’s Philadelphia speech, apical White House officials began talking astir doing different akin code astir the threats to democracy, according to a idiosyncratic acquainted with the readying who spoke connected the information of anonymity due to the fact that they were not authorized to talk connected the record.

Biden’s code Wednesday was successful the works for respective weeks, the idiosyncratic said. But the opening was rewritten to code the battle connected Paul Pelosi. Biden besides made a constituent of mentioning Republicans who person been subjected to predetermination threats and violence, including erstwhile vice president Mike Pence and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Biden urged voters to beryllium diligent aft the election, noting that rules for counting ballots mean that immoderate outcomes mightiness not beryllium instantly clear.

“It’s ever been important for citizens successful a ideology to beryllium informed and engaged,” helium said. “Now it’s important for citizens to beryllium diligent arsenic well.”

And helium urged citizens to instrumentality the aboriginal of ideology into relationship erstwhile making their choices Tuesday, saying they should ballot “knowing what we’re astatine hazard of becoming.”

“In our bones, we cognize ideology is astatine risk,” helium said. “We besides cognize this: It’s wrong our power, each and each 1 of us, to sphere our democracy.”

Unlike their Democratic counterparts, galore Republicans locked successful cardinal races crossed the state person refused to accidental whether they volition judge the results of Tuesday’s election.

“We’ll spot what happens,” Republican Sen. Ron Johnson told reporters successful Wisconsin connected Tuesday. He is successful a choky contention with Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes, the lieutenant politician for his state. “I mean, is thing going to hap connected Election Day? Do Democrats person thing up their sleeves?”

The president’s code came arsenic developments successful the courtroom and beyond person served to underscore anxieties astir whether adjacent week’s elections volition tally smoothly and whether results volition beryllium wide embraced arsenic legitimate.

The Justice Department has said aggregate divisions of the sprawling instrumentality enforcement bureau volition beryllium moving to guarantee the voting process operates safely and smoothly crossed the country.

The department’s Civil Rights Division, which is charged with enforcing laws relating to voting rights, has said it volition show the voting process crossed the state to guarantee jurisdictions are complying with national voting laws. The section has not said however galore radical it volition dispatch oregon wherever they would nonstop them. On Election Day 2020, it sent monitors to 44 jurisdictions, including Gwinnett County successful Georgia, Broward County successful Florida and Fairfax County successful Virginia.

Already, the section has weighed successful on an Arizona predetermination lawsuit, supporting a assertion by the League of Women Voters of Arizona that monitoring ballot driblet boxes, including by filming voters depositing their ballots, tin magnitude to amerciable elector intimidation.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Michael Liburdi, who was appointed to the seat by Trump, agreed, issuing a far-reaching order restricting what the Arizona radical Clean Elections USA oregon its allies tin bash oregon accidental adjacent ballot boxes. The ruling prevents drop-box watchers from taking photos oregon videos of voters and utilizing the worldly to dispersed baseless allegations of electoral fraud. Clean Elections USA has been among the groups echoing the claims that “ballot traffickers” illegally deposited aggregate ballots successful driblet boxes up of the 2020 statesmanlike election.

Bill Gates, president of the governing committee that oversees Maricopa County, location to astir of Arizona’s voters, said “the remainder of the world” volition beryllium watching however America conducts its elections arsenic information and misinformation collide.

“There’s a existent interest that there’s thing incorrect with our antiauthoritarian republic … and that Arizona … and Maricopa County is simply a spot wherever this benignant of conflict is taking place,” said Gates, a Republican.

Meanwhile, successful Pennsylvania, the authorities Supreme Court told counties not to number mail-in ballots without handwritten dates but near unanswered cardinal ineligible questions astir the issue, including however it volition beryllium resolved should apical races successful the captious authorities beryllium tight. GOP voters, arsenic good arsenic the authorities and nationalist parties, had sued implicit the issue, arguing that authorities instrumentality requires deeming invalid each ballots lacking a day oregon bearing an inaccurate date.

Lawyers for Leigh M. Chapman, the apical authorities predetermination authoritative successful the medication of Gov. Tom Wolf (D), had argued that aggregate courts had antecedently ruled that undated ballots should beryllium counted, and that counties person nary mode of determining whether the day connected a message envelope is “inaccurate.” They argued that a determination not to number those ballots would sow disorder and disenfranchise ineligible voters.

The lawsuit was portion of a flood of litigation that has already been filed targeting predetermination practices, tribunal enactment that could spike aft Election Day should cardinal races beryllium close. The RNC said it is progressive successful lawsuits successful Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin to grow entree for partisan canvass watchers and challengers.

A justice successful Wisconsin connected Wednesday ordered a metropolis clerk successful Green Bay to springiness canvass watchers much access, a time aft a radical of watchers filed suit saying they could not observe each aspects of aboriginal voting. City officials said they were making much areas disposable for reflection successful effect to the lawsuit. The RNC praised the ruling arsenic a triumph for transparency.

Democrats could situation GOP actions successful court, extending predetermination enactment for days aft Tuesday’s vote. Pennsylvania Attorney Gen. Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee for governor, told reporters connected his run autobus successful Pittsburgh connected Tuesday that helium would usage the courts if indispensable to support the vote.

“I’m assured if there’s a ineligible process we request to spell through, that the volition of the radical volition beryllium respected,” said Shapiro, who is moving against authorities Sen. Doug Mastriano (R), a starring proponent of mendacious claims the 2020 predetermination was stolen.

Mastriano was 1 of a twelve Republican candidates successful competitory races for politician and Senate who declined to accidental whether they would judge the results of their contests successful a September survey by The Washington Post.

In Wisconsin, Republican gubernatorial nominee Tim Michels suggested astatine a run halt Monday that his predetermination would effect successful imperishable GOP power successful the state.

“Republicans volition ne'er suffer different predetermination successful Wisconsin aft I’m elected governor,” Michels said.

Michels is locked successful a choky contention with Gov. Tony Evers (D). The five-second clip of Michels saying Republicans would ne'er suffer different predetermination if helium wins was posted connected Twitter by the wide radical American Bridge.

His spokesperson aboriginal said helium meant lone that helium would bash a bully occupation and voters would reward his party, but Democrats feared helium was hinting astatine an overhaul of however authorities elections are administered.

Emma Brown, Amy Gardner, Colby Itkowitz, Annie Linskey, Patrick Marley, Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Maria Sacchetti and Annabelle Timsit contributed to this report.