Biden to deliver prime-time address warning Americans’ rights are ‘under attack’

President Biden will deliver a prime-time speech from Philadelphia on Thursday about protecting democracy during which he will warn that Americans’ rights and freedoms are “under attack,” according to a White House official.  

Biden’s speech at Independence National Historical Park on Thursday evening will revive his 2020 campaign theme of fighting for the “soul of the nation,” according to the White House advisory, and is a sign of his message to voters coming into focus just two months out from the midterm elections.  

“He will speak about how the core values of this nation — our standing in the world, our democracy — are at stake,” the White House official said. “He 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. And he will make clear who is fighting for those rights, fighting for those freedoms, and fighting for our democracy.”  

Biden has begun to more forcefully criticize Republican candidates on the ballot in November, last week describing those who align themselves with former President Trump as threats to democracy and accusing them of embracing “semi-fascism.”  

“The MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and economic security. They’re a threat to our very democracy,” Biden said at a rally in Maryland last Thursday, referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan. “They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace, embrace political violence. They don’t believe in democracy.”  

NBC News was first to report on the upcoming speech.

An NBC News poll released earlier this month found that a plurality of voters rank threats to democracy as the most important issue facing the country — a larger percentage than those who single out cost of living.

It’s unclear whether Biden plans to explicitly mention Trump during his Thursday address, but plans for the speech suggest he’ll at least allude to the former president and his false claims about the 2020 election. 

Biden’s comments about semi-fascism have encountered some criticism. Emma Vaughn, a spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee, rebuked Biden’s rhetoric as divisive in a statement.  

“Biden has pitted neighbors against each other, labeled half of Americans as fascist, and tarnished any idea of his promise of ‘unity.’ Families are left with a recession, high gas prices, and a nation on the wrong track,” Vaughn said.  

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that Biden was not referring to all Republicans but rather members of the GOP who he considers “MAGA Republicans” when he made the remark about “semi-fascism.” 

Biden is increasing his domestic travel and is slated to travel to Pennsylvania — a key swing state — three times in the next week. He’ll visit Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday to discuss combating gun violence, and on Monday he’ll attend Labor Day festivities in Pittsburgh.  

Some of Biden’s trips are aimed at promoting his accomplishments, including a planned stop in Ohio later this month at the groundbreaking of a new Intel chip plant that will highlight the passage of a law championed by the Biden administration that will boost the domestic semiconductor industry.  

Updated: Aug. 30 at 9:10 a.m.