Biden attacks Trump on white supremacy
Dems unified on need for gun violence answer
BURLINGTON, Iowa — Joe Biden on Wednesday accused President Donald Trump of “fanning the flames of white supremacy” in his most aggressive attack yet on the character of the man he would like to defeat in 2020.
“Trump offers no moral leadership,” Biden declared in Burlington, Iowa. The president “seems to have no interest in unifying the nation.”
Biden’s remarks, which have been echoed in some form by most of the Democratic presidential candidates, signaled how sharp and bitter the nation’s cultural and political divides will be on the long road to Election Day.
They also marked a moment of unity for Biden and his presidential rivals, who have turned on each other in recent weeks. But on Wednesday, they were nearly unanimous in their support of an aggressive plan to confront gun violence just days after another series of mass shootings elevated the issue to the forefront of the party’s presidential primary.
Virtually all of them vowed to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, while some, like Cory Booker, called for requiring all gun owners to obtain licenses.
Hours before Biden lashed out against Trump in Iowa, Booker spoke at Charleston, South Carolina’s Mother Emanuel Church, where a white supremacist shot to death nine black parishioners four years ago. The New Jersey senator demanded bold action to stop gun violence.
“We must act to get weapons of war off our streets, out of our grocery stores, our bars, our temples and our churches by banning assault weapons once and for all,” Booker said.
Democrat Steve Bullock, the Montana governor, backed gun control measures, insisting in a Washington speech that gun owners are worried about their families’ safety just like everyone else. He called for universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, and so-called “red flag” laws aimed at restricting gun ownership for high-risk individuals.
“I am a hunter and a gun owner,” Bullock said. “And let me say as a hunter, no real hunter needs a 30-round clip. No real hunter needs a weapon of war.”
Elsewhere on the campaign trail:
Beto O’rourke announced Wednesday that he won’t attend the Iowa State Fair or other planned events, meaning he’s avoiding the state that kicks off presidential primary voting at a time when nearly every other Democratic 2020 hopeful will be there. Instead, his Iowa campaign staff is organizing a moment of silence before a Friday night event featuring most of the other candidates.
That means O’rourke will be suspending his campaign for more than a week and counting — and when he will rejoin the race isn’t yet clear.
Three White House hopefuls — Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand and Amy Klobuchar — on Wednesday offered sweeping proposals that touch on everything from farm subsidies to rural broadband and health care.
Police arrested a man after he allegedly posted an online threat of violence connected to a scheduled Sen. Bernie Sanders rally in Long Beach, Calif., on Tuesday. Detectives arrested 27-year-old Jose Rafael Guzman of Huntington Park, a Los Angeles suburb, on Monday, the Long Beach Police Department said in a statement.
A Democratic primary for
Queens district attorney that gained national attention reached its end Tuesday, with public defender Tiffany Cabán conceding to Queens Borough President Melinda Katz after a judicial review of disputed ballots didn’t significantly alter Katz’s slim lead.
Cabán, 32, was endorsed by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, as well as U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-cortez. Her campaign platform included a promise to prosecute and incarcerate fewer people.
Katz, 53, was the choice of moderate Democrats like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as well as unions and county party leaders. A veteran politician, she served in the state Assembly from 1994 to 1999 and on the City Council from 2002 to 2009.