Biden lashes out at ‘extreme’ MAGA agenda of Trump’s followers
JOE BIDEN has described Donald Trump’s followers as the “most extreme political organisation in recent American history” as he suggested that they could try to ban birth control and make LGBTQ children sit in different classrooms.
The US President lambasted supporters of his predecessor’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) agenda in the wake of the US Supreme Court’s apparent decision to overturn Roe vs Wade – the landmark 1973 ruling enshrining the right to abortion.
Three of the five Supreme Court Justices thought to be supporting the move were nominated by Mr Trump.
Mr Biden’s comments marked a sharp escalation of rhetoric expected to heighten animosity between Democrats and Republicans ahead of midterm elections in November.
On Monday, a leaked draft majority Supreme Court opinion suggested Roe vs Wade would be struck down, leaving laws on abortion to individual states – many of which will ban it.
Speaking at the White House last night, Mr Biden said: “What are the next things that are going to be attacked? Because this MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organisation that’s existed in American history, in recent American history.”
In what appeared to be a reference to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, which forbids classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in primary schools, he added: “This is about a lot more than abortion. What happens if you have a state that changes the law saying that children who are LGBTQ cannot be in classrooms with other children? Is that legit under the way the decision is written?”
Mr Biden also suggested that the right of married couples to access birth control could be at risk. He referred to the Griswold vs Connecticut ruling in
1965 that overturned a state ban on married couples using contraceptives.
Mr Biden also accused Republicans of protecting billionaires at the expense of the working-class while paying lipservice to reducing budget deficits.
Meanwhile, Ron Desantis, the Republican governor of Florida, described the leak of the Supreme Court draft as a “judicial insurrection”, and an attempt to “kneecap” the court.
Mr Desantis, who recently signed a bill banning abortions after 15 weeks, said: “To have that leak out the way it did was really unprecedented.
“I think it was intentional to try to whip up a lot of the public, and potentially try to bully one of them into changing their positions.”
If the Supreme Court confirms the decision to overturn Roe vs Wade then American women will be able to go to Canada for abortions. Karina Gould, Canada’s minister of families, said: “If they need access, certainly that’s a service that would be provided.”