President Biden is expected to condemn "MAGA forces" and their determination to "take this country backwards" in a rare primetime speech on Thursday.
Driving the news: His planned remarks at Philadelphia's Independence Hall will call on all Americans to defend the nation against threats to democracy — including aspects of Trumpism — during a visit to one of the biggest political battlegrounds on the midterm map.
What he's saying: "So tonight I have come here to the place where it all began to speak plainly to the nation about the threats we face," he will say, according to excerpts released by the White House. "About the power we have in our own hands to meet those threats. And about the incredible future that lies in front of us if only we choose it."
- "MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards. Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love."
- "For a long time, we’ve reassured ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed," he will note. "But it is not. We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us."
Worth noting: Biden slammed Trump-allied Republicans last week and likened the MAGA movement to "semi-fascism" in his first political rally speech in the leadup to November's midterm elections.
The big picture: Trump will headline an event with three of his endorsed candidates in Pennsylvania this week....