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Biden blasts Trump’s ‘narcissism’ in new phase of campaign

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joe Biden mounted one of his most aggressive attacks against President Donald Trump on Tuesday, deriding the commander in chief’s disregard of core constitutional values and blistering him for being “more interested in power, than in principle.”

“He thinks division helps him,” the presumptive Democratic nominee said in a speech at Philadelphia’s City Hall. “This narcissism has become more important than the nation’s well-being.”

Biden seized on police driving back peaceful protesters near the White House on Monday so Trump could briefly pose with a Bible before nearby St. John’s Church.

“If he opened it instead of brandishing it, he could have learned something,” Biden said as he chided authorities for using “tear gas and flash grenades in order to stage a photo op.”

Biden said Trump “might also want to open the U.S. Constitution. If he did, he’d find the First Amendment. It protects the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Biden’s address marked a new phase of a presidential campaign that had been effectively frozen for two-plus months by the spread of the coronavirus. The former vice president is now emerging from his Delaware home to confront Trump every day — and using in-person appearances to offer direct competition with the president, rather than relying on virtual events that often failed to garner a lot of attention.

It was the third consecutive day that Biden made a public appearance and the first time he’s been out of the state since March. His remarks were carried live on the three major cable news networks.

Biden delivered the remarks as upheaval in the wake of George Floyd’s death has spread around the country. While Biden spoke, the National Guard maintained a visible presence to defend public buildings as Philadelphia continues to face sustained violent protests. Several buildings adjacent to City Hall, including banks, convenience stores and hotels, were boarded up.

He spoke of the “tug of war between the American ideal that we are all created equal and the harsh reality that racism has long torn us apart.”

“The honest truth is both elements are part of the American character,” he said.

Since the early days of his candidacy, Biden has framed the election as a “battle for the soul of the nation.” He went into greater detail on Tuesday about what that meant and the questions voters should ask themselves.

“I ask every American to look at where we are now, and think anew: Is this who we are?” he said. “Is this who we want to be? Is this what we pass on to our kids’ and grandkids’ lives? Fear and finger-pointing rather than hope and the pursuit of happiness? Incompetence and anxiety? Self-absorption and selfishness?”

The tone was part of Biden’s effort to cast himself as a “consoler in chief” in stark contrast to Trump’s blunt, confrontational style. While he said his anguish over the death of his son Beau Biden five years ago from cancer isn’t the same as the sadness felt by those protesting police brutality, he said he understood the hopelessness that can come with grief.

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