Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden traveled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on August 31, to deliver a speech on the current state of unrest in America. Afterward, Biden and his team personally delivered pizza from Mineo’s Pizza House to local EMTs, as reported by The Hill.
As Biden stepped out of his car after arriving at the local firehouse, a lone protester standing on top of a vehicle and wearing a T-shirt with “Trump 2020” emblazoned on the front, started to heckle the former vice president. Through a megaphone, the man yelled, “Hey, Joe. You finally got out of the basement!”
President Donald Trump has previously criticized Biden, 77, for running his presidential campaign from his “basement,” but Biden did not take the bait. In response, Biden said, “Don’t jump. Don’t jump,” before walking away. Video of the interaction has already been viewed over 1.2 million times.
Biden responded to this specific bit of Trump’s criticism during an interview with ABC News on August 23. He said, “Guess what. I have left my basement, and in the meantime, 500 million people have watched what I’ve done out of my basement. It’s about being responsible.”
“We’re going to follow the science, what the scientists tell us,” Biden continued. “We’ve been able to travel places when we’ve been able to do it in a way that we don’t cause the congregation of large numbers of people.”
Speaking of Trump’s rallies, “Look what happened with his, his events, people die, people get together, they don’t wear masks, they end up getting COVID,” Biden said. “They end up dying, one of his strongest supporters, the point is that this is about the science.”
Biden Denounced All Types of Violent Protests During His Speech in Pittsburgh
During Biden’s speech, he denounced all forms of violent protest. “I want to be very clear about all of this: Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting,” Biden said. “Setting fires is not protesting. None of this is protesting. It’s lawlessness, plain and simple. And those who do it should be prosecuted,” Biden said. “Violence will not bring change, it will only bring destruction. It’s wrong in every way.”
As for Trump, he would “do anything to hold onto political power,” Biden continued. The president “has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years. Will we rid ourselves of this toxin? Or will we make it a permanent part of our nation’s character?”
In response, Trump tweeted, “Just watched what Biden had to say. To me, he’s blaming the Police far more than he’s blaming the Rioters, Anarchists, Agitators, and Looters, which he could never blame or he would lose the Radical Left Bernie supports!”
Biden & His Wife Jill Will Visit Numerous Battleground States in the Coming Weeks
Biden’s speech in Pittsburgh on Monday kicked off his upcoming “back-to-school” campaign tour. According to CNN, he and his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, will visit numerous battleground states for a combination of both virtual and in-person events. The Bidens are slated to visit Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida, Nevada, Minnesota, Arizona and Pennsylvania.
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