US President Joe Biden expressed uncertainty about the potential for a peaceful US election in November, pointing to inflammatory remarks made by Republican contender Donald Trump, who continues to deny his 2020 loss.
Mr. Biden’s statement came as politicians and analysts raised alarms about the tone of the campaign leading up to the election.
Mr. Trump, who faced an assassination attempt in July followed by another suspected plot in September, claimed there was widespread fraud after his defeat to Mr. Biden in 2020. Pro-Trump rioters, incited by his false accusations, stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“I’m confident it will be free and fair. I don’t know whether it will be peaceful,” Mr. Biden told reporters while discussing the election.
Mr. Trump was impeached in 2021 for inciting the insurrection after hundreds of his supporters, encouraged by him to “fight like hell,” clashed with police, breaking windows at the Capitol and breaching doors.
‘They cheat like hell’
Mr. Trump has been indicted for what prosecutors allege was a “private criminal effort” to undermine the election, which culminated in the violence.
The former US president, set to return to the location of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, has faced criticism for his violent rhetoric for some time.
Mr. Biden made his comments during his first appearance in the White House briefing room as president, where he highlighted his administration’s accomplishments while his vice president, Kamala Harris, faces off against Mr. Trump.
Donald Trump is scheduled to revisit the site of his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, the November opponents were campaigning in key battleground states likely to determine the outcome of the election.
Mr. Trump campaigned in North Carolina, reiterating his claims of voter fraud from 2020:
“We should get elected, but remember this, they cheat like hell,” he remarked.
The Republican candidate also visited neighboring Georgia, a swing state that Mr. Biden narrowly won four years ago but was claimed by Mr. Trump in 2016, making it one of the most sought-after prizes in the 2024 election.
Mr. Trump, 78, faces racketeering charges from state prosecutors, with the case currently on hold but expected to resume after the election. He denies any wrongdoing.
‘Biggest loser’
Mr. Trump joined Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp after being briefed on the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, which is the deadliest storm to hit the US mainland since Katrina in 2005.
The former president has consistently spread misinformation regarding the federal response to the disaster, erroneously claiming that relief funds were misallocated by Ms. Harris to benefit migrants.
Ms. Harris, who is closely competing with the former president in all seven swing states, rallied in Michigan, a union stronghold that represents the decline of US manufacturing that began in the 1980s.
The Democratic candidate accused Mr. Trump of putting Michigan auto jobs at risk.
“This is a man who has only ever fought for himself. This is a man who has been a union buster his entire career,” she stated during a stop in Detroit.
Kamala Harris addressed a rally in Michigan.
Later, in Flint, she referred to Mr. Trump as “one of the biggest losers of manufacturing jobs in American history.”
Flint, a majority Black city, became known for a scandal in the 2010s involving lead-contaminated water, which highlighted government mismanagement and its disproportionate impact on poor and non-white communities.
Ms. Harris reminded attendees that the election is just one month away and that early voting has already commenced in several states.
“Folks, the election is here. And we need to energize, organize, and mobilize,” Ms. Harris urged.
