Biden back in campaign mode against Trump after shooting

Las Vegas, United States – AFP

President Joe Biden resumed political attacks against Donald Trump on Tuesday for the first time since the assassination attempt on his rival, as the Democrat sought to prop up his own faltering reelection bid.

But as he returned to the campaign trail with a speech to crucial Black voters at the NAACP advocacy group in Las Vegas, Biden did not hold back against Trump, who was injured in the ear.

Biden said Trump’s presidency had been “hell for Black Americans.”

Cheers erupted as the 81-year-old lashed out at the Republican for talking about “Black jobs” during their recent debate — the same debate during which Biden gave a stumbling performance that has plunged his candidacy into crisis.

“Folks, I know what a Black job is — it’s the vice president of the United States,” said Biden, referring to his running mate Kamala Harris, the first Black and female VP.

But he opened his speech by saying he was “grateful” that Trump was safe after the shooting.

Biden’s renewed political focus on Trump comes as calls by some Democrats for him to step down after the debate, briefly silenced by the shooting, resumed.

The Democratic National Committee meanwhile is pushing ahead with plans to rush through Biden’s own nomination ahead of its convention in August, despite calls to postpone the process.

– ‘Full of energy’ –

At the NAACP meeting in Las Vegas, there was widespread support for Biden staying on.

“I found President Biden very full of energy,” said Donna Jackson-Houston, an NAACP member from California.

She admitted that “I and many others had doubts” about Biden’s age and gaffes after the debate, but “he did a great job today convincing me.”

Tony Fields from New Jersey said Biden’s speech was “very insightful,” adding that the bad debate was “just a moment that the President had that evening.”