President Biden to address ‘soul of the nation’ Thursday in Philadelphia primetime speech

Published: Sep. 1, 2022 at 10:16 AM EDT
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The “soul of the nation” is what the White House says President Joe Biden plans to talk about during a primetime address in Philadelphia tonight.

“This is something that he talked about since the beginning of his deciding to run for president,” says Chris Meagher, White House Deputy Press Secretary.

Meagher says the president’s speech will stress what he believes are America’s core values like democracy, our standing in the world, a woman’s right to choose and equality.

“You know, we’ve made a lot of progress, but we have a lot of progress still to go,” Meagher said.

The White House says the speech is not political despite it taking place so close to the midterms. Either way, RNC Communications Director Danielle Alvarez says Democrats will have a tough time selling President Biden’s priorities.

“They will have to answer for rampant crime. They will have to answer for an open border. They will have to answer for a botched Afghanistan withdrawal. They will have to answer for all of these failures that they’re struggling with as a result of Joe Biden and Democrats poor leadership,” said Alvarez.

Navin Nayak with the progressive think tank Center for American Progress says President Biden’s message is vital because of what he calls an existential threat to democracy.

“The MAGA Republicans have nominated more than 100 candidates across the country that still continue to push the lies that led to the violence and death and chaos of January 6th,” said Nayak.

The Philadelphia trip is one of several visits President Biden has lined up. The White House says the president will be back in Pennsylvania on Monday in Pittsburgh. The president will also be traveling to Wisconsin, Ohio, and Massachusetts the next couple weeks.