WASHINGTON _ Former Vice President Joe Biden, opening a campaign trip in Iowa, on Wednesday will condemn President Trump in his bluntest language to date for his response to recent mass shootings and his inflammatory political rhetoric.
"In both clear language and in code, this president has fanned the flames of white supremacy in this nation," Biden will say in Burlington, Iowa, according to speech excerpts provided by the campaign. "Trump offers no moral leadership, no interest in unifying the nation, no evidence the presidency has awakened his conscience in the least."
Biden, like all the 2020 candidates, has repeatedly criticized Trump and his response to the mass shootings last weekend that left 31 people dead in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio. But other Democratic presidential candidates such as former Rep. Beto O'Rourke have been more direct in calling Trump a racist and white supremacist.
Biden in his speech Wednesday will say, "We have a president who has aligned himself with the darkest forces in this nation. And that makes winning the battle for the soul of this nation that much harder."
Biden has made the "battle for the soul of the nation" a central theme of his campaign, which was launched with an immediate focus on Trump and general election themes.
His supporters see him on stronger ground when he is setting himself in opposition to Trump than when he is at odds with his Democratic primary opponents, as he has been in contentious recent debates where he has been a target of attack and inconsistent in his ability to respond forcefully.
The Biden speech comes as President Trump travels Wednesday to meet with families and first responders in Dayton and El Paso, despite local Democrats' complaints about his visits.
