In another night of victories in the primaries, Biden defends the right to abortion and Trump repeats that immigrants are “animals”

The president of the United States called on Tuesday to defend the right to abortion, while his opponent, Republican Donald Trump, continued his anti-immigration rhetoric. Seven months before the presidential elections on November 5th, both won the primaries of their respective parties in four states, at a time when they are already guaranteed to be nominated for the elections.

Democrat Joe Biden’s campaign accused his predecessor and re-candidate of wanting to ban the voluntary termination of pregnancy across the country if he returns to the White House. Democrats launched an ad campaign promoting reproductive rights a day after the Florida Supreme Court cleared the way for a ban on abortion at six weeks.

The United States Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, with three judges appointed during Trump’s presidency (2017-21), ended the constitutional protection of abortion two years ago. Since then, several Republican-controlled states have restricted or banned termination of pregnancy.

Former President insists on “bloodbath”

Trump alluded to “a bloodbath” at the border, during an initiative in the State of Michigan, alluding to the arrival of thousands of migrants every month, for which he held Biden responsible. It’s not the first time the millionaire has used that expression. In March he said this was the possible consequence if he lost the November elections, provoking indignation from Democrats, who accused him of inciting violence.

This time, the former President used the image to attack Biden and “illegal aliens”, whom, he said, cannot be called people, but “animals”. Trump had already stated that these undocumented immigrants are not human beings and accused them of “poisoning the blood” of the United States, a concept already used by German Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

In a sign that this line will continue, the National Committee of the Republican Party created the website BidenBloodbath.com (literally, Biden’s bloodbath). “This changes the country, threatens the country, destroys the country,” Trump continued. “They destroyed our country.”

Trump’s allegations are baseless

In a 45-minute intervention, the former head of state repeated the lie according to which other countries send “prisoners, murderers, drug traffickers, mentally ill people and terrorists, the worst they have,” to the United States. The country’s immigration agencies ensure that those crossing the border are, for the most part, vulnerable families fleeing poverty and violence, writes The New York Times.

The data does not support the Trumpist thesis that migrants increase crime. The former President talks about media cases involving foreigners who entered the country illegally, but the Democratic Party counters that it was he who pressured his party to block a proposal drawn up jointly by Republicans and Democrats to guarantee border security.

Victories serve to measure enthusiasm

Biden and Trump won their parties’ primaries in the state of New York on Tuesday. According to the Associated Press (AP), with 58% of the votes counted, Biden had 91.6% of the support in the Democratic race, while Trump had 81% of the Republican votes, with 52% of the votes counted.

Without opponents with media visibility and both already with the number of delegates necessary to be nominated at the party conventions, to be held in the summer, the current and previous presidents also triumphed in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Wisconsin on the same night. Trump had more than 75% of the votes in all cases, Biden always exceeded 80%.

Without competition, the most interesting data will be what the numbers say about the enthusiasm among voters regarding the likely repetition of the 2020 electoral scenario. In favor of Biden counts the greater participation, in the four states that went to vote, in the Democratic votes of the than in the republicans. It has been a constant this primary year.

Biden faces opposition from activists who encourage Democrats to vote blank, in protest at the head of state’s support for Israel in the war with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Trump’s Republican critics still vote for rivals who have already given up as a way of expressing their discontent.

“We need younger candidates”

In New York, Steve Wheatley, a 70-year-old Republican, told the AP he wished there were more candidates. He voted for Nikki Haley, former US ambassador to the UN, who although she abandoned the primaries in February, obtained more than 10% in the four states that went to vote on Tuesday. “We need younger candidates with fresh ideas to run for president,” Wheatley said.

Theresa Laabs, a 55-year-old voter from Kenosha, Wisconsin, told the AP that her family is feeling the impact of rising food and gasoline prices, but said she voted for Biden in the Democratic primary because she feels the President is work to alleviate inflation. “I understand the problem right now is the economy, and I hope Biden continues to work even harder over the next four years to try to lower prices and make things easier for working families,” Laabs said.

In terms of fundraising, Biden and the Democratic National Committee have surpassed Trump and the Republicans. The President raised a record 26 million dollars (24.1 million euros) in a single campaign event last week, full of stars in New York. In addition to big names from the world of entertainment, he brought together former Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.