Appealing for unity, and denouncing a 'clenched fist'

Biden, the former vice president and former Delaware senator who is now pursuing his third bid for the presidency, trained his eye squarely on the general election as he cast the contest against Trump as one for the soul of the country. And he struck a defiant tone toward those in his own party who had expressed discomfort with Biden’s emphasis on bipartisanship and his legacy of Washington deal-making.

“If the American people want a president to add to our division, lead with a clenched fist, closed hand, a hard heart, to demonize the opponents and spew hatred — they don’t need me,” Biden said, speaking at the first large-scale rally of his campaign. “They’ve got President Donald Trump. Folks, I am running to offer our country — Democrats, Republicans and independents — a different path.”

But before Republicans and independents have the opportunity to consider Biden’s candidacy, he will first have to convince Democrats that, as a 76-year-old white man with stances on issues including criminal justice, abortion rights and foreign policy that can seem out of step with many Democrats today, he is still best suited to represent a party that has moved left in recent years, animated by a young and diverse liberal flank.

In his appearance Saturday, Biden stressed that he shares traditional Democratic policy priorities such as combating climate change, protecting voting rights and women’s rights, and expanding access to health care. He pointed to his decades in Washington as evidence that he knows how to deliver. But he said that none of those goals could be achieved with Trump in the White House.

“If you want to know what the first, most important plank in my climate proposal is — beat Trump,” he said, referencing a policy issue that had sparked criticism against Biden from the left over concerns that his future climate change proposals would not be far-reaching enough. “Beat Trump, beat Trump.”