Biden draws on gains for midterms rally

BETHESDA, Maryland－Aiming to turn months of legislative accomplishments into political energy, US President Joe Biden sought on Thursday to underscore the choice facing voters in the congressional midterm elections as he led a kickoff rally and a fundraiser in Maryland.

Speaking to hundreds of the party faithful in Maryland, just outside Washington, Biden sought to build on growing energy in the party, which believes it can fend off a threatened Republican victory in the Nov 8 vote.

The Democratic president cast the Republicans under former president Donald Trump's sway as a party of "anger, violence, hate and division".

Earlier, in remarks ahead of the speech, Biden likened Trump's "Make America Great Again" brand as "extreme".

The Republican National Committee called Biden's comments "despicable".

"Biden forced Americans out of their jobs, transferred money from working families to Harvard lawyers, and sent our country into a recession while families can't afford gas and groceries," said spokesperson Nathan Brand. "Democrats don't care about suffering Americans－they never did."

Just months ago, as inflation soared, Biden's poll numbers soured and his agenda stalled. Democrats braced for significant losses. But the intense voter reaction to the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade and a productive summer on issues of core concern to Democrats have the party feeling like it is finally on the offensive heading into the vote, even as the president remains unpopular.

Meanwhile, Democrats have benefited from Republican candidates who won primaries but are struggling in the general campaign. Trump-backed Senate candidates have complicated the GOP's chances in battleground states like Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona, while several Trump aligned candidates in House of Representatives races were not always the party's first choice.

Trump's grip on the GOP remains strong and has perhaps become even tighter in the aftermath of the FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.

JB Poersch, the president of the Senate Majority Project, an outside group that is working to elect Democrats to the Senate, said the Republican candidates are "getting caught up in the Trump tornado once again－that is exactly what voters of both parties don't want".

Agencies via Xinhua