Biden Expresses Doubts About Peaceful US Election

President Joe Biden

Biden's caution came amid growing anxiety among lawmakers and analysts over the increasingly aggressive rhetoric leading up to the vote. "I'm confident it will be free and fair. I don't know whether it will be peaceful," Biden told reporters, underscoring the dangers of Trump's inflammatory statements from both past and present.

Trump, who survived an assassination attempt in July and faced another plot in September, has persistently claimed widespread fraud following his electoral loss. His false assertions incited the January 6 Capitol riot, where supporters, urged on by Trump to "fight like hell," violently breached the building.

The former president, impeached in 2021 for inciting insurrection, faces ongoing legal challenges, including charges related to an alleged scheme to overturn the election results. He is scheduled to campaign in Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of his first assassination attempt, over the weekend.

In his first briefing room appearance as president, Biden highlighted his administration's accomplishments while also addressing the volatile political climate. Meanwhile, both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are actively campaigning in key battleground states that will likely determine the election outcome.

On Friday, Trump held rallies in North Carolina and Georgia, where he reiterated his claims of 2020 voter fraud, stating, "We should get elected, but remember this, they cheat like hell." Georgia, a crucial state that Biden narrowly won in 2020, remains a focal point of Trump's post-election efforts to influence state officials.

Trump's legal troubles include racketeering charges from state prosecutors, which are currently on hold pending the election. He has denied any wrongdoing.

In Georgia, Trump joined Governor Brian Kemp to assess the damage from Hurricane Helene, which has been the deadliest storm to hit the US mainland since Katrina in 2005. Trump has controversially claimed that federal relief funds have been misappropriated, alleging misdirection toward migrants.

Vice President Harris, locked in a competitive race with Trump across multiple swing states, rallied in Michigan on Friday, accusing him of jeopardizing local auto jobs. "This is a man who has only ever fought for himself. This is a man who has been a union buster his entire career," she asserted during a stop in Detroit. In Flint, she described Trump as "one of the biggest losers of manufacturing jobs in American history," referencing the city's struggles with lead-tainted water and governmental neglect.

Harris reminded supporters that early voting has already begun in several states and urged them to "energize, organize, and mobilize" for the election just a month away. Her campaign also announced that former President Barack Obama will join her in Pennsylvania and other swing states next week to rally undecided voters in the heartland.