Former US President Joe Biden criticized Republicans for turning transgender rights into a “political football” during a speech at an LGBTQ+ event.
Speaking at an international LGBTQ+ leaders’ conference in Washington on Friday, Biden urged LGBTQ+ people to “stand up and fight back” against the second-term presidential administration of Donald Trump.
“Folks, Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans are trying to undermine and distort our fight for equality,” Biden said as the Democrat accepted a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to the community. “They’re trying to turn it into something scary and sinister.
“There’s nothing more American than the idea of equality. Nothing, nothing.”
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As president, Biden signed the Respect Marriage Act, which requires states to recognize same-sex marriages in other states. Biden said Republicans have “weaponized people’s basic identities and turned them into a political football.”
“They’re trying to turn it into something scary and sinister,” Biden said. “But friends, it’s not that complicated. It’s about giving every American the opportunity to be treated with the basic decency, dignity and respect they deserve.”
Biden has been relatively late to support same-sex marriage. In the 1990s, Biden voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in the Senate. But in 2012, as vice president, he famously expressed support for same-sex marriage before then-President Barack Obama.
“I got myself into some trouble — good trouble,” Biden said on Friday.
“As I speak, there are young people sitting alone, scrolling through social media, wondering if they will actually be accepted,” Biden said in his speech.
“Your voice is heard and you belong,” he added.
The speech marked a rare public appearance for Biden, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in May.
Biden’s lone term in the White House interrupts Trump’s two-term presidency. Concerns about Biden’s physical health and mental acuity are key to his exit from the campaign for a second term in 2024.
Biden, 83, opened himself up to new comments about some of these issues when he incorrectly pronounced the word “America” during his speech on Friday.
“There is hope as long as we keep the faith and stand up and remember who we really are – we are the Amerigoths,” Biden said.
Then he added: “This is who we are. We are America.”