President Donald Trump is accusing his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, of using “mafia talking points” regarding the unrest in several cities.
“Biden is using mafia talking points,” Trump said during a press conference on Monday night. “The mob will leave you alone if you give them what they want.”
“But it doesn’t work that way cause once you give them, they keep taking, taking, taking. What happens is you give and give and give, and you take, and they no longer respect you,” he added.
Watch the video below:
Trump: "Biden is using Mafia talking points" pic.twitter.com/03nwcaItQQ
— PoliticsVideoChannel (@politvidchannel) August 31, 2020
Trump continued to claim that “the violent rioters share Biden’s same talking points, and they share the same agenda for our nation.”
“And even in his strange speech today that he made in Pittsburgh he didn’t mention the far left, he didn’t mention the far left, or for what I saw I don’t believe he mentioned the word Antifa,” Trump said.
He claimed instead that Biden “mostly seemed to blame the police and law enforcement” for the unrest in cities.
“For months, Joe Biden has given moral aid and comfort to the vandals, repeating the monstrous lie that these were peaceful protests. They’re not peaceful protests, that’s anarchy. You look at the agitators. You look at the looters. You look at the rioters, that’s not a peaceful protest,” he added.
#BREAKING: President Trump responds to Joe Biden's speech today: "He even talked about those on the right but he didn't talk about those on the left, and those on the left are the problem." pic.twitter.com/KhJUqr6nzE
— The Hill (@thehill) August 31, 2020
Trump’s comments come hours after Biden delivered a speech that accused the president of inciting violence and using scare tactics to help him politically.
“The simple truth is Donald Trump failed to protect America. So now, he’s trying to scare America,” Biden said. “And since they have no agenda or vision for a second term, Trump and Pence are running on this: ‘You won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America.”
“This president long ago forfeited any moral leadership in this country. He can’t stop the violence — because for years he has fomented it,” he added.
Additionally, Biden pushed back against Trump’s claim that he has supporters rioters, “You know me, you know my heart. You know my story, my family’s story. Ask yourself, do I look like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?”
He added, “I want a safe America, safe from COVID, safe from crime and looting. Safe from racially motivated violence, safe from bad cops. Let me be crystal clear, safe from four more years of Donald Trump.”