Former President Joe Biden made a rare public appearance at an LGBTQ+ event held in Washington during which he urged LGBTQ+ people to “get up and fight back” against Donald Trump’s second presidential administration, The Guardian reported.
Biden is known as a long-time supporter of the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, something he confirmed yet again during the recent International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference.
“Folks, Donald Trump and his Republicans are trying to derail and distort our fight for equality,” the former president said in his award-acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement honor recognizing his contributions to the community. “They’re trying to turn it into something scary, something sinister.
“There is nothing more American than the notion of equality. Nothing, nothing, nothing.”
Biden, who signed the Respect for Marriage Act as president, accused Republicans of having “weaponized people’s basic identity.” He said the issue was simple: treating every American with “basic decency, dignity and respect.”
Reflecting on his evolution on same-sex marriage, Biden joked he once got himself into “good trouble.” He also addressed LGBTQ+ youth directly, saying, “You are heard, and you belong.”
What caught the attention of many, however, was a new gaffe and the way Biden stumbled over his words, prompting speculations about his health.
Addressing elected officials, leaders and advocates to “continue the fight” for equality, Biden said, “We just have to get up. As long as we keep the faith … and remember who the hell we are. We’re the United States of Amerigotit, that’s who we are! We’re the U.S.!”
His struggle to pronounce the name of the country he has served made many worried especially because he disclosed his cancer diagnosis with the public in May of this year.
Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January, federal agencies have rolled back protections affecting LGBTQ+ people, particularly transgender Americans. Biden described those moves as an attack on core American values, including dignity, equality, and constitutional opportunity.
“America is the only country founded on an idea,” Biden said. “We hold these truths to be self-evident … all are created equal, all deserve to be treated with dignity throughout their lives.”
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