Joe Biden countered criticism that he’s been soft on aggressive protesters, arguing he’s disavowed antifa while President Trump hasn’t distanced himself for its far-right counterparts.
The 2020 Democratic presidential nominee and two-term vice president was asked whether he denounced antifa, a left-wing protest movement that says it opposes fascism but that critics say is actually an effort to foment violence.
“Yes, I do — violence, no matter who it is,” he told Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based NBC affiliate WGAL on Sunday.
New in @WGAL interview
Q: Do you condemn Antifa?
BIDEN: Yes, I do — violence, no matter who it is. pic.twitter.com/dkhlwQn62K
— Johnny Verhovek (@JTHVerhovek) September 7, 2020
Earlier in the interview, Biden said Trump “still hasn’t condemned the far-fight folks coming out and protesting and using violence.”
Biden’s rhetoric regarding riots, arson, and looting has received scrutiny as protests continue to cause disruptions around the country following George Floyd’s death on Memorial Day. He has repeatedly said people have the right to demonstrate against racial injustice, police brutality, and other issues but that he doesn’t support unnecessary violence.
Antifa, a collection of groups, networks, and individuals, regained national prominence after the deadly 2017 Charlottesville unrest, in which activists clashed with white supremacists and right-wing extremists, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
Antifa, which has been linked to anarchist movements since it emerged in the 1970s, now regularly seeks out confrontations with Trump voters in person and online.
Biden’s comments were made in a local media interview after a Labor Day event at the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO’s headquarters in Harrisburg and a conversation with labor leaders in Lancaster.
“You can be sure you’ll be hearing that word, ‘union,’ plenty of times if I’m in the White House,” Biden told AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
