Vice President Joe Biden is expected to take a swipe at Donald Trump during his keynote speech Friday in Ireland.
In the aftermath of the Orlando shooting and Trump’s repeated call for a temporary ban on non-citizen Muslims seeking to enter the U.S., the vice president plans to rebuke “demagogues” who blame immigrants for many of the issues Americans face.
The growing threat of terrorism, Biden will say, “provides fertile terrain for reactionary politicians and demagogues peddling xenophobia, nationalism and isolationism, all of which tear at our social fabric.”
“We see it in Europe and around the world. And we see it today in the United States, where some politicians find it convenient to scapegoat immigrants instead of welcoming them; play to our fears rather than appeal to our better natures; divide us based on religion or ethnicity rather than unite us in our common humanity; and build walls between nations when we should be building bridges among us,” he will say, according to advance remarks provided to the Los Angeles Times.
Biden’s six-day visit to Ireland overlaps with Trump’s weekend trip to his Turnberry golf course in Scotland. Earlier this week, Biden met with the Irish prime minister and president and on Friday morning he delivered a speech at Trinity College in Dublin.
The trip also comes amid Thursday’s vote by Britain to leave the European Union, creating deep economic uncertainties and trouble for global financial markets.
“We fully respect the decision they have made,” Biden said earlier Friday, referring to British voters. “And I want to assure all of you in this room that America’s special bond with the United Kingdom runs deep and will endure. And our relationship with Ireland and the European Union will remain the cornerstone of our global engagement.”
