Biden pushes back against pipeline protesters in Virginia

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Anti-pipeline protesters interrupted President Biden’s Friday night speech in Virginia — prompting the commander in chief to tell his audience to ignore the harassment.

Biden was about two minutes after his remarks at the Arlington rally of Virginia Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe candidate when a group of people started yelling “Stop Line 3!” In reference to the controversial oil pipeline project in northern Minnesota.

The rest of the crowd tried to drown out the protesters by booing and chanting “Let’s go Joe!” The president also tried to restore order.

“It’s okay, that’s fine,” Biden said. “No no no no. Let them talk. That’s okay. Look, this is not a Trump rally. Let them scream. No one paid attention.”

The president spoke before an enthusiastic and largely unconvincing crowd of about 3,000 people in support of McAuliffe, a longtime heavyweight Democratic party seeking another term as Virginia’s governor. McAuliffe previously held this position from 2014 to 2018. Under Virginia law, governors cannot run for a second consecutive term.

President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Virginia, where he confronts harassers who have been shouting anti-pipeline remarks.

McAuliffe would rather defeat his Republican opponent, private equity CEO Glenn Yongkin. While the race is seen as competitive, rapid growth in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. has propelled the Commonwealth into its trusted democratic pillar. No Republican presidential candidate has won Virginia since George W. Bush in 2004 and the last Republican governor-elect was Bob McDonnell in 2009.

“You’re not going to find anyone, I mean anyone who knows how to perform for Virginia more than Terry,” Biden said. “Out of year elections, country look. This is a big deal.”

President Joe Biden speaks at the campaign trail for Virginia Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe on July 22, 2021. Getty Images

However, as one of only two regularly scheduled races for governors this year (New Jersey is the other), the Virginia contest is attracting huge national attention as a potential gauge of voter sentiment ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

When he did not promote his administration’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the economy, Biden attempted to portray Yongkin as “Donald Trump’s aide.”

“I ran against Donald Trump in Virginia and so did Terry,” the president once said. “And I flogged Donald Trump in Virginia and so did Terry.”

Biden also accused Republicans of offering “nothing more than fear, lies and false promises.”

“The United States is based on–the only country in the world based on the proposition, ‘We take these facts to be self-evident,’ and that all women and men are created equal, and their Creator granted them certain inalienable rights. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, he said. ‘We have never passed the test. , but we never pulled out of it like the Republicans did.

with wire

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