‘There Is No Place for Hate in America’: Biden Speaks in Gettysburg, Decries ‘Extremist Groups Acting as Vigilantes’

Joe Biden spoke at Gettysburg Tuesday in a speech talking about political divides in America, and addressed issues of racial injustice in particular.

“Too many Americans seek not to overcome our divisions but to deepen them. We must seek not to build walls but bridges. We must seek not to have our fists clinched but our arms open,” he said.

He invoked Charlottesville as he said, “Hate never goes away. It only hides. When it’s given oxygen, when it’s given an opportunity to spread, when it’s treated as normal and acceptable behavior, we’ve opened a door in this country that we must move quickly to close.”

Biden commended peaceful protesters “giving voice to the calls of justice” while stating again that violence and looting “cannot be tolerated.”

“I believe in law and order. I have never supported defunding of police but I also believe in justice is real. It’s a product of a history that goes back 400 years, the moment when Black men, women, and children were first brought here in chains. I do not believe we have to choose between law and order and racial justice in America. We can have both,” Biden said.

“This is a nation strong enough the both honestly face systemic racism and strong enough to provide safe streets for our families and small businesses that too often bear the brunt of this looting and burning. We have no need for armed militias roaming the streets, and we should have no tolerance for extremist white supremacy groups menacing our communities. If you say we should trust America’s law enforcement authorities to do the job, as I do, then let them do their job without extremist groups acting as vigilantes.”

Biden even invoked recent comments by an emotional Doc Rivers when he said, “We’re the ones getting killed. We’re the ones getting shot… It’s amazing why we keep loving this country, and this country does not love us back.”

Biden added. “I think about what it takes for a Black person to love America. That is a deep love for this country that has for far too long never been recognized.”

You can watch above, via Fox News.

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