Democracy under threat because Donald Trump refuses to accept result of 2020 election, Joe Biden warns

Joe Biden has warned Americans that “MAGA Republicans” are “trying to succeed where they failed in 2020” to subvert the will of voters in the upcoming midterms.

In a speech that comes just six days before the important poll, the US president said democracy is under attack because Donald Trump refused to accept the results of the 2020 election.

Pointing to the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Mr Biden warned Mr Trump’s false claims about a stolen election have “fuelled the dangerous rise of political violence and voter intimidation over the past two years”.

Paul Pelosi, 82, was seriously injured after he was attacked with a hammer in his California home last week.

“There’s an alarming rise in the number of people in this country condoning political violence or simply remaining silent,” Mr Biden said. “The silence is complicity.”

He singled out “ultra-MAGA Republicans” – a reference to Mr Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan – saying they are a minority but a “driving force” in the Republican Party.

This group is “trying to succeed where they failed in 2020 to suppress the rights of voters and subvert the electoral system itself”.

Mr Biden warned: “There are candidates running for every level of office in America, for governor, for Congress, for attorney general, for secretary of state, who won’t commit to accepting the results of the elections they’re in.

“That is the path to chaos in America. It’s unprecedented. It’s unlawful. And, it is un-American.”