Washington - President Joe Biden delivered a comprehensive critique of Republican Donald Trump on Thursday, emphasizing the potential threat his predecessor poses to American democracy and highlighting the stark differences between them as likely 2024 election opponents.

In a significant rebuke of Trump this year, Biden, a Democrat, selected an event to honor the late Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. McCain, a former presidential candidate, fighter pilot, and Vietnam prisoner of war, had been criticized by Trump, who once remarked that he was "not a war hero." Biden used this occasion to express his concerns about the state of America.

Biden made these remarks during a speech at the Tempe Center for the Arts in Arizona, a state that could be a crucial battleground in the 2024 election. During his speech, Biden recounted recent threats made by Trump against U.S. officials, including suggestions that the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff should be harmed and that the Department of Justice should be defunded.

Biden also mentioned reported comments made by Trump in 2018 when he decided not to visit an American military cemetery outside of Paris. The Atlantic had reported that Trump referred to fallen soldiers as "suckers" and "losers," allegations that Trump denied. Biden posed questions about whether McCain and his own son, Beau Biden, who, like McCain, passed away from brain cancer, were "suckers." Biden believed his son's illness was related to his military service near an Iraqi burn pit.

In response to Biden's speech, Trump's campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, criticized the Democrats as a "radical Left" and labeled Biden as "Crooked Joe Biden," asserting that they were the greatest threat to U.S. democracy.

Biden drew a sharp contrast between his own values and those of Trump, who had suggested that he considered himself above the U.S. Constitution and its foundational principles of checks and balances.

Biden acknowledged that not all Republicans adhere to the "MAGA" agenda, referring to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan, but he asserted that the current Republican Party is heavily influenced by MAGA Republican extremists.

These messages from Biden are expected to be a recurring theme in a campaign dominated by the incumbent Democrat and the former Republican president. The speech comes just before a potential government shutdown, instigated by Trump-aligned Republicans in the House of Representatives.

Biden is seeking a second term amidst concerns about his age, as he will turn 81 in November, and ongoing economic challenges in the United States. He has intensified his warnings about the potential threat to democracy posed by Trump, particularly in light of the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump is currently facing multiple indictments, including for his role in the deadly January 6 attack.

Additionally, Biden announced funding from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan to establish the McCain Library in collaboration with the McCain Institute and Arizona State University. He shared personal anecdotes of his relationship with McCain, highlighting their disagreements but also their camaraderie.

Biden's speech followed the second 2024 Republican presidential debate held the previous day in California, which featured heated arguments, petty disputes, and peculiar comments from the seven candidates. Trump, who did not participate in the debate, faced criticism from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Trump gave a speech in Detroit, where he criticized Biden's support for electric vehicles.