Biden to deliver a prime-time speech about democracy in Philadelphia

A person stands in front of a podium.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks on student loan debt in the Roosevelt Room of the White House Aug. 2022 in Washington, DC. President Biden announced steps to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers who make less than $125,000 per year and cap payments at 5 percent of monthly income.
Alex Wong | Getty Images

President Joe Biden travels to Philadelphia to deliver a speech about what the White House calls the "battle for the soul of the nation" outside Independence Hall. The speech comes two months before the midterm elections and as his travel schedule, especially to the battleground state of Pennsylvania, has ramped up.

Billed as a major address just over two months before the midterm elections, Biden, the White House said, will discuss how the nation's standing in the world and its democracy are at stake.

Biden’s remarks set for 7 p.m. Central

“He will talk about the progress we have made as a nation to protect our democracy, but how our rights and freedoms are still under attack," the White House said. "And he will make clear who is fighting for those rights, fighting for those freedoms, and fighting for our democracy.”

Biden has increasingly sought to portray the November elections as a choice for voters between “ultra-MAGA Republicans” — a reference to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan — and Democrats. He told supporters last week that they had “to vote to literally save democracy once again” — and labeled some Republican ideology as “semi-fascism."

NBC News was first to report on Biden's plans for the address.

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