Joe Biden’s Rebuttal

<p>Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s plan for winning the presidential election relies on putting together African-American voters of all ages, including younger Black people who are less enthusiastic about him, and white moderates who find President Trump unacceptable.</p><p>At last week’s Republican National Convention, the Trump campaign appeared to be sowing discord within that coalition. By framing the response to unrest in cities as binary — you are either for violence or for the police — Republicans seemed to be daring Mr. Biden to challenge young Black voters.</p><p>In a speech in Pittsburgh yesterday, Mr. Biden rejected that choice. Instead, he recognized the grievances of peaceful protesters, while denouncing “the senseless violence of looting and burning and destruction of property.”</p><p>Today, we examine whether the speech worked — and what it means for the rest of the election campaign.</p><p>Guest: Alexander Burns, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.</p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily </a></p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Over the weekend,<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/30/us/portland-shooting-protests.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> protesters and Trump supporters</a> clashed in Portland, resulting in the fatal shooting of a man affiliated with a right-wing group. The shooting immediately reverberated in a presidential campaign<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/28/us/politics/joe-biden-trump-conventions.html?searchResultPosition=7?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> now entering its most intense period</a>.</li><li>In his speech in Pittsburg, Joe Biden deflected Republican criticism and attempted to<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/31/us/politics/biden-speech-trump.html?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank"> refocus the spotlight</a> on the president’s character and leadership in the midst of the pandemic. </li></ul>