President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris rallied for abortion rights here on Tuesday as they prepared for a likely rematch with Donald Trump, the former Republican president who paved the way for overturning Roe v. Wade.
“He's betting we won't hold him responsible,” Biden said to a crowd of hundreds of cheering supporters. “He's betting you're going to stop caring.”
“But guess what?” he added. “I'm betting he's wrong. I'm betting you won't forget."
The rally came on the same day as the Republican primary in New Hampshire, where Trump hopes to tighten his grip on his party's presidential nomination, and it demonstrated how Democrats hope to harness ongoing anger over abortion restrictions to blunt his comeback bid.
Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court less than two years ago in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a decision enabled by three conservative justices appointed by Trump.
“The person most responsible for taking away this freedom in America is Donald Trump," he said.
Biden was interrupted several times by protests over Israel's war in Gaza, with one shouting “shame on you!”
“This is going to go on for a while; they got this planned,” the Democratic president said as the protestors were escorted out one by one.
Biden and Harris were joined by their spouses, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, at Monday's rally. It’s the first time the four of them have appeared together since the campaign began, a reflection of the importance that Democrats are putting on abortion this year.
Jill Biden told a story about a friend who became pregnant in high school, years before Roe v. Wade. The friend, she said, needed to get a psychiatric evaluation to be declared mentally unfit before she could get the abortion.
“Secrecy, shame, silence, danger, even death. That's what defined that time for so many women," she said. “And because of Dobbs that’s where we’re finding ourselves back again, refighting the battles we had fought."
Emhoff told the crowd that the fight for abortion rights needed men as well.
“Reproductive freedom is not a woman’s issue,” Emhoff said. “It’s an everyone’s issue.”
The four of them spoke in front of a blue banner that spanned the width of the stage and said “Restore Roe” in bold letters. The crowd hummed with energy, chanting “four more years” and booing Trump's name, a glimpse of the enthusiasm that has been largely missing from Biden's low-key events since announcing his reelection campaign last April.
Democrats view Virginia as a success story in their fight for abortion rights since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. In last year’s legislative elections, the party maintained control of the Senate and won a majority in the House. It was a defeat for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who had proposed new limits on abortion and had been considered a potential presidential candidate.
“The voice of the people has been heard and it will be heard,” said Harris, the first woman to serve as vice president.
She also targeted Trump in her speech, describing him as “the architect of this health care crisis” caused by abortion restrictions around the country.
Harris was in Wisconsin on Monday to mark the 51st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the first stop in a nationwide series of events focused on abortion.
“In America, freedom is not to be given. It is not to be bestowed. It is ours by right,” she said. “And that includes the freedom to make decisions about one’s own body — not the government telling you what to do.”
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