Biden clinches presidential nomination, warns of danger posed by Trump

Joe Biden has clinched the Democratic presidential nomination.

Biden, who’s had no serious opposition in this year’s primaries, went over the top in the delegate count with a victory Tuesday in Georgia’s primary. He won Georgia’s 108 delegates, pushing his total to 2,015, going well over the 1,968 that represents a majority of all delegates available, according to the Associated Press. His nomination will be made official at the Democratic convention in Chicago in August.

Upon clinching the nomination for a second term, Biden released this statement: “Despite the challenges we faced when I took office, we’re in the middle of a comeback: Wages are rising faster than inflation, jobs are coming back, consumer confidence has soared. Amid this progress, we face a sobering reality: Freedom and democracy are at risk here at home in a way they have not been since the Civil War. Donald Trump is running a campaign of resentment, revenge, and retribution that threatens the very idea of America.”

Vice President Kamala Harris also issued a strong warning about Trump. “Now, the general election truly begins, and the contrast could not be clearer,” said a statement from Harris. “Donald Trump is a threat to our democracy and our fundamental freedoms.” Of Trump’s opposition to abortion rights, willingness to cut Social Security and Medicare, and dictatorial ambitions, she said, “Each of these stances ought to be considered disqualifying by itself; taken together, they reveal the former President to be an existential danger to our country.”

In his first term, Biden has proved to be the most LGBTQ-supportive president ever. He has issued an executive order against anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination in the federal government, and his administration has fought such discrimination in the private sector as well, while condemning homophobic and transphobic legislation at the state level. He’s lifted Donald Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military and protected marriage equality by signing the Respect for Marriage Act into law. He supports the Equality Act, but Congress has yet to pass it.

Still, there’s more to be done. The Human Rights Campaign has urged the Biden administration to follow through on four proposed rules that would strengthen certain laws. These proposals are in various stages of the federal rulemaking process and don’t require congressional approval. They would clarify and strengthen nondiscrimination protections for gender identity and sexual orientation under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act; make clear that nondiscrimination protections under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 include sexual orientation and gender identity; spell out Title IX protections in school sports; and require that Veterans Affairs hospitals cover and provide gender-affirming health care for transgender veterans.

“LGBTQ+ people are powerful and resilient, but from access to health care to sports participation to classroom discrimination, members of the community, especially transgender people, are under attack,” said a statement from HRC President Kelley Robinson. “The Biden-Harris administration can still do a great deal to stem that flood of hate and discrimination, and in the process make life measurably better for our community.”

Donald Trump will likely clinch the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday night, when results from Washington State come in.