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Updated July 25th, 2021 at 07:59 IST

US Prez Joe Biden dismisses hecklers at Virginia event, says ‘This is not Trump rally’

“That’s OK, that’s all right, No, no, no, no. Let ’em talk. That’s OK. Look, this is not a Trump rally," US President Joe Biden told the largely unmasked crowd.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
Joe Biden
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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Fending off a Republican opponent whom he labelled “acolyte of Donald Trump,” US President Joe Biden on Saturday dismissed hecklers at a campaign event for former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe. It all started when Biden arrived at a rally for McAuliffe who is running for the same office that he left in January 2018. The US commander-in-chief, however, met a gigantic commotion after he slipped speech midway saying, “Thank God for the governor of Arkansas — excuse me, Alabama…," as he was raving about Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey for asking residents of her state to get vaccinated against the COVID-19. 

Soon, as can be seen in broadcasts from the Virginia event, Biden was interrupted with hooters, presumably the supporters of Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin and his pipeline project critics. "This is not a Trump rally. Let 'em holler. No one's paying attention," Biden told anti-pipeline protesters. He was just two minutes into his remarks in Arlington as the crowd started yelling, “Stop Line 3!”

[President Joe Biden speaks at a campaign event in Virginia, as he fended off hecklers shouting anti-pipeline remarks. Credit: AP]

The angry crowd was referring to northern Minnesota’s  $4-billion ‘The Line 3’ replacement program launched under Biden’s infrastructure roadmap to connect Minnesota and the surrounding region to secure, reliable, and growing supplies of North American crude oil. It involves replacing the existing 34-inch pipe with a new 36-inch pipe for 13 miles in North Dakota, 337 miles in Minnesota, and 14 miles in Wisconsin. Only a portion of it could be completed in 2018. 

As Biden spoke to a largely unmasked crowd, that started booing and chanting, his supporters jumped the wagon shouting “Let’s go, Joe!” as the US president struggled to maintain the decorum at the event. But he continued, “That’s OK, that’s all right, No, no, no, no. Let ’em talk. That’s OK. Look, this is not a Trump rally. Let ’em holler. No one’s paying attention,” repeatedly in order to silence the 3,000-strong crowd.

Biden compares his victory with Dem nominee McAuliffe's 

Biden then started to compare his own victory over Trump to his projection that McAuliffe will defeat Glenn Youngkin, a businessman-turned-politician contesting in the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election. “Terry and I share a lot in common. I ran against Donald Trump and so is Terry,” Biden said. “And I whipped Donald Trump in Virginia and so will Terry.” McAuliffe has been the former Democratic governor of Virginia between 2014 and 2018, and under Virginia law, governors cannot run for a second consecutive term. 

But this year, the moderate democrat is set to defeat his private equity contender as northern Virginia’s Washington, DC suburbs more reliably fall for the Democratic column. Since former pRESIDENT George W. Bush’s presidency, no GOPer has won the state. “You’re not gonna find anyone, I mean anyone, who knows how to get more done for Virginia than Terry,” Biden said. “Off-year election, the country’s looking. This is a big deal.”

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Published July 25th, 2021 at 07:59 IST

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