Biden uses first campaign speech to set stakes for election against 'dictator' Trump

US President Joe Biden used his first official speech of the 2024 presidential campaign to draw stark contrasts with presumptive Republican nominee, ex-President Donald Trump, saying the future of American democracy is at stake in November's polls.

Speaking on the eve of the third anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, Biden said Trump's political allies "have abandoned the truth, and have abandoned democracy" in maintaining their support following the insurrection.

"They made their choice. Now the rest of us, Democrats, Independents, mainstream Republicans, have to make our choice. I know mine. And I believe I know Americans will defend the truth, not give into the big lie, will embrace the Constitution and the declaration, not abandon it, will honor the sacred cause of democracy, not walk away from it," Biden told a crowd of supporters outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

"There's no confusion about who Trump is, and what he intends to do," added Biden.

The president said the Nov. 5 election is "all about" whether democracy will continue to survive in the US, saying Trump is "willing to sacrifice our democracy to put himself in power."

"Our campaign is different. For me, and Kamala, our campaign is about America. It's about you. It's about every age and background that occupy this country. It's about the future we're gonna continue to build together," he added.

Biden repeatedly referenced the Jan. 6 assault in which thousands of Trump's supporters stormed the Capitol in a failed attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power.

Trump had just hours prior to the attack addressed the masses at a nearby rally, telling them the election was being "stolen" from them, making false claims of widespread voter fraud.

"All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats, which is what they're doing," Trump said three years ago. "We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore."

Trump's claims have been repeatedly rejected in court after court, and were rebuffed by his attorney general at the time, Bill Barr.

The ex-president is a facing federal criminal indictment for his role that day as well as other alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The case is just one of five against Trump as the election season kicks into high gear.