Yesterday we noted that Joe Biden’s “unity platform” lifted whole sections word-for-word from Bernie Sanders’s campaign. Well, now it seems that Biden is trying to steal Donald Trump’s economic message too.

During an economic address yesterday in Pennsylvania, Biden inadvertently showed the power of Trump’s “America First” agenda, which Trump has advocated for decades.

We saw the danger of gutting our manufacturing base when the pandemic hit. We had a shortage of urgently needed medical supplies. We are dependent on communist China for far too much.

Well, now Joe Biden says his main economic goal is “Buy American.” He pledged $400 billion during his first term. That’s $100 billion a year, a pitiful investment in a $20 trillion economy.

This is coming from the guy who has repeatedly praised the rise of communist China! And we know the Biden family sees China as a big economic opportunity.

Biden also said that under his administration the “era of shareholder capitalism” will be over. What he means is that American corporations must realize that shareholders are not their only stakeholders. Employees and the consumers of their products are stakeholders.

Once again, Joe is late to the party.

President Trump supports that idea, and has pointed out another stakeholder – America. Companies ought to be making decisions that help, not harm, our country. Trump has repeatedly urged American companies to “reshore” their factories and jobs back to the United States. But now Biden is trying to claim this mantle.

By the way, while Biden was talking yesterday, the stock market plunged more than 500 points. Not one talking head did the obvious – link the content of Biden’s speech and other radical policies to the steep drop.

But investors are getting increasingly concerned about the possibility of a “President Biden” empowering socialists like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. (Here and here.)

Pelosi’s Weakness

Sadly, the attacks on American monuments and memorials are continuing. A 9/11 memorial in Washingtonville, New York, was seriously damaged this week.

Most Americans are furious about the mobs attacking our history and our monuments. A recent poll found that 77% of Americans consider vandalism against public monuments and statues to be “acts of violence.”

But not the leadership of the Democrat Party. They have been cowed into silence or they sympathize with the rioters. They almost never say anything about the destruction of historic monuments unless directly asked about it. And then they engage in all kinds of verbal gymnastics to avoid condemning it.

For example, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked Thursday about the destruction of a Christopher Columbus statue in Baltimore. She first brushed off the question, saying, “I don’t care that much about the statues.”

When pressed further about the Columbus statue being torn down by a mob, Pelosi quipped, “People will do what they do.”

Vice President Mike Pence had strong words for Pelosi’s weakness. He said:

“To have the Speaker of the House tacitly affirm the rule of the mob is unconscionable. For Speaker Nancy Pelosi to say ‘they will do what they will do’ is a surrender to the mob.

"We’re not going to have it. The American people know the foundation of our prosperity is law and order and the rule of law. We’re going to continue to stand strong for the rule of law against the rule of the mob.”

Earlier this week, Tucker Carlson asked again, “Can you really lead a country that you hate?” It’s a fair question because that is the situation we face today.

Significant elements of the progressive movement and the Democrat Party hate the United States of America.

They claim that the American Revolution was about preserving slavery.

They claim that “systemic racism” is ingrained throughout every facet of our society.

They want to tear down not only our statues and historic monuments but “the whole system of oppression,” whatever that is.

Joe Biden frequently talks about “fundamentally transforming” the country. That clearly suggests Biden feels there is something seriously wrong with America because you don’t “fundamentally transform” something you love and cherish.

They’re Not Stupid

I know it’s tempting to mock the rioters as stupid when they tear down statues of Frederick Douglass or Ulysses Grant. Of course, it is impossible to discern the minds of everyone in a mob.

But the people organizing and leading the mobs are far-left radicals, and it misses the point to mock them as ignorant. The mob understands what it is doing – it is terrorizing America.

The goal of tearing down monuments is to force you to sit down and shut up. It sends a message to the American people that this violent movement will stop at nothing and cannot be stopped.

That’s why Vice President Pence’s statement is so important. That’s why federal, state and local authorities must continue to identify and prosecute these thugs. Because while the American people overwhelmingly see these attacks on our history as acts of violence, they are in realty acts of domestic terrorism aimed at intimidating all of society.

And I am pleased to report that Attorney General William Barr said Thursday, “We already arrested over 150 people on federal charges, and we have over 500 investigations underway across the nation focused on these hardcore instigators involved in this rioting.”

On a related note, I am thrilled by President Trump’s announcement today that he is ordering a review of the tax-exempt status of colleges and universities. The president declared, “Our children must be educated, not indoctrinated!”

Good for him! It’s long overdue. But don’t stop there. Get the Marxist “BLM Inc.” out of our public elementary, middle and high schools too! As Newt Gingrich recently noted, one of the biggest problems we face is “systemic anti-Americanism,” much of it coming from academia.

Attacking Law Enforcement

While the left is giving a wink and a nod to mob violence, it is also actively attacking law enforcement in America.

Incredibly, in the aftermath of the CHAZ/CHOP shootings and major businesses fleeing the city due to the chaos, a majority of the Seattle City Council is endorsing a measure “to defund the Police Department by 50%.”

Now Joe Biden is piling on too. He said this week that police departments “absolutely” should lose funding, adding that in some cases the police look like “the military invading… they become the enemy.”

The American people know the police are the good guys, not the enemy. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that 73% of Americans say police budgets should either remain the same or be increased. Only 25% say they could be cut. (Check out this Trump campaign ad on defunding the police.)

Thursday night, Vice President Pence addressed the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police. He told the audience in no uncertain terms, “We back the Blue!” Here’s a brief excerpt of the vice president’s remarks:

“The truth is: All of you who wear the uniform … answered a call in your life. As the Good Book says, you knew every day you go out that you don’t bear the sword in vain.

"The truth is, the day you decided to put on that uniform, you decided to count our lives as more important than your own. And for that, I promise you: We will always honor the service of the men and women of law enforcement, and we will always honor your dedicated families who support you as you serve.”