Joe Biden makes final pitch to American voters, promises to heal nation in Georgia stop
Julia Whitmore’s Warm Springs front yard is a microcosm of Georgia politics in 2020.
There are three signs in her front yard. One is a large Black Lives Matter banner flanked by a Biden-Harris sign on one side and a Trump-Pence sign on the other.
Whitmore, a Joe Biden supporter, was excited about the Democrat’s first visit to the state as the party nominee. Her mother, Vickey Bowling, is not — she’s a Trump supporter.
Whitmore and her husband own the BLM and Biden-Harris signs. Bowling and her boyfriend, who live in an RV on Whitmore’s driveway, own the Trump sign.
“It gets heated,” Whitmore said of household debates, “real quick.”
A Democrat hasn’t won a presidential contest in Georgia since 1992, but recent polling shows that President Donald Trump and Biden are virtually tied one week out from Election Day. It was in Georgia that Biden delivered his closing message to voters, one that evoked the legacy of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt and called for the healing of the nation, while criticizing the president for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
“FDR came looking for a cure (for polio.) But it was the lessons he learned here that he used to lift a nation. Humility, empathy, courage, optimism. This place represented a way forward. A place of restoration, resilience and healing. It was here,” he said. “I believe in an America of hope, not fear.”
Warm Springs, Biden said, was the perfect place to talk about warmth and healing.
“I run to unite this nation, and to heal this nation. I said that from the beginning. The Bible tells us, there’s a time to break down, a time to build up. And a time to heal,” he said. “God and History has called us to this moment and to this mission. ...We must free ourselves from the forces of darkness (and) division.”
‘Has the heart of this nation turned to stone? I don’t think so.’
Biden spoke for nearly 20 minutes to a crowd gathered outdoors at Mountain Top Inn & Resort not far from the Little White House, FDR’s personal retreat. Only limited media and supporters were in attendance.
A “MAGA Meet-Up” was held earlier in the day just minutes from the Biden event. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and other top Georgia Republicans appeared at the counter-rally.
Biden’s exact event location remained unknown to many Warm Springs residents until roughly an hour or so before the event. A small group of bikers and other Trump supporters began to gather at Xtreme Rider motorcycle shop around 10 a.m. Sue Forrest, the store’s co-owner, said they started making plans as soon as they learned Biden was coming to town.
“As a person, I have nothing against him. I just don’t feel that in the 47 years that (Biden) served our country that he’s done anything worthwhile,” Forrest said.
Roads leading to the venue were surrounded by throngs of Trump supporters and some fans of the former vice president. The loud crowd of protesters could be heard whooping and playing “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band at full blast during Biden’s speech.
Biden acknowledged the noise, saying the divisions in the United States are growing wider.
“Our politics has for too long been mean, bitter and divisive. We’ve stopped seeing dignity in one another. We’ve stopped showing each other respect. Too many among us spend more time shouting than listening,” he said. “... Anger and suspicion are growing, and our wounds are growing deeper. Has it gone too far? Has the heart of this nation turned to stone? I don’t think so. I know our people.”
Biden went on to say Trump turned the coronavirus “crisis into a tragedy” and promised to get COVID-19 under control once elected.
“I will never wave the white flag of surrender. Imagine where we’d be today if the president embraced masks instead of mocking them...Imagine where we’d be with a comprehensive system of testing and tracing,” he said.
The links to FDR
Biden spent portions of his speech establishing links between himself and FDR, acting as a president who knows the American people and will work just as hard for people who don’t support him.
“A president who doesn’t divide us — but unites us. A president who appeals not to the worst in us — but to the best. A president who cares less about his TV ratings — and more about the American people. A president who looks not to settle scores — but to find solutions. A president guided not by wishful thinking — but by science, reason, and fact,” Biden said. “That’s the kind of president I will be.”
Dr. Chris Grant, a Mercer University political science professor who spoke with the Ledger-Enquirer Monday, said the former vice president and FDR share a common trait: empathy.
“Biden’s best political attribute is his sense of empathy,” he said. “FDR was able to come into people’s home with his fireside chats and reassure them and make them feel safer and stronger. ...FDR’s presidency was really about taking care of people’s needs at the time that they were most acute and giving them something to believe in.”
Where does Warm Springs and Georgia stand?
As Biden left Warm Springs, some Trump supporters waved flags just off the main road downtown. One of those supporters was Vickey Bowling, Julia Whitmore’s mom.
Whitmore said she wasn’t always a Democrat. In 2016, she voted for Donald Trump because he was a name she recognized. It was her first election, and she’s regretted the choice ever since.
Trump, she said, is racist. He berates people and belittles women. But Whitmore’s support for Biden is more than just an expression of her disdain for Trump.
“He’s a people person,” Whitmore said. “He supports women’s rights. ... I’ve been talking about (his visit) ever since I found out last week.”
The Whitmore home isn’t the only split household in Warm Springs.
Ronell Martin, 54, was taking out the trash Tuesday morning before heading to a carpentry job. A Trump-Pence sign sits in his front yard, but it’s not his. The sign, he said, belongs to his girlfriend, Francis Stevens.
Martin is a Biden supporter and says the former vice president would do a better job leading the country. There have been no heated arguments or political fights in the lead up to the election.
“(Trump) is more like a joker,” he said.
Adrian Chester, pastor of Columbus’ Greater Beallwood Baptist Church and among the limited number of event attendees, said Biden’s presence signified the political importance of both the American South and Georgia in national politics.
“Rural America and Southeastern states have a voice in the direction of where we want this country to be,” he said. “There are a lot of people (who) are engaging in the political and electoral process for the first time. They want change. ...We are on the brink with this presidential election of seeing a change in Georgia.”
Election SOS fellow Alex Perry contributed to this report.
This story was originally published October 27, 2020 at 5:09 PM.