BURLINGTON, Iowa - Joe Biden on Wednesday accused President Donald Trump of "fanning the flames of white supremacy" in his most aggressive attack yet on the character of the man he would like to defeat in 2020.
"Trump offers no moral leadership," Biden declared in Burlington, Iowa. The president "seems to have no interest in unifying the nation."
Biden's remarks, which have been echoed in some form by most of the Democratic presidential candidates, signaled how sharp and bitter the nation's cultural and political divides will be on the long road to Election Day.
They also marked a moment of unity for Biden and his presidential rivals, who have turned on each other in recent weeks. But on Wednesday, they were nearly unanimous in their support of an aggressive plan to confront gun violence just days after another series of mass shootings elevated the issue to the forefront of the party's presidential primary.
Virtually all of them vowed to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, while some, like Cory Booker, called for requiring all gun owners to obtain licenses.
Hours before Biden lashed out against Trump in Iowa, Booker spoke in Charleston, South Carolina's Mother Emanuel Church, where a white supremacist shot to death nine black parishioners four years ago. The New Jersey senator demanded bold action to stop gun violence.
"We must act to get weapons of war off our streets, out of our grocery stores, our bars, our temples and our churches by banning assault weapons once and for all," a
solemn Booker said.
While many Democrats have yet to take a firm position on licensing, their willingness to lean in on gun control marks a definite shift for the party. Democrats with national ambitions have traditionally feared alienating millions of gun owners by embracing plans to enact dramatic changes to the nation's gun control laws.
As recently as 2013, President Barack Obama's White House released a photo of the Democrat shooting a rifle. Former Democratic presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter were also eager to be photographed holding firearms.
But on Wednesday, even red-state Democrat Steve Bullock, the Montana governor, backed gun control measures, insisting in a Washington speech that gun owners are worried about their families' safety just like everyone else. He called for universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, and so-called "red flag" laws aimed at restricting gun ownership from high-risk individuals.
"I am a hunter and a gun owner," Bullock said. "And let me say as a hunter, no real hunter needs a 30-round clip. No real hunter needs a weapon of war."
Such positions may not be so politically risky.
Even before mass shootings over the weekend in Ohio and Texas left at least 31 dead, national polls found strong majorities of voters favor stricter gun laws.
More than 90% of voters supported mandatory background checks for all gun purchases, according to a May poll conducted by Quinnipiac University; another 77% favored mandatory licenses for all gun purchasers and 63 percent support a nationwide ban on assault weapons.