Biden Addresses Pittsburgh Shooting, Hate Crimes At Rally

ST. CHARLES, IL --- "The very character of our country is on the ballot." Those words from former Vice President Joe Biden made a crowd of hundreds erupt in applause when he made a stop in Illinois Wednesday to stump for District 14 Congressional candidate Lauren Underwood. Biden shared his thoughts on the deadly shootings at a Pittsburgh synagogue and a Kroger in Kentucky.

Biden compared the rise in recent hate crimes to "Nuremberg, Berlin, and Munich in the 1930s" and urged the crowd to rise up against what he likened to moral "dark forces."

"If we don't resist...that hate is going to continue to grow. And our children are listening. Our children are watching," Biden said.

He continued, "Folks, you can't define for me what an American is, based on ethnicity, based on religion, based on their heritage."

Biden also addressed the Affordable Care Act, fighting back tears as he spoke of his late son Bo.

Patch broadcast a Facebook livestream of Biden's address at the early vote rally, which kicked off at the Kane County Fairgrounds at 10:30 a.m.

Fellow Democrat and former New York Congressional candidate Ronnie Cho spoke prior to Biden at 10:50 a.m., followed by a performance by Grammy-winning blues artist Keb' Mo.'

Garry Keller also gave remarks, along with Plainfield residents and Underwood supporters Carrie and Tom Jackson.

Lauren Underwood was set to address the crowd with Joe Biden, who endorsed Underwood in September, and took the stage to show his support and encourage voters to head to the polls ahead of the Nov. 6 election.

Watch Patch's livestream from Underwood's rally:

In a statement issued before the rally, Biden said, "I’m hitting the campaign trail for Lauren Underwood because, as a nurse, she has devoted her life to serving others. We need more people like her in Washington,” Biden said. “I want folks to know that they don’t have to wait until Nov. 6 to cast their ballots. This is going to be a tight race and I encourage everyone to head to the polls early to send Lauren to Congress.”

Image credit: Getty Images/Ethan Miller/ Staff