Joe Biden took fierce aim Thursday at hardcore supporters of Donald Trump, warning they were determined to take America “backwards” by subverting basic freedoms, as he seeks to seize political momentum in a national address ahead of key midterm elections.

His attack was speedily and forcefully rebuked by GOP leaders who have accused “divider-in-chief” Biden and his supporters of dispensing their own brand of damaging, dangerous rhetoric.

In excerpts of the primetime speech Biden was to deliver in Philadelphia, the cradle of US democracy, the president called out the “MAGA” Republicans who embrace Trump’s “Make America Great Again” ideology.

“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards,” the 79-year-old leader charged. “Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love.”

Republicans were quick to slap back at the attack, the latest by Biden, who in recent days has spoken of a semifascist bent to supporters of the America First doctrine.

Today, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel released the following statement ahead of Joe Biden’s divisive remarks and upcoming speech in Philadelphia:

“Joe Biden’s wretched attacks on millions of Americans have fueled attacks on pregnancy centers, Republican offices, and an assassination attempt on a Supreme Court Justice. His agenda has pitted neighbors against each other, rewarded the wealthy while punishing working families, and trampled on the rights and freedoms of Americans.

“Joe Biden is the divider-in-chief and epitomizes the current state of the Democrat Party: one of divisiveness, disgust, and hostility towards half the country.”

Biden’s speech — set to be formally delivered at  8 p.m. ET — will take place near the building where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were adopted more than two centuries ago.

With control of Congress for the remainder of his first term in the balance in November’s elections, Biden did not mince his words in what was billed as an address on the “battle for the Soul of the Nation.”

“Tonight I have come here to the place where it all began to speak plainly to the nation about the threats we face,” Biden said, according to speech excerpts.

“For a long time, we’ve reassured ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it is not. We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us.”

But the president also sought to strike an optimistic note, speaking of the “power we have in our own hands to meet those threats” and the “incredible future that lies in front of us if only we choose it.”

– ‘Semi-fascism’ –

The theme of Biden’s speech harked back to an article he published in The Atlantic magazine in 2017, after a deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that he says spurred his presidential run.

“We are living through a battle for the soul of this nation,” Biden wrote then.

After his election in 2020, the veteran politician initially planned to wage this battle through dialogue with moderate Republican lawmakers, and through economic and social policies aimed at the middle class.

But the talk of reconciliation has died down, as Biden faces a Republican Party still heavily influenced by Trump and polls seem to indicate the Democratic leader is better served by being more aggressive.

Last week, Biden accused Trump’s supporters of being consumed by “semi-fascism.”

Conservative backlash

The term sparked indignation in conservative ranks — with the Republican Senate Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy charging that it “vilifies” “tens of millions of hardworking, law-abiding citizens.

Much the same point was made by the RNC’s McDaniel in her rebuttal on Thursday.

“Entering office,” her statement said, “Biden promised a presidency of ‘unity.’ Since then, Biden has used the office to label those who didn’t go along with his agenda as dangerous, semi-fascist, and  reinstating a ‘Jim Crow era.’

“Americans feel like the nation is on the wrong track with Joe Biden and congressional Democrats in power. The RealClearPolitics poll average found 70% of Americans say America is on the wrong track.”

She noted that the RNC just released a document exposing Biden Democrats’ dangerous rhetoric, directing the public to “Democrats: Extreme, Dangerous, Unhinged.” 

A new poll published Thursday by The Wall Street Journal shows that if the midterm elections were held today, 47 percent of eligible voters would cast ballots for Democrats, and 44 percent would vote Republican.

In March, the Republicans had a five-point advantage — and indeed, some polling continues to show Republicans leading two months before the midterms.

The Democrats are hoping for an upset in November, in which all of the seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate seats are on the ballot. Traditionally, the midterms don’t favor the ruling party.

Things have, according to some pundits, been going well for Biden lately, however, with inflation slowing, a series of his landmark reforms finally pushed through Congress and Trump fighting off a series of criminal investigations. Polls show widespread support for abortion rights, which could put many Republicans on the back foot.

This may be giving hope to the Democrats, who are battling to keep their hold on the House and preserve their Senate majority — or even strengthen it.

And Pennsylvania will be crucial for any of that to happen.

Historically a key battleground state in US politics, the Keystone State will likely prove vital to both parties in the midterms — and Biden will visit three times this week alone.

Trump is also planning an appearance in the state on Saturday to support his candidate in the Senate race, TV physician Mehmet Oz.