Biden rips off Avenatti with ‘let's make America America again’ slogan

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2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden says the Trump presidency is a threat to democracy

Former Vice President Biden references Charlottesville and morality in speech to supporters in Iowa; reaction and analysis from 'Special Report' anchor Bret Baier.

Former Vice President Joe Biden was applauded Tuesday by Democrats in Iowa when he slammed President Trump with his own twist on the president’s famous campaign slogan.

“He says, ‘let's make America great again,’” Biden said of Trump in Ottumwa. “Let's make America America again.”

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Turns out, that’s not the first time voters have heard that line: Michael Avenatti, the anti-Trump lawyer who briefly promoted a possible Democratic presidential run of his own this year before being indicted on multiple charges, repeatedly used that same slogan in public remarks as he pushed back against Trump.

Avenatti on Tuesday tweeted, "Since I won't be using it, I’m happy @JoeBiden is using 'Let’s Make America America Again.' Because it's a damn good slogan and message."

Avenatti most recently used the line – in endorsing Biden for president in April.

“I am extremely happy that @JoeBiden has decided to enter the race,” Avenatti tweeted at the time. “He offers Dems the very best chance in 2020, especially in key states. He has the fight, intelligence and fortitude to beat Trump and begin to make America, America again. He has my enthusiastic support."

He also used the line during a 2018 BBC interview, prompting Newsweek to ask in a headline if the “make America America again” line would be Avenatti’s campaign slogan.

"I'm here to send a loud and clear message that there are millions of Americans that want to make America America again," Avenatti said last year in London.

Avenatti also tweeted the line in 2018, saying, “We must fight fire with fire and we must send a message that we will fight to make America America again.”

And Avenatti used it as the closing line in his speech at the Iowa Wing Day dinner in August 2018, saying, “above all else, we will make America America again.”

The Trump campaign on Tuesday mocked Biden over his use of the phrase. Both Trump and Biden are in Iowa Tuesday holding dueling political events.

“No word yet on whether Biden will start borrowing ‘Basta!’ as well,” Trump campaign deputy communications director Matt Wolking said Tuesday, referring to the hashtag Avenatti often used on Twitter.

Fox News has requested comment from the Biden campaign.

Biden last week faced criticism after it was revealed that his campaign lifted passages from numerous other sources in the initial version of its climate change plan. Citations were later added, with the campaign describing the initial version as a mistake.