Good morning. Welcome, Axios today. It's Friday, September 2. I'm Nyla Boudou. Here's what we're

following today. The water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi continues. Plus, the stakes for the Artemis

mission to the moon. But first, Biden's Maga warning. That's today's one big thing.

Remember when President Biden would go out of his way not to name former President Trump when

speaking publicly? Well, those days are long gone. Donald Trump and the Maga Republicans

represented extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.

That was Biden speaking last night in prime time from Philadelphia with a warning about what's

at stake in the midterm elections. Axios' Margaret Taliv is here with more. Margaret, with President

Biden, also saying that former President Trump and his Maga supporters intend to take America backwards.

Is this intended to be a warning about democracy? Or is this a political partisan message?

Is both an answer? Because I think he's trying to have both. But right now, what Joe Biden's

trying to do is he's trying to protect Democratic majorities in the House and Senate. I think

fundamentally, Joe Biden does believe that the Republican Party in its current state is so kind

of stuck to Trump mode, whatever that is at any given moment, that there are risks for democracy

involved in it. And he said as much in official speeches as well as political speeches. What Joe

Biden was trying to do in that speech was to distinguish all Republicans from this core of what he

kept referring to again, and again, and again, and again, just in case you missed it as Maga Republicans.

The political risk for him is that all Republicans will feel painted with a broad brush.

And how involved in is he to make this argument now given where he stands in approval ratings

and where we're at in this country? Well, he's certainly more involved now than it was a couple

weeks ago. Polling shows him in the mid 40s. He was in the mid to high 30s, only a few weeks ago.

So he's not at 65 percent, but he's in a much stronger position than he was just a few weeks ago.

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