Biden: US politics should 'lock down' Trump

US President Joe Biden has said former President Donald Trump, who is vying to return to the White House, is a threat to democracy and the US should "lock him down" politically.

"We have to lock him up, lock him up politically, that's what we have to do," Biden said during a visit to a New Hampshire campaign office on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Those in the room applauded Mr. Biden's remark.

Biden said Trump wants to end the U.S. Constitution's protections for people and that "our democracy is at stake" if Trump defeats Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Harris.

When Trump first ran for president in 2016, his supporters chanted "locked her up" at multiple campaign rallies, a reference to then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Trump did not stop the crowd from chanting the phrase.

At Harris rallies this year, her supporters have sometimes chanted "locked him up," a reference to Trump. But Harris urged supporters not to chant the slogan, saying that Trump's case was being handled by the Justice Department and that she would seek to defeat him in the presidential election.

Trump has been convicted of 34 felony counts for covering up hush money paid to a porn star, and he faces several federal criminal cases for trying to overturn the results of his 2020 presidential election defeat.