Biden appeals for unity in anti-extremism 'summit'

US President Joe Biden appealed for a united front against hate-crimes and political violence in a speech building on his bid to present himself as champion of moderate values at a time of rising extremism.

"We have to face the good, the bad and the truth. That's what great nations do and we're a great nation," Biden told a packed hall at the White House's United We Stand Summit. "You must choose to be a nation of hope, unity and optimism -- or a nation of fear and division and hate."

Biden recounted, as often before, how he took the decision to challenge then president Donald Trump in the 2020 election after the Republican initially declined to condemn a 2017 neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"Charlottesville changed everything, because I believe our story is to unite as people in one nation, in one America."

It also comes two weeks after Biden delivered a fiery speech denouncing the "extreme ideology" of Trump, whose supporters overran the Capitol to try to overturn the 2020 election and who continues to promote far-right conspiracy theories.

However, Republicans have painted Biden as a divider for calling out Trump supporters, noting that the former president remains hugely popular with the party's voters.

Biden defended himself in his White House speech, saying he was right to speak up.