Biden deplores rising anti-Asian violence, asks Americans to stand together against hate

U.S. President Joe Biden talks to reporters as he departs on travel to Atlanta, Georgia to receive a CDC update on the "fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic" and later to meet with Asian-American leaders, from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, U.S., March 19, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

ATLANTA (Reuters) - President Joe Biden deplored a surge in anti-Asian violence in the United States after a deadly shooting rampage in Georgia, and asked all Americans to stand together against hate during a visit to the state on Friday.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met for more than an hour with leaders and state lawmakers from the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community, which has been rattled by this week's murders of eight people, including six women of Asian descent, after a year of rising anti-Asian violence.