Joe Biden’s done nothing wrong. NOTHING, I tell you. Or, rather, he told Lester Holt, when asked whether he thinks he bears any part of the blame for the inflammatory rhetoric that’s dominated the nation’s political discourse in recent…well, years.
When it comes to the hate-inducing language being slung around in the political sphere, Biden - who, to remind, has compared Trump to Hitler, called him a “threat to democracy” and a “threat to the country,” and called him a fascist and a dictator, among other incendiary things - said he’s “not engaged in that rhetoric,” and hasn’t habitually done anything wrong.
“But have — have you taken a step back and done a little soul searching on things that you may have said that could incite people who are not balanced?” Holt asked Biden during an edited, NBC exclusive sit-down interview with the President that aired Monday.
“Well, I don't think — look, how do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says? Do you just not say anything because it might insight somebody? Look, I — I — I — I am not engaged in that rhetoric,” Biden responded.
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“Now, my — my opponent is,” he went on. “He talks about there’d be bloodbath if he loses, talking about how he’s going to forgive all those — er — er — actually — I guess suspend the sentences of all of those who were arrested and sentenced to go to jail because of what happened on the Capitol. I’m not out there making fun of, like, remember, the picture of Donald Trump when Nancy Pelosi's husband was hit with a hammer — going about — talking about — joking about it.”
Biden did admit it was a "mistake" to tell donors to "put Trump in the bullseye" during a meeting last week, but was quick to point out he didn't mean it literally.
"I didn’t mean — I didn’t say crosshairs. I meant bullseye — focus on him, focus what he is doing, focus on — on — on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told in the debate, focus on — I mean, there’s — there’s a whole range of things that — look, I’m not the guy that said I want to be a dictator on day one," Biden said. "I’m not the guy that refused to accept the outcome of the election. I’m not the guy who said they wouldn’t accept the outcome of this election automatically. You can not only love your country when you win.”
Biden: “And so, the focus was on what he’s saying and I mean, the idea —”@LesterHoltNBC: “But have — have you taken a step back and done a little soul searching on things that you may of side that could insight people who are not balanced?”
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 15, 2024
Biden: “— well, I don't think —… pic.twitter.com/Nrihn72Qbt
While we're talking about context, since Biden thinks that rule applies to his own words, it’s worth mentioning that even leftwing media outlets - begrudgingly, perhaps - have debunked the Trump/bloodbath claim, pointing out that Trump was discussing the economic “bloodbath” he believes would take place if Biden were reelected, and was clearly not calling for physical violence against anyone.
So apparently, when Biden told Americans to “tone down” the rhetoric following the assassination attempt on Trump last Saturday, he didn’t mean his rhetoric. He can continue branding Trump a racist, fascist, xenophobic dictator who is basically Hitler and wants to kill people, and who will bring about a cataclysmic end to the country.
But Trump should definitely watch what he says.
