President Joe Biden appears to be trying to soften his attacks on so-called âMAGA Republicans.â
The day after claiming that Republicans aligned with former President Donald Trump â dubbed âMAGA Republicansâ â represent âan extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,â Biden insists he does not view Trump supporters as a threat.
Fox Newsâ Peter Doocy asked on Friday, âDo you consider all Trump supporters to be a threat to the country?â
âYou keep trying to make that case. I donât consider any Trump supporters a threat to the country,â Biden responded.
He continued, âI do think anyone who calls for the use of violence, fails to condemn violence when itâs used, refuses to acknowledge an election that has been won, insists upon changing the way you count votes, that is a threat to democracy. Democracy. Everything we stand for. Everything we stand for rest upon the platform of democracy.â
The president also stated, âWhen people voted for Donald Trump, and still support him now, they werenât voting for the attack on the Capitol. They werenât voting for overruling an election. They were voting for the philosophy he put forward.â
Finally, Biden claimed he was only speaking about a âfailure to recognize and condemn violence when itâs used for political purposes, failure to condemn⌠attempts to manipulate an electoral outcome, failure to acknowledge when elections are won or lost.â
Watch the video below:
That is much softer language than Biden has used over the past week.
Earlier this month, Biden blasted the âextreme MAGA philosophy,â which he claimed was âlike semi-fascism.â He also stated that there are not âmany real Republicans anymore.â
âThe MAGA Republicans donât just threaten our personal rights and economic security. Theyâre a threat to our very democracy. They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace political violence. They donât believe in democracy,â he added.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre meanwhile labeled âMAGA Republicansâ an âextreme threat to our democracyâ who are âpursuing an agenda that takes away peopleâs rights.â
That goes further than just talking about not condemning violence or accepting the results of an election.
And during a speech on Thursday night, Biden claimed, âDonald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.â He did appear to try to soften his rhetoric as well by stating that ânot even the majority of Republicans are MAGA Republicans.â
But at the same time, he claimed the Republican Party is âdominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country.â
âThey look at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on January 6th â brutally attacking law enforcement â not as insurrectionists who placed a dagger to the throat of our democracy, but they look at them as patriots,â Biden added.
It is unclear what Biden thinks a âMAGA Republicanâ is if not a supporter of Trump.
If youâre confused about how there are ânot many real Republicans anymore,â but not a majority of Republicans are âMAGA Republicans,â but Trump and âMAGA Republicansâ dominate and drive the party, youâre not alone.
Biden should have said what he told reporters this morning in his big, scripted speech if thatâs what he meant. But he didnât, and that should tell us all we need to know about what he really meant.
