President Joe Biden attempted to walk back his divisive rhetoric delivered Thursday night, when the commander-in-chief stood before Independence Hall flanked by Marines illuminated by blood-red lights like stormtroopers.
Two months before the November midterms, Biden went on a 25-minute tirade in which he branded his political opposition as an existential threat to democracy and the “soul of this nation.”
“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic,” Biden said. “There’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country.”
Following rare criticism from even CNN, Biden on Friday sought to back away from the divisive message he delivered in a scene some viewers compared to hell.
“I don’t consider any Trump supporter to be a threat,” the president told reporters on Friday.
Just one day earlier, however, Biden even tweeted that Trump supporters were a “threat to the very soul of this country.”
“I do think anyone who calls for the use of violence and fails to condemn violence when it’s used, refuse to acknowledge an election has been won — that is a threat to democracy,” Biden added in his attempted Friday walkback.
Under the president’s definition, however, 2016 Democrat presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and the Democrats who objected to President Donald Trump’s electoral certification in 2017 are extremist threats to democracy. So is Biden himself for his refusal to forcefully condemn the violent terrorism targeting conservatives, whether directed at conservative Supreme Court justices or pro-life pregnancy centers. Biden’s Justice Department even refused to prosecute the illegal targeting of conservative justices by left-wing activists, which then escalated to the point of an attempted assassination on Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Hours before the president’s dark, dystopian address in prime time, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declared Americans extreme by virtue of being in the political minority.
“When you are not with what majority of Americans are, then you know, that is extreme. That is an extreme way of thinking,” Jean-Pierre said.
Such a definition would also apply to support for Biden, for whom only a minority of Americans hold a favorable approval rating. According to RealClearPolitics’ latest aggregate of surveys, only 42 percent of Americans approve of the president’s job performance compared to nearly 55 percent who disapprove.