After years of a "MAGA extremist" drumbeat, Biden tells Americans to "cool it down"
Were North Carolina Democrats listening?
By now, everyone knows that former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks at a July 13 campaign rally.
At an initial press conference that evening, President Joe Biden wouldn't commit to calling the shooting an assassination attempt and said he "had an opinion," but "did not have any facts." Biden also issued a short statement wishing Trump well and saying there is no place for violence like this in America. Later that evening, Biden said he was ordering an "independent review" to assess what happened.
On Sunday evening, Biden gave an address to the nation from the Oval Office. He only spoke for a little over 6 minutes but managed to jumble his words in more than one section of his remarks.
“Thankfully, former [President] Trump is not seriously linjured [injured]. I spoke with him last night. I’m grateful he’s doing well. And Jill and I keep him and his family in our prayers,” Biden said.
He also attempted to compare the violence of the assassination attempt with other events, raising the topic of the January 6 protest and the assault on Rep. Nancy Pelosi's husband:
"We cannot — we must not go down this road in America. We’ve traveled it before throughout our history. Violence has never been the answer, whether it’s with members of Congress in both parties being targeted in the shot, or a violent mob attacking the Capitol on January 6th, or a brutal attack on the spouse of former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, or information and intimidation on election officials, or the kidnapping plot against a sitting governor, or an attempted assassination on Donald Trump."
After three and a half years of calling Trump an extremist, existential threat to the country, and that he must be stopped by any means necessary, Biden now says the rhetoric has "gotten heated" and the nation needs to "cool it."
"You know, the political rhetoric in this country has gotten very heated. It’s time to cool it down. And we all have a responsibility to do that,” said Biden.
For speech that was supposed to be calling for calm and unity, Americans were likely expecting more from Biden than what he delivered.
Video of Biden's address:
Full text of Biden's July 14 address can be viewed here.
On a regular basis since taking office, Biden has referred to former President Donald Trump as an "extremist," a "threat to Democracy," an "existential threat," and more.
Biden has also painted Trump supporters similarly and just as often, referring to them as "MAGA extremists."
Just to remind folks, Biden gave his dark speech about the "soul of the nation" just under two years ago in September 2022. It had an unsettling, authoritarian vibe with military guards in the red-lit background.
In his Philadelphia remarks he not only accused Trump of being a threat, but Americans who support him.
"Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.
Now, I want to be very clear — (applause) — very clear up front: Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology.
I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.
But there is 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."
Biden referred to the "MAGA" threat at least 13 times in that speech.
Here's the full video of the Sept. 1, 2022 speech.
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Were North Carolina Democrats listening last night?
Biden hasn't been the only Democrat calling Trump a threat to Democracy. Nearly every elected Democrat in the country has used such rhetoric, including right here in North Carolina.
Earlier this month, at the June 28 Biden rally held in Raleigh that followed the president's disastrous debate performance, Gov. Roy Cooper called Trump an "existential threat."
“We know that Donald Trump is an existential threat to our democracy and our nation, and we have to stop him," Cooper told the crowd as they chanted "lock him up."
Days later, on July 3, various governors met with Biden and afterward, Cooper was cited again as calling Trump a "threat" to democracy.
"We had a good meeting with the president talking about what's needed to win," Cooper said after the meeting. "Donald Trump is an existential threat to our democracy, and everyone in the room agreed that defeating him is imperative."
Other high profile NC Democrats, including the NC Democratic Party's chair and State Attorney General, have used the "MAGA extremist" line on a fairly regular basis, especially when fundraising.
Will Democrats nationally and in North Carolina “cool it down” as the President asked on Sunday night? Time will tell.