Schiff Responds To Trump VP Pick
President Joe Biden reiterated his claim that Donald Trump is a “threat to democracy” during an NBC News interview on Monday. This comes despite Biden’s repeated calls for Americans to lower the temperature in U.S. politics following a failed assassination attempt on the former president.
In a 20-minute unedited interview, NBC anchor Lester Holt questioned Biden on whether he had reflected on his own political rhetoric possibly inciting unbalanced individuals. Biden responded, “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 incite somebody?”
Biden maintained that he has not engaged in heated rhetoric, but accused Trump of doing so. He referenced Trump’s comments about a “bloodbath,” which were actually about the hypothetical state of the economy if Biden wins reelection. Biden also mentioned Trump’s intentions to commute sentences of Capitol riot-related crimes and the former president’s jokes about the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband.
Today’s precedent-shattering decision in Florida is further proof that the guardrails of our democracy are coming down.
Again, a partisan judge throws out decades of precedent to reach a desired political outcome.
Justice is again delayed so it may be denied.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) July 15, 2024
Holt pushed back, noting that Biden’s comments don’t seem to lower the heat. Biden insisted, “No, no, no. What I’m turning down — we have to stop the whole notion that there are certain things that are contrary to our democracy that we’re for,” emphasizing Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.
When asked what he can do to lower the temperature, Biden replied, “Continue to talk about the things that matter to the American public. It matters whether or not you accept the outcome of elections.”
This interview follows a tragic incident at a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a 20-year-old gunman shot Trump in the ear, killed former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore, and critically injured two others. Comperatore died protecting his family from the bullets.
The assassination attempt on former President Trump at his rally in Pennsylvania was horrifying. Just horrifying.
And it must be condemned by all Americans. Unequivocally.
— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) July 15, 2024
Despite urging Americans to lower the political temperature in a rare Oval Office address on Sunday, Biden and his fellow Democrats have yet to take accountability for their own heated rhetoric targeting Trump. Just last month, Biden called Trump a “genuine threat to this nation” on X, stating, “He’s a threat to our freedom, he’s a threat to our democracy, he’s literally a threat to everything America stands for.”
Biden also warned less than two weeks ago that Trump “really could become the dictator that he promised to be on day one,” following a Supreme Court ruling that affirmed Trump’s immunity for official acts but allowed prosecution for unofficial acts.
During the Monday interview, when asked to clarify his past comments about Trump being in a “bull’s-eye,” Biden admitted it was a mistake to use that term. He explained, “Look, the truth of the matter was, what I guess I was talking about at the time was there was very little focus on Trump’s agenda. It was a mistake to use the word. . . . I meant focus on him, focus on what he’s doing. Focus on his policies. Focus on the number of lies he told in the debate.”