WH Puts Out Statement After Biden’s Comments In NH
President Joe Biden’s visit to Concord, New Hampshire, took an unexpected turn this week when he called for his predecessor, Donald Trump, to be “politically” locked up during a Democratic event.
The president’s remarks, made just two weeks before Election Day, have reignited political controversy, and although Biden quickly corrected himself by adding the word “politically,” the damage may have already been done.
Biden was in New Hampshire to highlight his administration’s efforts to lower healthcare costs, particularly prescription drug prices. But during a subsequent political event at the New Hampshire Democratic Party headquarters, he shifted his focus to Trump, reiterating his long-standing claim that Trump poses a threat to democracy if re-elected.
The intensity of Biden’s rhetoric caught attention when he said, “We gotta lock him up,” a statement that he immediately clarified by adding, “politically lock him up. Lock him out.”
While Biden has repeatedly distanced himself from the Justice Department’s investigations into Trump, his remark fueled suspicions from Trump’s supporters that the legal actions against the former president are politically motivated.
The Trump campaign was quick to seize on Biden’s words, posting the video to social media and framing it as evidence of political persecution. Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s national press secretary, claimed that Biden’s comment revealed the administration’s true agenda: to “politically persecute” Trump because they “can’t beat him fair and square.”
The remark also places Vice President Kamala Harris in a difficult position. For months, Harris, who now leads the 2024 Democratic ticket, has tried to distance herself from chants of “lock him up” at her own rallies. Her campaign has yet to issue a formal response, but the moment highlights a potential divide within the Democratic strategy on how to address Trump’s legal battles.
This isn’t the first time Biden’s rhetoric has come under scrutiny. During his presidency, Biden has regularly warned that Trump and his “MAGA Republicans” are a danger to the Constitution, accusing them of fostering an “anti-democratic” mindset. He has also mocked Trump’s policy ideas, including Trump’s plans to replace the Affordable Care Act, dismissing the former president’s ideas as having “no concept of anything.”
The fallout from this incident could be significant, especially as Trump supporters point to growing tensions and even cite failed assassination attempts on Trump’s life as consequences of inflamed political discourse. As Biden and Harris continue to paint Trump as a direct threat to democracy, Trump himself has vowed to go after his political opponents if he returns to the White House.