Biden continues to push divisive 'MAGA Republican' rhetoric
Podcast host Janelle King on Biden's rhetoric towards Trump supporters and the impact this will have in the upcoming midterm elections
The New York Times published an opinion column on Friday that praised "divisive" rhetoric from President Biden but argued the White House can be even harsher when condemning the "MAGA movement’s contempt for democracy."
Times opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie penned the piece bluntly titled, "You Can’t Talk About MAGA America in Hushed Tones," that quickly made it clear he agrees with President Biden’s recent GOP-bashing comments.
Biden aimed to frame the state of U.S. politics as a battle between "equality and democracy" and a GOP allegedly assaulting those principles with "MAGA forces," in a controversial campaign-style speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia last week, with a widely-criticized background that included menacing red lighting.
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U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on what he calls the "continued battle for the Soul of the Nation" in front of Independence Hall at Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, U.S., September 1, 2022. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY/File Photo)
"President Biden is right. The so-called MAGA movement, led by Donald Trump, is a direct threat to democratic self-government in the United States," Bouie wrote before highlighting a Biden quote that "Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic."
Bouie agreed and felt "proof is everywhere you look" because many Republican candidates for various offices are aligned with Trump on controversial issues such as challenging the legitimacy of the 2020 election. The Times columnist then suggested a "large part of the Republican Party is, as Biden says, working to ensure that the next time Trump is on the ballot, he cannot lose."
Bouie noted that Trump supporters feel differently, and many Republicans don’t believe Biden’s divisive rhetoric was justified.
"One view of Biden’s speech says that if the president is serious about the threat to American democracy, he should sacrifice key political, policy and ideological goals for the sake of unity with conservative opponents of Trump. Another, similar view says that Biden should have made a more Lincolnesque appeal to the ‘better angels’ of MAGA Republican voters, rather than condemn the entire movement as essentially anti-American," he wrote. "Neither argument really lands."
The New York Times published an opinion piece that praised "divisive" rhetoric from President Biden. (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton/File Photo | Getty Images)
Bouie, who is responsible for recent columns defending Biden’s school loan handout and claiming Republicans should "pay a political price" for abortion laws, offers suggestions on how to "weaken the MAGA movement" in order to help Democrats.
"Pre-emptive concessions on critical issues might appeal to a handful of conservative Republican dissidents, but they will outrage and demoralize Democratic voters at a moment when Democrats stand a meaningful chance of holding their majorities in Congress. The simple truth is that the best way to undermine and weaken the MAGA movement at this moment is to win elections. It makes no sense, then, for Biden to deliberately undermine the Democratic Party’s ability to do just that," he wrote. "Should Biden have used more conciliatory rhetoric? No."
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The liberal Times columnist admitted Biden was "divisive," but felt it was appropriate.
"This is a moment that calls for a perfect contrast between the two parties. If Trump is leading an assault on the institutions of American self-government and if that assault implicates much of the Republican Party, then there’s no way that Biden can make his defense of the constitutional order without dividing people," Bouie wrote.
"What matters is the nature of the divide. To divide against a radical minority that would attack and undermine democratic self-government is to divide along the most inclusive lines possible," he continued. "If there is a critique to make of Biden’s Philadelphia speech, it is that he did not say enough about the sentiments behind the MAGA movement’s contempt for democracy. In that sense, it was a missed opportunity."
The piece concluded with Bouie claiming Trump supporters are "enemies of democracy," and urging Democrats to fight back.
"The struggle for democracy is the struggle for human equality is the struggle for a fairer economy is the struggle for the rights of workers and the dignity of labor," he wrote. "And if the enemies of democracy are fighting their war on every possible front, its defenders should, too."
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