By Stephen Macaulay
“At 12 a.m. Thursday, President Trump retweeted a video in which a supporter says, ‘The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat.’
“At 12:53 a.m. Friday, he followed this up by referring to riots in Minneapolis and saying, ‘When the looting starts, the shooting starts.’ — The Washington Post, May 29, 2020
As you may recall, Donald Trump was the president then.
Let that marinate as you think about these comments that were made by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) prior to President Joe Biden’s speech last night:
•“President Biden has chosen to divide, demean, and disparage his fellow Americans.”
•"When the President speaks tonight at Independence Hall, the first lines out of his mouth should be to apologize for slandering tens of millions of Americans as 'fascists.’”
•"In the past two years, Joe Biden has launched an assault on the soul of America, on its people, on its laws, on its most sacred values. He has launched an assault on our democracy. His policies have severely wounded America's soul, diminished America's spirit and betrayed America's trust."
Let’s unpack that a little bit.
Thursday night Biden said:
“Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal. Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic.
“Now, I want to be very clear, 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’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.”
And:
“And here, in my view, is what is true: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election, and they’re working right now as I speak in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.”
Are these so-called “MAGA Republicans” Americas? Yes. Are these people who seem to live in a world of alternative facts Biden’s “fellow Americans.” Well, in the sense that they are probably American citizens, the answer to that is yes.
But in terms of the ideology that they espouse, no.
Did Biden slander “tens of millions of Americans as 'fascists’”?
No.
Rather, Biden said to a group of Democrats in a private home: "It's not just Trump, it's the entire philosophy that underpins the -- I'm going to say something: It's like semi-fascism."
In other words, Biden was criticizing an ideology that is held by some people, probably not tens of millions, but it seems that ever since Trump lied about the number of people who attended his inauguration, many Republicans have trouble with math.
What’s more, Biden’s actual word was “semi-fascism.” The prefix means “somewhat.” But things like quoting accurately is also something that many Republicans have trouble with, too.
Should the president apologize to people who espouse support for what runs counter to the Constitution? Perhaps McCarthy ought to spend a little more time with that document.
McCarthy claimed that Biden has conducted some sort of assault?
Read, again, the opening passage regarding Trump’s tweets. Did Biden say anything about violence? Did McCarthy and any of his cohorts suggest that Trump apologize—ever?
“The Democrats are hopeless — they never vote for anything. Not even one vote. But we're going to try and give our Republicans, the weak ones because the strong ones don't need any of our help. We're going to try and give them the kind of pride and boldness that they need to take back our country.
“So let's walk down Pennsylvania Avenue.” — Donald Trump, January 6, 2021
“Take back our country.” From whom?
Americans who voted?
What about that, Kevin?
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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news