Biden rejects responsibility for overheated rhetoric: ‘I’m not engaged in that’
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In an interview conducted Monday, President Biden blamed the overheated rhetoric of the United States on former President Donald Trump and said that he does not see the need to change his behavior.
Biden said that Republicans have crossed the line, and in particular Mr. Trump’s words which are “inflammatory”. This was a day after he asked all sides to “cool down” their words.
“I am not engaging in this rhetoric.” My opponent has now adopted this rhetoric. “He talks about a ‘bloodbath,’ if he wins,” said Mr. Biden.
He rejected the notion that he should do any soul searching about his words.
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“Well, I don’t believe — how can you talk about a real threat to democracy when the President says what he says?” said Mr. Biden. “Do you not say anything for fear of inciting someone?”
Mr. Biden reiterated his resolve to remain in the race for the Democratic nomination and urged his party and the media to stop focusing their attention on his repeated gaffes, and instead, attack Mr. Trump’s “lies.”
He pointed to his records and said: “My mental ability has been pretty good.” “I’m ready to be judged based on that.”
He said that he would keep his promise to debate Trump again in September. However, he refused to accept any requests to set up another one-on -one meeting with his Republican opponent.
The interview was scheduled to coincide with the opening night of the Republican National Convention. The interview was broadcast just hours after Republicans nominated Mr. Trump to face Mr. Biden again.
Biden has been forced out of his presidential cocoon by unprecedented challenges.
The most significant of these challenges is the insurrection that has taken place within his party following a disastrous performance at a debate last month. The president was unable to answer questions and reminded the voters that he had already been elected as the oldest president of all time, even before he wanted a second term.
Mr. Biden appeared more coherent on Monday, despite some stumbling. He stopped mid-sentence several times and changed direction after veering in one direction.
Lester Holt, NBC’s Lester Holt, pressed Mr. Biden about his own use of “bull’s eye” to describe Mr. Trump in a recent phone call with supporters. The president struggled to give a clear response. He appeared to backtrack, clarify and embrace the use of the term — all at once.
Mr. Biden stated, “It was an error to use — I didn’t mean crosshairs; I meant bull’s eye, I meant to focus on him, on what he is doing, on his policies.”
During the 18-minute interview he conducted with Mr. Holt at the White House and recorded, Mr. Biden repeatedly criticized NBC and other media outlets for focusing too much on his age and debate performance. He suggested that they should be challenging Trump’s answers.
He asked that NBC report on “the 18,28 lies he told.”
When Mr. Holt claimed that his network was responsible, Mr. Biden questioned him.
The president replied, “No you haven’t.”
Mr. Holt replied, “We will provide them to you.”
Mr. Biden described his weekend conversation with Mr. Trump, after the bullet from the would-be killer nearly killed the Republican nominee.
Mr. Biden said, “I told him that he literally was in my prayers and those of Jill.”
On Sunday, the president addressed the nation from the White House. He called for a less divisive political climate. He compared Mr. Trump’s attempted assassination to the mob invasion on Jan. 6, 2021 of the Capitol and a kidnapping plan against a Democratic Governor, along with the brutal beating of Paul Pelosi – the husband of former House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Conservatives pointed out that neither in his Sunday speech or his Monday interview, the president mentioned the Sanders supporter who tried to massacre Republicans who were practicing for the Congressional Baseball Game of 2017 or the man arrested on charges of plotting the assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.
Mr. Biden focused his attention on Monday on what he viewed as violent right-wing events, such as the Jan. 6 attack on Ms. Pelosi, and the racial clashes that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
Holt: “This does not sound like you are turning down the temperature.”
Mr. Biden refused Mr. Holt’s invitation to label the assassination try a failure of security. He claimed to have asked for an evaluation of the Secret Service’s and local police’s performance.
Then he complained about Mr. Trump and the way he acted toward those events on Jan. 6.
He said: “You say that there is nothing wrong with breaking into the Capitol and threatening people. A couple of cops died, you hanged — you put up a noose for the former Vice President, then you forgive them for it?” Violence is never acceptable.
Biden also said that he did not agree with the decision made by a federal judge earlier in the day to dismiss one of two criminal cases brought against Donald Trump.
Aileen Cannon is a Trump appointee who said that the Biden administration made a mistake by appointing Jack Smith as Special Counsel to lead the prosecution. Mr. Smith was not nominated and confirmed by a President.
The case concerned Mr. Trump’s handling classified documents after leaving office.
Mr. Biden turned his question into a discussion about his own criminal probe on charges of mishandling of documents, saying that he had been “totally cooperating” with the investigation.
Mr. Biden stated, “They looked at my face and concluded that I did nothing wrong.” “But I’m saying that, umm… Well. The basis on which the case was dismissed I find sham.”
Robert Hur, the special counsel who investigated Mr. Biden’s case, stated that the president had kept and shared classified information willfully after his tenure as vice president under the Obama administration. Mr. Hur, however, said that the case should not be prosecuted as a jury might be sympathetic towards Mr. Biden because they would see him as “a well-meaning old man with a bad memory.”