In a new interview with NBC News host Lester Holt on Monday, President Joe Biden defended his comments before Saturday’s assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, saying his rival’s comments are the real problem.
Some Trump supporters have argued that Biden and other Democrats have stoked hostility toward Trump that contributed to the shootings, including after Biden recently said in a private call with donors that “it’s time to put Trump at the center of the target.”
To hear the rest of the interview, tune into “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” tonight at 6:30 PM ET/5:30 PM CST, or check your local listings.
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Biden said it was a “mistake” to use the term but dismissed the larger criticism, telling Holt it was merely a figure of speech and that it was Trump who had mainstreamed violent rhetoric.
“I didn’t say ‘sights’. I meant ‘targets’. I mean focusing on him. Focusing on what he’s doing, his policies, the number of lies he told in the debates. I mean focusing on, you know, I’m not the guy who said on day one that I want to be a dictator. I’m not the guy who refused to accept the results of the election. I’m not the guy who said I’m not going to automatically accept the results of this election. You can’t only love your country if you win. So you’re focusing on what he says, what he thinks.”
Asked if he had “reflected” on comments he had made since the assassination attempt that could unintentionally incite violence, Biden said the threats from his opponents were too severe to ignore.
“When you have a president making comments like this, how do you speak about real threats to democracy? Are you going to say nothing because you might provoke somebody?” Biden asked rhetorically.
“I didn’t say that,” Biden continued. “My opponent did say that.”
That was a different tone from the one he struck in an Oval Office speech on Sunday evening, in which he called on all Americans to work together to “turn down the heat” on political rhetoric and stop viewing political opponents as enemies.
