OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
President Joe Biden gave a speech during prime time on Thursday that critics panned as being highly divisive and unnecessarily inflammatory.
In it, he attacked “MAGA Republicans” and suggested they were a major threat to the stability of the country and its democratic institutions, though on Friday, he tried to walk back his remarks somewhat.
“We must be honest with each other and with ourselves,” Biden said during the speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, with a pair of U.S. Marines in the background. “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.”
“MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution,” he claimed without context or explanation. “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 the power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election-deniers to undermine democracy itself,” Biden continued.
“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards. Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love. They promote authoritarian leaders and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country,” the president said.
And yet, the Democratic Party and its super PACs have been working behind the scenes to fund so-called ‘MAGA’ candidates during GOP primaries for months, Fox News reported, to the tune of around $46 million — likely because the party believes those candidates will be easier for Democrats to beat in November.
The outlet notes:
Just last month, Democrats were celebrating the primary victories of Trump-supported candidates, including Republican nominee to represent Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, John Gibbs, who narrowly defeated moderate incumbent Congressman Peter Meijer.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spent $425,000 in advertising to boost Gibbs, specifically running an ad highlighting his conservative credentials.
In July, the Democratic Governors’ Association (DGA) spent nearly $2 million running ads boosting Trump-backed Maryland Republican gubernatorial nominee Dan Cox, in his primary against former state lawmaker Kelly Schulz, who was backed by outgoing Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
Three weeks before Cox’s win, GOP state Sen. Darren Bailey, who was backed by Trump, won his party’s gubernatorial primary in Illinois after he, too, was supported financially by the DGA. Also, incumbent Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker spending $35 million to help Bailey defeat more moderate GOP Mayor Richard Irvin of Aurora, Ill., according to Fox News.
In May, Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano, who is also being backed by the 45th president, was financially supported by his now-Democratic gubernatorial opponent and current state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
“The latest attempt by Democrats to meddle in a Republican primary is ongoing, despite Biden’s speech, as a new party PAC called Democrats Serve has reportedly spent $94,000 to boost Trump-backed New Hampshire congressional candidate Bob Burns, who is running against Keene, New Hampshire Mayor George Hansel,” Fox News added.
As for Biden’s speech, it was widely panned by conservatives and liberals alike.
“Evening address, dark lighting, somber tone, Marines in the background; this speech was designed like a declaration of war against enemies of the state And that is precisely the point,” Turning Point USA founder and president Charlie Kirk wrote on Twitter.
Evening address, dark lighting, somber tone, Marines in the background; this speech was designed like a declaration of war against enemies of the state
And that is precisely the point.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) September 2, 2022
“Whatever you think of this speech the military is supposed to be apolitical. Positioning Marines in uniform behind President Biden for a political speech flies in the face of that. It’s wrong when Democrats do it. It’s wrong when Republicans do it,” CNN host Brianna Keilar — who is married to U.S. Army Lt. Col. Fernando Luján, a Special Forces officer — noted on Twitter.
Whatever you think of this speech the military is supposed to be apolitical. Positioning Marines in uniform behind President Biden for a political speech flies in the face of that. It’s wrong when Democrats do it. It’s wrong when Republicans do it.
— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) September 2, 2022
