Republican operative Patrick Ruffini, who before the 2020 election had ridiculed the idea Trump would refuse to accept defeat … “President Biden isn’t taking on the Trumpists’ illiberalism - he’s imitating it,” insisted Kevin Williamson. “Biden can’t call for unity while denouncing fellow citizens as enemies,” wrote Jim Geraghty. “I recoiled when President Joe Biden kept attacking not only Donald Trump, but MAGA Republicans,” complained Kathryn Jean Lopez. Lauren Boebert called it “one of the most disgusting and decisive speeches in American history.” (She presumably meant to say “divisive,” not “decisive.”) Fox News personalities Mollie Hemingway and Tucker Carlson were even more unhinged.Ĭloser to the GOP’s Establishment wing, the anti-anti-Trump conservatives at National Review were angrily insisting that Biden had directed personal abuse upon the Republican Party’s entire rank and file. It was obviously predictable that the party’s Trumpiest voices would respond to a critique of Trumpism with knee-jerk hostility. They treated the entire thing, including its critique of Trumpism, as an attack on them. (“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.”) Biden was trying to supply a motive for the Trumpists’ rejection of democratic norms, which is sensible enough - the authoritarian right does not seek power for its own end, but for largely ideological reasons - but he framed his point in a way that made it sound as if social conservatism was itself authoritarian.Īnd yet the Republican Party’s reaction to Biden’s speech was not confined to his errors. His substantive mistake was to lump together the Republican Party’s policy agenda with its rejection of democracy. His symbolic mistake was to have Marine guards on the periphery of the speech, thus violating a norm against using the military in political speeches. In making this case, Biden committed one error of substance, and another of symbolism. Biden rather generously absolved the vast majority from sharing Trump’s authoritarian goals, but he correctly indicted them for going along with them. Republicans first supported, and then abandoned, plans to impeach Trump and then to hold hearings into his attempted autogolpe.
Republicans refused to exercise any oversight over Trump’s administration, ignored his abuses of power, and repeatedly flinched from holding him accountable even for his most unforgivable attempt to seize power despite the election outcome. While he did not list the evidence for it, his case is overwhelming. I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.īut there is 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. Now, I want to be very clear - (applause) - very clear up front: Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. Biden argued that this faction composes a minority of the party, but has been able to bully the party’s officials into compliance:
The Republican response did more to confirm his point than anything he said.īiden’s main argument was simple: A wing of the Republican Party aligned with Trump refuses to renounce violence, respect the integrity of elections, or accept the rule of law. This hour, we discuss the state of Biden’s administration, big midterm races in Pa., the investigation into Trump’s team and classified documents, and what democracy looks like for a nation so torn apart.Last week, President Biden delivered a speech warning that Donald Trump’s authoritarian movement posed a threat to American democracy. But can Democrats make the case for bringing unity to the fabric of this country? Lately, the president’s tune has been a fiery rebuttal of extremist ideology, prevalent in several campaigns, like that of gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania. The speech was broadcast notably from Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love and birthplace of independence, at a time when almost three quarters of Americans believe the country is headed “in the wrong direction.” President Biden delivered a national address Thursday about the soul of democracy amid deep national division over high-stakes midterm elections, abortion access, voting rights and fringe conspiracy theories stirring amongst ardent supporters of former president Trump.
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