Biden’s speech rightly targeted MAGA fanatics, but he sounded divisive doing it
In a rare prime-time address ahead of midterm elections, President Joe Biden showed a version of himself he hasn’t really shown yet: Determined, fierce, speaking in front of a glowing, creepy, red background, Biden took aim at what he repeatedly called “MAGA Republicans,” or dedicated Trump followers.
It pains me to say the Democrat who spoke of unity and peace on the campaign trail was correct about the way he described some aspects of the MAGA wing of the GOP, but he did contradict himself while targeting millions of Americans.
Like a parent chiding a wayward child, Biden told his American family how he felt about a sect of Republicans. He was careful not to include all Republicans and in fact said MAGA folks were a small minority within the GOP, but he did go so far as to label them a threat to our country.
“MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution,” Biden said. “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 result ... and they’re working right now, as I speak, in state after state ... to undermine democracy itself.”
This is wholly true nationally and here in Texas. In Tarrant County, Republicans have worked overtime to question the results of the 2020 election. To this day, President Donald Trump has refused to accept the results of the 2020 election and has worked daily since then to persuade allies to embrace the conspiracy theory that the election was rigged. Trump’s arguments or any “evidence” of such a rigged election — or fraud — have never held up in court and have thus ended up creating a cult of MAGA believers who refuse to live in 2022 and acknowledge Biden as President.
However, Biden did not stop there.
“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards,” he said. “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.”
This is a nod to originalism and Trump’s Supreme Court confirmations: Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, as well as the Dobbs decision which returned abortion back to the states. It is a pure exaggeration to state all Republicans do not believe people can marry whom they love or want to remove anyone’s right to contraception or even that MAGA Republicans likewise embrace this. While this might be true among pockets of the country, as would any number of extreme beliefs, as a whole this is fearmongering and false.
Biden did end the speech positively, saying we can “fix this together” and calling for people to unify. “The country is sick of the division. They’re sick of the fighting. They’re sick of the childish behavior,” he said.
While this is most definitely true among Republicans who are not “MAGA,” unfortunately, so much of the speech was directed with such an intense, angry tone toward MAGA Republicans, he didn’t sound like he wanted unity. He sounded like he just wanted to pummel a sect of Republicans that can’t let go of the past.
As much as MAGA Republicans do need to let go of Trump, it’s strange to vocally target millions of Americans like this in a speech. It’s likely the takeaway for Biden’s address will be split three ways: Democrats will love his speech, MAGA Republicans will hate it, and the rest of the Republicans will wonder how he plans to fix the economy, inflation, and other problems that have occurred since he took office.
This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 9:12 PM.
