On Monday, US President Joe Biden sat down for an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt in what appeared to be campaign damage control in the aftermath of the attempted assassination of his election rival, former President Donald Trump.
During the interview, Biden said he had called Trump to ask about his health and that the call was “cordial”. The president then said that there is “no place at all for violence in politics in America”. However, he then addressed a major criticism of Trump’s political past: the January 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill.
However, Trump’s violent rhetoric has been in the media spotlight since he first announced running for president in 2015. The media and the American public have grown so tolerant of his language that it no longer seems to strike the same cord. Holt then asked Biden about his own violent rhetoric which was awkwardly timed considering the recent assassination attempt against the former president.
“You called your opponent an existential threat. On a call a week ago you said, ‘It’s time to put Trump in the bull’s-eye,’” Holt asked Biden.
“It was a mistake to use the word [...] I meant ‘bull’s-eye’, I meant focus on him. Focus on what he’s doing. Focus on ... on his ... on his policies. Focus on the number of lies he told in the debate,” Biden responded. “Look, I’m not the guy that said I want to be a dictator on day one. I’m not the guy that refused to accept the outcome of the election.”
Biden once again called Trump "the threat to democracy", then said "I have not engaged in that rhetoric,” seemingly contradicting himself.
However, Holt called Biden out and said it didn’t sound as though Biden was “turning down the heat”. At one point in the interview Biden appeared to spar with Holt and became frustrated, until he pressed the news anchor on his media coverage, especially about the debate’s aftermath.
Biden is losing support in 14 key states, which are coming under the thumb of Trump ahead of the November elections, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing poll data.
Biden’s popularity has plummeted since his first debate with Trump, who is three years younger than him. Biden’s confused and incoherent demeanor has concluded his support’s fear and his critic’s remarks about his mental unfitness. Since then, some Democratic politicians and donors have called for him to step down as their candidate.