President Joe Biden expressed regret for using the term “bullseye” when describing former President Donald Trump.
In an interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt, Biden stressed that he wasn’t speaking literally and that he just wanted to draw attention to Trump. His use of the word came under scrutiny following the attempted assassination of Trump on Saturday, and that resulted in him backtracking.
“It was a mistake to use that word,” he said.
Biden, however, refused to say he had done any “soul searching” after the attempt, arguing that it was Trump who used violent rhetoric.
The president still defended himself, arguing that he wanted voters to focus on Trump’s “agenda.”
“I haven’t used that rhetoric. Now, my opponent has used it,” Biden said of Trump. “He talks about how it would be a bloodbath if he loses, he talks about how he’s going to pardon everybody, I guess he’s going to suspend the sentences of everybody who was arrested and sentenced to prison for what happened at the Capitol.”
Earlier on Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly stopped short of saying Biden regretted his past rhetoric about Trump.
“We think it’s important to continue to speak out strongly against violence at any time because that’s what the president believes and we don’t want to politicize this. Politicizing this moment is unacceptable,” he told reporters during an exchange in which the issue of the president’s choice of words was raised.
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“There are differences in our agenda and in what Republicans believe, right? There are differences and that’s fine, and it’s fine to talk about someone’s record with someone’s character,” Jean-Pierre continued. “We cannot accept violence. We cannot accept that, and that’s why the president is going to continue to do that, highlighting his agenda.”
Biden campaign officials also gave elusive answers when asked on a background call about whether the president planned to recalibrate some of his campaign language regarding Trump and his new running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH).
