President Joe Biden admitted Monday that it was a mistake to use the word “bullseye” when talking about former President Donald Trump following an assassination attempt on the former president over the weekend.
On Saturday afternoon, a gunman attempted to assassinate Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania. One attendee was killed in the shooting and three others were injured, including Trump, who was shot in the ear. The suspected shooter also died.
Biden said it was “time to put Trump on the spot” during a call with donors last week, according to Politico, urging them to put behind him his debate performance and concerns about his ability to win reelection.
“It was a mistake to use the word,” Biden told NBC News anchor Lester Holt in a clip from the exclusive interview, though he defended himself by pointing out that he had not used the word “crosshairs.”
“I meant let’s focus on him, let’s focus on what he’s doing,” Biden said. “Let’s focus on his policies, let’s focus on the number of lies he told in the debate.”
“I’m not the guy who said, ‘I want to be a dictator from day one.’ I’m not the guy who refused to accept the result of the election. I’m not the guy who said I wouldn’t automatically accept the result of this election. You can’t love your country only when you win,” he added.
Biden defended his comments that Trump was a “threat to democracy” but said he was not “engaged” in incendiary rhetoric.
“How can you talk about the threat to democracy – which is real – when a president says things like the ones he says? Can you just say nothing, because that might incite someone?” the president asked. “I am not making that kind of rhetoric. Now my opponent is making that kind of rhetoric.”
The full interview with Biden will air on NBC News as part of a primetime special at 9 p.m. ET.
Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can Follow her on X For greater coverage.
