President Joe Biden criticized former President Donald Trump’s “rhetoric” following a recent assassination attempt and admitted his “right” comment was a “mistake” in an exclusive interview with NBC News on Monday.
In an early clip released from Biden’s interview on “NBC Nightly News,” the president was asked about his language regarding Trump and whether it could inspire others to take action following an assassination attempt on the former president on Saturday. NBC News anchor Lester Holt asked Biden about his comment to his National Finance Committee in which he said it was time to “put Trump on the spot.” (RELATED: Biden took 102 minutes to condemn Trump assassination attempt)
“I didn’t say put the spotlight on it. I mean focus on something. Look, the truth of the matter was, when I guess I was talking about it at the time, there was very little focus on the Trump agenda,” Biden said.
Holt then stepped in to reiterate to the president that he used the term “bullseye” while discussing his campaign strategy against Trump.
“It was a mistake to use that word. I didn’t say crosshair, I meant bull’s-eye. I meant focus on him. Focus on what he’s doing. Focus on his policies. Focus on the number of lies he told in the debate. I mean, there’s a whole range of things that — look, I’m not the guy who said I wanted to be a dictator on day one. I’m not the guy who refused to accept the outcome of the election,” Biden said. “I’m not the guy who said you accept the outcome of this election automatically. You can’t love your country only when you win. So the focus was on what he’s saying and I mean the idea.”
During a private call on July 8 with Democratic donors, Biden made the comments about Trump after rejecting calls for him to step aside as the party’s nominee following his poor debate performance, according to Politico. The president urged Democrats to look forward to the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and the election, adding that “it’s time to put Trump on the spot.”
In an exclusive interview with Lester Holt, President Biden said it was a mistake to use the word “bullseye” when talking about former President Trump, but said we should “focus on what (Trump) is doing.”
See more tonight at @NBCNightlyNews and the full interview on NBC at 9 p.m. ET. image.twitter.com/gHwrHYS97U
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 15, 2024
“But has he stepped back and done a little soul-searching about things he may have said that might incite people who are not balanced?” Holt pressed.
“Well, I don’t think that — look, how do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says? Do you just not say anything because it might incite somebody? Look, I haven’t engaged in that rhetoric. Now my opponent is engaged in that rhetoric,” Biden continued. “He talks about how it would be a bloodbath if he loses, he talks about how he’s going to pardon everybody, or actually, I guess he’s going to suspend the sentences of everybody who was arrested and sentenced to go to prison for what happened at the Capitol. I’m not there to make fun of, like, remember the picture of Donald Trump when Nancy Pelosi’s husband was hit with a hammer, and I go (and) talk about joking about it.”
Biden’s comments follow a White House statement on Saturday calling for national “unity” in response to the failed assassination attempt on Trump.
“Jill and I are grateful to the Secret Service for bringing him to safety. There is no place for this kind of violence in America. We must come together as one nation to condemn it,” Biden’s statement read.
During a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots at the former president and members of the crowd. While Trump suffered a wound above his ear, former volunteer fire chief Corey Comperatore was fatally shot.
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