Last night, President Joe Biden gave a speech which can best be described as “fiery,” in terms of both the content and the visual aesthetic. Biden spoke for about 20 minutes about “the continued battle for the soul of our nation” and the assault on “equality and democracy,” and he did so in front of some extremely dramatic lighting:
.@POTUS: “I’m asking our nation to come together, unite behind the single purpose of defending our democracy, regardless of your ideology. […] Democrats, Independents, mainstream Republicans, we must be […] more committed to saving American democracy.” pic.twitter.com/opeNoSukPA
— The Hill (@thehill) September 2, 2022
An absolute mood.
really leaning into the whole dark brandon thing lol https://t.co/P5PxIdu3DT
— ⚓️Imani Two-Kitchens Gandy⚓️ (@AngryBlackLady) September 2, 2022
Major props to the SUSPIRIA lighting team for this comeback. pic.twitter.com/bomkYBhpE2
— Brittany Knupper (@BrittanyKnupper) September 2, 2022
— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) September 2, 2022
If you’re going to do this, then go the extra mile, guys. There, I improved it pic.twitter.com/HKAXJnUbwe
— Parker Molloy (@ParkerMolloy) September 2, 2022
Biden’s speech addressed the threats posed by “extreme MAGA ideology.” These are the forces, as he described it, that are opposing free and fair elections and that “promote authoritarian leaders.” They want to take the country “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.” They “look at the mob that stormed the United States Capitol on January 6th—brutally attacking law enforcement—not as insurrectionists who placed a dagger to the throat of our democracy, but they look at them as patriots.”
Biden specifically took time to say that he is not talking about Republicans or conservatives in general, but about a growing extremist faction of that party. “I want to be very clear up front,” he said. “Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.”
And yet we knew how this would go, didn’t we? A ton of Republicans and conservative media outlets decided to feel personally attacked by Biden’s fascism call-out.
big, if true pic.twitter.com/zukUJAukVf
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 2, 2022
IF THIS WAS YOUR TAKEAWAY FROM THE “FACISM IS DANGEROUS AND IS A VERY REAL THREAT” SPEECH YOU WEREN’T LISTENING
— David Mack (@davidmackau) September 2, 2022
I see everyone at CNN got their talking point. This was NOT a political speech (unless you think condemning fascism and encouraging people to vote are political positions in which case–that’s what we call a tell).
— Mary L Trump (@MaryLTrump) September 2, 2022
President Biden did not name any Republicans during his speech. The fact that certain members of the GOP feel so attacked by his statements tells you everything you need to know.
— Aaron Parnas (@AaronParnas) September 2, 2022
I love how Republicans were all “Let’s Go Brandon” because they were too goddamn twee to say “Fuck Joe Biden” and now Joe Biden is all “Fuck you and your MAGA malarkey” and Republicans are all “HE’S SO MEAN.”
— ⚓️Imani Two-Kitchens Gandy⚓️ (@AngryBlackLady) September 2, 2022
This speech capped off a whole week of these same people complaining about Biden using the term “semi-fascist” to describe these pro-authoritarian extremists at a recent fundraiser. But again, if someone calls out fascism and you take that personally, well, that’s on you.
conservatives: we love fascism, we eat, breathe, sleep and drink it. fascism colors our rhetoric and our policy.
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) August 30, 2022
democrats: many of these guys sound semi-fascist
conservatives: HOW DARE YOU
mainstream media: this is EXTREMELY out of line by the left
Conservatives after Biden said *one* sort of mean thing pic.twitter.com/lUKYq3n7Qa
— Oliver Willis (@owillis) August 30, 2022
How many more days are the 100 percent racist people going to complain about being called “semi-fascist” by the President? Like, is this just going to be what they do till Footbaw season?
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) August 30, 2022
All of this is far too reminiscent of when Hillary Clinton coined “basket of deplorables” and Republicans freaked out because they don’t know how to hear someone talk about racist, misogynistic, violent extremists and not take it personally. They really should look into that.
You can watch Biden’s speech (or read the transcription) in full here:
(image: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
