As the leader of an administration already characterized by dishonesty and failure, President Joe Biden last week exposed the latest White House scandal, namely, that the commander in chief and those around him consider roughly half of their fellow citizens to be threats to democracy and enemies worthy not just of scorn, but also elimination, as Fox News’s Greg Gutfeld explained on Saturday.
The popular network personality’s comments came in the wake of a dark, theatrical, and utterly incendiary speech Biden delivered in Philadelphia in which he took direct aim at millions of Americans he categorized as “MAGA Republicans,” clearly referencing supporters of former President Donald Trump and his agenda.
“Soul of the nation”
Biden’s speech, billed as an appeal of the “soul of the nation,” was focused largely on demonizing and castigating anyone who dares oppose the far-left direction in which he has been steering the country since taking office.
“MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards,” Biden said, adding that in his estimation, “MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refused to acknowledge a free election.”
“Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal. Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,” Biden declared, in an escalation of rhetoric bellowed in front of the ominously red-lit facade of Independence Hall.
“Call to arms”
Breaking down Biden’s speech, Gutfeld wondered aloud how the president’s remarks would have sounded if the term “MAGA Republicans” had been replaced with China or Russia – adversaries most even-handed observers would agree represent a more substantial threat to the country than the 74 million Americans who pulled the lever for Trump in 2020.
“Then what a landmark speech in foreign policy this would be. It would be a call to arms against an evil empire,” Gutfeld opined.
“Except, here, who’s the evil empire? It’s us,” Gutfeld lamented.
In the Fox News pundit’s opinion, Biden’s overriding purpose was to issue “a political call to arms, a feeble distraction that’s trying to pit two groups against each other. … he doesn’t just want to be a wartime president, he wants to be a civil wartime president… .”
“I remember reading about how presidents in trouble might start wars, but no one ever explained to below average Joe that he’s not supposed to do it within our own country,” Gutfeld further observed.
Justifiable backlash
Some on the left agreed with Gutfeld’s assessment that Biden’s remarks were akin to a wartime speech – though they did so with approval rather than derision – CNN’s Brianna Keilar was unfavorably impressed by the fact that the president was flanked by U.S. Marines as he offered his politically divisive screed, noting, “[i]t’s wrong when Democrats do it. It’s wrong when Republicans do it.”
Perhaps best encapsulating the offense Biden’s speech caused legions of his fellow citizens was Ohio GOP Senate candidate J.D. Vance who said, “During a time when we desperately need to bring people together, not further divide, Biden declares Republicans as enemies of the state and purposely inflames tensions…Biden’s speech was a direct assault on the very people he is supposed to serve,” and the millions he unabashedly slandered in prime time are unlikely to soon forget.