Biden suggests Trump bull's-eye comment was a 'mistake'

President Biden suggested Monday that he may have made a mistake when he used the word “on target” when talking about former President Trump during a campaign call last week, noting that the remark has come under renewed attention in the wake of the shooting at the former president’s rally.

NBC’s Lester Holt, in an interview with Biden, noted that the assassination attempt on President Trump has sparked discussions about rhetoric in the 2024 presidential election.

“The truth is, what I was saying at the time was that there was very little focus on Trump’s policies,” Biden said in an early clip. Released by NBC.

Holt responded that the problem was with the word “bull’s-eye.”

“Was it the wrong word to use? I didn’t say crosshairs, I said target,” he said, holding his hands in a circle in front of him. “I just wanted to say pay attention to him, pay attention to what he’s doing, pay attention to his policies, pay attention to the number of lies he told in the debates.”

Biden used the phrase last Monday during a campaign call with donors amid growing pressure from Democrats to drop out of the presidential race.

“It’s time to criticize Trump harshly,” Biden said on the call.

In his interview with Holt, Biden sought to contrast himself with some of Trump’s previous words and actions.

“I’m not a guy who said on my first day in office that I wanted to be a dictator, and I’m not a guy who refused to accept the results of an election,” he added, criticizing President Trump.

When Holt asked Biden if he ever took a step back and reflected on comments that could provoke unbalanced people, Biden pushed back.

“When a president says things like he does, the threat to democracy is real, so how do you talk about it? Do you say nothing because it might provoke somebody? I didn’t say that,” Biden said.

The night before, Biden had spoken in prime time to urge the nation to “remain calm” in the wake of the shooting.

The Biden campaign suspended communications Saturday after the shooting but plans to resume them Monday night after Holt’s interview airs in full at 9 p.m.