“I intend to ease tensions by continuing to talk about the things that matter to the American people. It matters whether we accept the results of the election. It matters whether we talk about how to deal with the border instead of talking about people as if they’re pests, for example. These things matter,” President Joe Biden said in an interview with NBC News on Monday.
“But this doesn’t sound like you’re taking the heat off,” “NBC Nightly News” host Lester Holt said after Biden criticized former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for 2024 president.
Biden responded: “[W]What I’m going to refuse to do is we have to stop the very idea that there’s anything that’s antithetical to the democracy that we stand for. To say, I didn’t win the election when every court in the country, every court in the country, 20 appellate courts, including the conservative Supreme Court, are saying we won. To take the loyalty oath from every person in the MAGA Republican Party, not every Republican, but MAGA Republicans, and incite people to say, no, we lost the election.”
Holt then interjected: “So what can you do, or will you do, to calm the heat and the discourse, at least in ways that you can control?”
Biden responded: “Continue to talk about the things that matter to the American people. Whether or not you accept the results of the election matters. Whether or not you talk about how to treat the border, for example, instead of talking about people as if they’re vermin, matters. Those are the kinds of things that matter. It’s that kind of language that’s inflammatory.”
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