President Joe Biden accepts his mistake in using ‘bulls-eye’.
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President Joe Biden defended his language in the lead-up to the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. In an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt on Monday, Biden acknowledged the criticism but shifted focus to Trump’s rhetoric.
Biden’s recent comment, “Time to put Trump in a bull’s-eye,” drew backlash from Trump allies. They asserted that it fueled the animosity that resulted in the attempted murder. Though he argued it was a figure of speech, Biden acknowledged that using the word was a “mistake”. He emphasized that the goal was to draw attention to the policies and actions of Trump.
To clarify, Biden said on an NBC interview, “I didn’t say crosshairs. Bull’s-eye, I said. I meant to pay attention to him. Pay attention to his actions, policies, and the quantity of lies he spoke throughout the discussion.”
He underlined how critical it is to concentrate on Trump’s words and deeds rather than seeing them as incitement.
Biden further stated, “I am not the guy that said I want to be a dictator on day one. I am not the guy that refused to accept the outcome of the election.” He reiterated that his intent was to draw attention to Trump’s behavior and rhetoric.
When asked if he had reflected on whether his own rhetoric could unintentionally incite violence, Biden maintained that the threat posed by Trump was too significant to ignore. “How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when the president says things like he says?” Biden questioned, in the interview.
Biden rejected the notion that he engaged in inflammatory rhetoric, pointing out that his opponent has been more prone to such language. “I have not engaged in that rhetoric. My opponent has engaged in that rhetoric,” Biden asserted during the interview. This response marked a shift from Biden’s tone in his Oval Office address on Sunday evening. During the address, he urged all Americans to “lower the temperature” of political rhetoric and to stop viewing political opponents as enemies.