Staff Reports
Saturday almost turned into a tragedy in Butler County, Pennsylvania, when former President Donald Trump narrowly dodged an assassination attempt. Naturally, while everyone expected a display of leadership and unity from the current occupant of the White House, Joe Biden, the president’s comments this weekend were disappointingly lackluster. Biden’s brief remarks, far from inspiring hope, seemed to bury any chance of reducing the volatile political climate. The White House press briefing on Monday and Biden’s interview with NBC’s Lester Holt only magnified the administration’s inability to grasp the urgency of turning down the divisive rhetoric.
During Monday’s press circus, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was bombarded with questions about Biden’s inflammatory language and its potential role in ramping up tensions to such a dangerous level. Instead of addressing the increasing concerns about the administration’s responsibility, Jean-Pierre fumbled through her responses with growing impatience. One journalist aptly asked if Biden bore any responsibility for creating an environment that led to the attempt on Trump’s life, only to be met with vague calls for everyone to lower the temperature.
KJP spent most of today’s press briefing fielding questions about Biden’s own rhetoric after he called on everyone to “lower the temperature.” pic.twitter.com/lRH1jT13PX
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 15, 2024
Jean-Pierre’s responses bordered on absurdity. She repeatedly insisted that lowering the political heat was a collective responsibility rather than addressing whether the president planned to start by adjusting his own words. Her statement that the investigation into the attempted assassination would be thorough offered little solace, especially when her speeches were boiled down to a lot of generic filler about unity and condemnation of violence without any real accountability from Biden himself.
As if her earlier statements weren’t enough of a dodge, Jean-Pierre continued to evade tough questions about Biden’s recent declaration in Michigan branding Trump a “threat to this nation.” When pressed if this combative rhetoric would be toned down, she sidestepped again, emphasizing the importance of speaking against political violence without promising any change from Biden’s inflammatory style. The administration believes in addressing divisions with a wink and a nod while never committing to actual change.
Biden’s own interview with Holt only solidified his bunker mentality. When Holt asked if Biden had done any self-reflection about his inflammatory rhetoric possibly inciting violence, Biden predictably shifted the blame entirely onto Trump. Despite stumbling heavily through his response, blaming Trump for everything, Biden made no admission or acknowledgment of his own role in exacerbating tensions. His denials are hardly surprising, given his consistent strategy of deflecting, rather than addressing, valid concerns.
In summary, this administration’s idea of lowering the temperature involves wagging fingers at everyone else while cranking up their own heated rhetoric. Biden and his team seem to believe that unity and civility are others’ responsibilities, never their own. Given the repeated failure to answer straightforward queries and a continuous pivot to finger-pointing at Trump, it is no wonder Americans are left with little hope of seeing any genuine effort from the White House to calm our deeply divided nation.
