Biden defends ‘put Trump in bullseye’ remark
US President Joe Biden has dismissed any notion that his calling for putting Donald Trump “in a bullseye” might have incited violence. He was instead trying to shift the “focus” from his own poor TV debate performance to his Republican rival’s statements and policies.
On Saturday, a gunman fired several shots at Trump while he was giving a speech on an open-air stage in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet grazed the former president’s right ear. One spectator was killed, and two more were wounded before the attacker was fatally shot by Secret Service agents.
Biden has repeatedly called his rival a threat to democracy and to the nation, and told donors earlier this month, “We’re done talking about the debate; it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye.” Following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, multiple commentators argued that the violence was incited by exactly this kind of reckless remark.
In an interview on Monday, Biden insisted it was a “mistake” and merely a figure of speech when NBC News anchor Lester Holt asked him about the term “bullseye.”
“I didn’t say ‘crosshairs.’ I meant ‘bullseye,’” Biden clarified. “I meant focus on him. Focus on what he’s doing, focus on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told in the debate. Focus on… I mean there is a whole range of things that... Look, 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.”
In an exclusive interview with Lester Holt, President Biden said it was a mistake to use the word “bullseye” while discussing former President Trump, but said to “focus on what [Trump is] doing”. pic.twitter.com/TufdyiZq8v
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) July 15, 2024
Asked whether the shooting prompted him to do “some soul searching” and reflect on comments “that could incite people who are not balanced,” Biden deflected, arguing that it was Trump, not him, who has routinely used incendiary rhetoric for years.
”How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says? Do you just not say something because it may incite somebody?” Biden said, recalling Trump’s pledge to become a “dictator” for just one day and his warning about a potential “bloodbath” if he loses. “I have not engaged in that rhetoric... My opponent has engaged in that rhetoric.”
Trump supporters have argued that the Democrats and the media were guilty of inciting hatred against Trump.
