Mike Pence is being mocked and highly criticized for attacking President Joe Biden and the primetime speech he delivered more than a week ago. Pence, who is clearly positioning himself for another run at the White House, this time on the top of the ticket, went after the President’s remarks in which he urged Americans to “defend” and “protect” democracy, while warning them that “MAGA Republicans” are a threat to the republic.
Despite what the pundits, CNN and Fox News hosts, and far right wing media say, President Biden was very clear in his comments last week on Thursday, when he said, “we must be honest with each other and with ourselves.”
“Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal.”
“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,” the President added, stressing, “Now, I want to be very clear — (applause) — very clear up front: Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.”
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Mike Pence on Friday, eight days after President Biden’s speech, tweeted, “Did you see that speech last week? President Biden held a partisan campaign rally at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, flanked by uniformed United States Marines, and revealed what’s truly at stake in the next election.”
President Biden absolutely did reveal what’s truly at stake in the next election: fascism or democracy.
Ironically, Pence appears to be tweeting remarks he may have given before a right-wing virulently anti-LGBTQ organization, Concerned Women for America, headed by Penny Nance. One of the oldest anti-LGBTQ organizations, CWA says it “protects and promotes Biblical values and Constitutional principles through prayer, education, and advocacy.”
Pence added, “The President made it clear that he views pro-life Americans as enemies of democracy. In fact, he said that anyone who refuses to bend the knee to his extremist left-wing ideology represents ‘an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our Republic.'”
Is that what President Biden said? His remarks are above. You can also read them on the White House’s website, or watch them on C-SPAN.
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In his speech, titled, “The Continued Battle for the Soul of the Nation,” Biden didn’t say one word about abortion, or “pro-life Americans.” In fact, he used the word “life” just twice, including saying:
“I ran for President because I believed we were in a battle for the soul of this nation. I still believe that to be true. I believe the soul is the breath, the life, and the essence of who we are. The soul is what makes us “us.” The soul of America is defined by the sacred proposition that all are created equal in the image of God. That all are entitled to be treated with decency, dignity, and respect. That all deserve justice and a shot at lives of prosperity and consequence. And that democracy — democracy must be defended, for democracy makes all these things possible. (Applause.) Folks, and it’s up to us.”
Why Pence has a problem with any of that is unknown, but he did continue his attack.
“Never before in the history of our nation has a President stood before the American people and accused millions of his own countrymen of being a ‘threat to this country.’ To top it off, President Biden had the audacity to claim, ‘I’m asking our nation to come together, to unite.'”
He sure did ask that, and again, why does Mike Pence have such a visceral response to that request?
After nearly a full day of his tweets being out in the social media sphere, they are finally getting some attention, and it’s not looking good for the former vice president.
Fascism and authoritarianism scholar and historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat says, “To understand MAGA Republicans, start with this show of loyalty by Pence to someone who tried to kidnap or kill him. Classic authoritarian dynamic. With each performance, Pence ties himself further to Trump. Never ends well.”
“(1) Trump & Pence hosted the 2016 Republican Convention at the White House,” economist David Rothschild noted. “(2) Biden called MAGA Republican leaders semi-fascist because they promote violence to overturn will of people. Fact-check: true (3) Republican leaders regularly call Democrats fascist, Marxist, pedophiles.”
“Has any person ever debased themselves so completely for people who just tried to murder them, as @Mike_Pence is doing here?” Rothschild asked.
Donald Trump “wanted to see you hanged by a violent mob he incited in an attempted coup,” observed attorney George Conway, whose spouse was a top Trump counselor and his former campaign manager.
“Your boss tried to ban all Muslims, called immigrants rapists, called Nazis very nice people, retweeted white supremacists screaming ‘white power,’ &…and I cannot stress this enough…incited a mob to try & murder you on 1/6,” wrote attorney Qasim Rashid. “Why do you believe white supremacy is worth dying for?”
Tom Nichols, the retired U.S. Naval War College professor whose focus is Russia, nuclear weapons, and national security affairs tweeted that Pence “had one moment of courage at the right time in history, and now he’s determined to make us forget about that one day and remember that in every other way he was, and remains, a complete sycophant.”
Historian Thomas Lecaque noted, “The former President was excited about his supporters breaking into the capitol chanting… ‘hang Mike Pence’… so, I don’t know, maybe you’re wrong here.”
Former journalist Helen Kennedy notes, “Pence defending the mob who tried to hang him in a delusional attempt to cling to hopes of the nomination is a sad and embarrassing spectacle.”
Image by Mike Pence via Twitter