Joe Biden Drops F-Bomb On MAGA Chuds: Damn Right They're Fascists

We like Feisty Joe a lot.

President Joe Biden gave a barn-burner of a speech in Maryland last night to help kick off the campaign for this fall's midterms, thanking voters for voting to protect democracy from Donald Trump and his burn-it-all-down thugs, and warning that the very fate of democracy will be on the ballot as long as Trumpism is a force.

Biden spoke at a high school gym in Rockville, Maryland, to help the campaign of Democratic candidate for governor Wes Moore , who's running against genuine Trumpsnuggling election denier Dan Cox. Biden didn't name Cox, but called him exactly the sort of "MAGA Republican" that threatens democracy. In the speech, Biden contrasted MAGA chuds with "real Republicans" like current Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who's term-limited. Unfortunately, the people Biden considers "real Republicans" are the ones that the MAGA Party calls "RINOs."

The biggest rhetorical bombshell of Biden's Maryland visit actually came before the speech, and as far as we can tell isn't on video. At a fundraising dinner with Democratic donors, Biden called the Trump version of the GOP precisely what it is:

What we’re seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy. It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the — I’m going to say something — it’s like semi-fascism.

That "semi" seems overly generous, frankly. And it should be clear that Biden's suggestion that extreme MAGA views might be facing their "death knell" isn't just wishful thinking: It's a call for voters to keep the insurrectionists out of office for as long as it takes for the madness to ebb.

That call to protect democracy from the tender mercies of the mob waving tiki torches and AR-15s was a running theme in the speech itself. Even if Biden held back from the F-word this time, his meaning was perfectly clear on that point. Here's video of the full event ; we've cued it up to Biden's speech, but if you want to skip back and watch Moore's, we certainly won't complain!

 www.youtube.com 

Biden started off by reframing the conventional idea that midterm elections are a referendum on the party in office. Rather, Biden said,

I want to be crystal-clear about what’s on the ballot this year. Your right to choose is on the ballot this year. The Social Security you paid for from the time you had a job is on the ballot. The safety of your kids from gun violence is on the ballot. And it's not hyperbole: The very survival of our planet is on the ballot. Your right to vote is on the ballot. Even democracy.

Are you ready to fight for these things now? Well then you need to do one thing. Vote. Vote! 

Happily, he knows we can do that, because we just did it two years ago. And oh, my, we do like it when Joe pokes Trump right where he's the most easily bruised.

In 2020, you and 81 million Americans voted to save our democracy. That's why Donald Trump isn't just a former president. He's a defeated former president. And it's not hyperbole: Now you need to vote to save democracy again.

Somewhere in Bedminster, New York, an aide was summoned to go to the drug store and pick up some burn ointment. Also too, it appears "it's not hyberbole" is Joe's new "literally." Certainly beats "bigly" or "we have no choice" or "in the next two weeks."

In the closest echo of his earlier comments to donors about the fascist tendencies of the Trump mob, Biden called for Americans to reject Trumpism regardless of their party affiliation, because Trumpism rejects anyone who isn't in the cult:

The MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and economic security. They’re a threat to our very democracy. They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace — embrace — political violence. They don’t believe in democracy.

This is why in this moment, those of you who love this country — Democrats, independents, mainstream Republicans — we must be stronger.

Honestly, if he were to slip the "semi-fascism" line in there, it would fit perfectly.

Biden went on to review the accomplishments of his first term — which have suddenly mushroomed over the summer — paying particular attention to the climate and healthcare provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, and Republicans' elimination of the provision that would have capped the cost of insulin for millions of Americans with private insurance.

In a lovely little turn of phrase, he noted that "every single Republican" in Congress had voted against all the good stuff in the IRA, then called on "every single American needs to return the favor" in this fall's elections.

It was the sort of speech that Biden clearly enjoyed giving: calling for unity while also making absolutely clear what we need to unite to protect.

This campaign season is already off to a good start.

[ NBC News / CNN ]

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