Republicans are beside themselves because President Joe Biden referred to some of the most extreme MAGA members of the party and their political leanings as “semi-fascism,” which is an apt description of the ones who urged the January 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol and were even given tours of the building just a day before the insurrection took place that left five people dead and caused millions of dollars in damage.
At Wednesday’s press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked by CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes to address the controversy which has arisen in response to the president’s remarks:
Jean-Pierre came prepared, responding with names and specifics:
“Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has posted videos depicting him attacking the President and members of Congress.
“You have Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) who has “publicly expressed support for shooting prominent Democratic elected officials and suggesting physically assaulting transgender school officials.
“You have Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), [who] has said falsely if our election system ‘continues to be rigged and continues to be stolen, then it’s going to lead to one place, and that’s bloodshed.’ And just last week, you had Governor Ron DeSantis suggesting that Dr. Fauci should be physically assaulted. And former President Trump has done the same many, many times.”
The press secretary also referenced a headline from the New York Times earlier this month:
Jean-Pierre concluded by noting:
“I was talking about the ‘soul of the nation,’ something the President has talked about since 2017. When he wrote that article in The Atlantic, and he’s called it out then, he called it out January 6, he called it out Inauguration Day. He called it out last week. He called it out yesterday. So there is been a consistent call out from the President, what he’s seeing from an extreme part of this party of the Republican Party. And historians, I would argue, would say the same.”