On Monday, writing for The Bulwark, former Republican National Committee spokesman and Jeb Bush adviser Tim Miller excoriated the GOP for trying to claim the urban riots happening under President Donald Trump are in fact indicative of "Joe Biden's America."
Biden, Miller pointed out, has consistently released statements condemning all acts of violence, while Trump recently praised vigilante groups as "GREAT PATRIOTS." "There’s one candidate who wants vengeance and another who wants not-vengeance. There’s one who eggs on his most radical supporters and another who calls them out. There is one candidate who repeatedly, time and again, speaks and acts responsibly. Another who fires off screeds that demonstrate that he is at best mentally unstable and at worst attempting to incite violence against political foes."
"All of this is an inconvenient truth for the Republican political class," wrote Miller. "True Republicans are defined — entirely — by their fealty Donald Trump ... So rather than deal with the particulars, the Republican political class just blows right by it and instead pretends that the election 64 days from now actually pits Trump against Antifa or against the mayor of Portland."
"But here’s the deal: Antifa and Mayor Wheeler aren’t on the ballot. Joe Biden is," wrote Miller. "And when it comes to both the protests and the looting, Joe Biden has done the right thing at pretty much every turn. You might be able to nitpick him on the margins. Maybe you wish he condemned them louder, with bells on, in the attic, in the form of a rap. But Biden’s righteousness in contrast to Trump’s recklessness is an observable fact. If you don’t believe me, just put a transcript of Biden’s and Trump’s words about the civil unrest next to each other and compare."
And the problem, Miller, continued, is that even though Trump's own former DHS threat prevention chief testified he "gave permission" to white supremacist vigilantes to commit acts of violence, legacy media outlets are echoing the claims from "Republican, Inc." that Biden is responsible for rioting without doing enough to fact-check the claim.
"You may not like bipartisan caucuses or David Brooks. You may prefer to have the man-child with the AR-15 and an itchy trigger finger. Or you may think both are equally bad. That’s fine; that’s your call," concluded Miller. "But we must at least be honest about the choice that voters face and let them decide which path they want the country to take."
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