Watch: Biden addresses extremist fanaticism endangering the nation
The right-wing fringe will be a focus of President Joe Biden's speech on Thursday, but the message is going to be an optimistic tone, deputy chief of staff Jen O'Malley Dillon told MSNBC.
Earlier this week, Biden spoke about extremist MAGA Republicans he said are endangering the United States, a fact that the FBI director has confirmed in testimony to Congress. Polls show that a considerable portion of Americans (40 percent) fear that there will be a civil war within the next decade.
Last weekend, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) predicted "riots in the streets" if Donald Trump is indicted for stealing government documents and putting classified information in danger. Biden made it clear days later that if a group of right-wing terrorists rises up against the U.S. government, their guns won't work out well against F-15s. Republicans took the phrase and twisted it into falsely saying Biden was threatening to bomb GOP voters.
During a fundraiser behind closed doors, Biden broached the idea of "fascism," saying that the MAGA philosophy is authoritarian in nature.
“It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the — I’m going to say something — it’s like semi-fascism," said Biden about Trumpism. It's a comment that has been on the lips of many experts on tyranny and authoritarianism over the past several years.
Other polls also indicate that the top issue Americans are concerned about is the survival of American democracy. Stress about the stability of America's democratic future is a concern for two-thirds of 19-29-year-old voters.
Biden is expected to say that there is hope and that is that the overwhelming majority of Americans want a stable and secure democracy.
“We are in a crisis in this country. There’s no doubt about it. Not just in terms of the sanctity of the vote or trusting our votes will be counted,” said University of Virginia historian Allida Black. Last week, she and Biden met to discuss the state of democracy, the New York Times reported. “We seem to attack rather than embrace responsibility and accountability.”
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) intends to give a prebuttal speech.
Biden's speech is set to begin at 8 p.m. EST and you can view the video below:
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