President Joe Biden should apologize for comparing the philosophy of Republicans loyal to former President Donald Trump to “semi-fascism,” according to a Republican governor.
Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH), who has also been critical of Trump, defended the “MAGA” wing of the party by denouncing Biden’s remarks at a Democratic Party fundraiser last week during an interview with anchor Dana Bash on CNN‘s State of the Union on Sunday.
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“I mean, the fact that the president would go out and just insult half of America, because, effectively, half of America votes Republican, half of America ultimately votes Democrat — it swings a little bit one way or the other, but effectively, call half of America semi-fascist, because he’s trying to stir up controversy, he’s trying to stir up this anti-Republican sentiment right before the election, it’s just — it’s horribly inappropriate,” Sununu said. “It’s insulting. And people should be insulted by it. And he should apologize.”
When asked whether there are elements of fascism within the Republican Party, Sununu said there are “elements of fascism and white supremacy all in America.” He also said the same could falsely be said about Democrats, but substituting “communist” for fascist.
During the fundraiser in Bethesda, Maryland, which raised $1 million for the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Grassroots Victory Fund, Biden told the 100 guests, “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,” he said. The White House later affirmed Biden’s assessment that “extreme,” “Make America Great Again” Republicans are similar to fascists.
The New Hampshire governor warned rhetoric such as Biden’s “semi-fascism” comments fuel polarization.
“So, when we allow ourselves just to talk in these extremes, we polarize the country. We bring people, bring people further apart. If I remember, this was the guy, the candidate, at the time, to be president, that said he was going to bring everybody together. And then to call half of America fascists, come on,” Sununu said.
Sununu also denounced recent tweets from the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire, including one celebrating the anniversary of late Sen. John McCain showing his daughter Meghan McCain crying over his coffin along with a message that says, “Happy Holidays.”
Happy Holidays pic.twitter.com/ueTMW3Dgcj
— Libertarian Party NH (@LPNH) August 25, 2022
“That should pretty much be the end of the Libertarian Party in New Hampshire. And I mean that, again, horribly insulting. That is not leadership. That is not what people want to vote for. That is not what the type of sentiment people want in their public service,” Sununu said. “So, again, there’s another one. So, the New Hampshire Libertarian Party and the president can both join together and apologize for their insensitive comments.”
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Sununu is running for a fourth term as governor this November and is heavily favored to win the Republican primary on Sept. 13. RealClearPolitics has rated the race as “Safe Republican.”
