This week, President Joe Biden rolled out a new adjective to describe Republicans in the mold of former President Donald Trump: “semifascist.”
Biden first publicly used the term at a Democratic National Committee reception ahead of an end-of-summer rally for the coming midterm elections.
While exuding confidence that the forces of democracy were defeating the Trump Republicans, on the heels of recent Democratic momentum, Biden warned that “the entire philosophy that underpins” their politics is “almost like semifascism, the way in which it deals.”
THE TAX MAN COMETH: REPUBLICANS REVIVE THE ‘TAX AND SPEND’ CHARGE AGAINST BIDEN
Despite the “almost,” “like,” and “semi” qualifiers, it was a major rhetorical escalation from Biden.
Biden has long suggested that Trump’s political movement was anti-democratic, especially following the former president’s 2020 election challenges, the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to disrupt the certification of the Electoral College results, and the enactment of Republican voting laws in several GOP-run states.
More recently, Biden has taken to describing certain Republicans as “ultra-MAGA.” That ostensibly spontaneous label later turned out to be the creation of political operatives inside and close to the White House after six months of careful study.
But fascism, while a major term of abuse on the Left, is a major charge coming from the president of the United States. It is also something designed to be extended beyond Trump.
“He called it what it is,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday. “Many historians would agree with us.”
Jean-Pierre added that “MAGA Republicans” are “taking away rights and freedoms,” “attacking democracy,” and “using threats of violence.”
“I was very clear when laying out and defining what MAGA Republicans have done,” she said. “And you look at the definition of fascism and you think about what they’re doing in attacking our democracy. I mean, that is what that is. It is very clear.”
Whether or not “fascist” will be repeated, this is a big part of the president’s midterm messaging.
“And what we’re seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy,” Biden said at the reception. “It’s not just — it’s not just Trump.”
Democrats are already using the term to describe other Republicans, without Biden’s caveats.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is a particular favorite. “Just wondering if ‘DeSantis’ is now officially a synonym for ‘fascist,'” tweeted liberal activist Robert Reich, who served as secretary of labor under former President Bill Clinton.
Democratic challenger Charlie Crist said he did not want any DeSantis voters to support him in November.
By extension, the fascist label could apply to tens of millions of Republican voters nationwide. Trump was elected in 2016 and ran a competitive race against Biden four years later.
“I think he was pretty clear and he was very powerful last night,” Jean-Pierre said, noting Biden was exempting Republicans such as centrist Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and some “traditional conservative Republicans.”
Biden is no stranger to sweeping claims about political opponents. He told a black audience in 2012 that the Republican ticket of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan was going to put them “back in chains.” He chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee during the defeat of Robert Bork’s Supreme Court nomination as then-Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy implied the judge was a segregationist.
This kind of talk sits uneasily alongside Biden’s frequent calls for bipartisanship and unity.
Biden and his allies, including a small number of “Never Trump” Republicans, have framed this election and the last one as a contest about preserving democracy.
“For the first time, you have 50% of the American people — 50% of the American people say their greatest concern — over 50, I think it’s 51% in the latest polls — concerned about whether or not democracy can be sustained,” Biden said at the DNC event. “Did you ever think — two years ago, five years ago, 10 years ago — we’d be talking about sustaining democracy in the United States of America?”
A recent NBC News poll found that 21% viewed “threats to democracy” as the most important issue facing the country. Political analysts disagreed about what the result meant.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment about a subset of Trump supporters backfired against her in 2016, alienating working-class voters she needed in the battleground states. Former President Barack Obama was also pilloried when leaked audio captured him talking about “bitter” and resentful blue-collar voters who cling to guns and religion.
Many Republicans have embraced “ultra-MAGA” as a badge of honor. It remains to be seen what Biden’s invocation of fascism will do.
