President Joe Biden leveled a familiar criticism against the modern Republican Party, saying its members are worse than “real racists” such as former Sen. Strom Thurmond, continuing a theme throughout his presidential run.
Biden has made it a habit to go above and beyond in comparing Republicans to racist figures, often claiming they are worse than the worst of historical racists.
Here are five times Biden has compared Republicans to racist figures.
Biden contrasts modern discourse with ‘civility’ when working with segregationists
Speaking with donors in 2019 while on the campaign trail, Biden contrasted the difficulty of modern discourse with that during his time in Congress working with segregationists.
“I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland,” Biden said, referring to a segregationist senator from Mississippi. “He never called me ‘boy,’ he always called me ‘son.’ Well, guess what? At least there was some civility. We got things done. We didn’t agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished.
“But today, you look at the other side, and you’re the enemy,” he added. “Not the opposition, the enemy. We don’t talk to each other anymore.”
The remarks drew immense controversy, with many of his 2020 primary rivals bashing him for referring to segregationists favorably.
Biden says Trump is the country’s first racist president
In July 2022, Biden made the claim that Trump was the United States’s first racist president.
“The way he deals with people based on the color of their skin, their national origin, where they’re from, is absolutely sickening,” Biden said. “No sitting president has ever done this. Never, never, never. No Republican president has done this. No Democratic president. We’ve had racists, and they’ve existed. They’ve tried to get elected president. He’s the first one that has.”
The remarks immediately drew bipartisan scrutiny, given that several early presidents owned slaves and many others supported segregation. Trump responded by saying that he had done more for black Americans than any other president, aside from Abraham Lincoln.
Biden calls Trump’s ideology ‘semi-fascism‘
Speaking to donors in August 2022, Biden drew a direct connection between Trump and the popular arch-villains of history — fascists.
“What we’re seeing now is the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy,” Biden said at a donor event. “It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the — I’m going to say something, it’s like semi-fascism.”
The remark was compared to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment and was widely seen by Republicans as baseless fearmongering.
Biden compares opponents of voting legislation to segregationists
In an Atlanta speech in January 2022, Biden declared that anyone opposing new voting legislation was equal to Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Civil Rights Movement opponent Theophilus “Bull” Connor.
During his speech advocating a suspension of filibuster rules to pass voting legislation, Biden said, “So I ask every elected official in America, how do you want to be remembered? Do you want to be on the side of Dr. King or George Wallace? Do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?”
Then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki defended the speech after heavy criticism, saying it was not partisan.
“It was not a partisan speech,” Psaki said. “It was intended to lay out for the public exactly what’s at stake and lay out for elected officials what’s at stake, and he stands by everything he said in that speech.”
Biden contrasts modern Republicans unfavorably with Strom Thurmond
“I’ve been a senator since ’72. I’ve served with real racists,” Biden said, according to a White House pool report. “I’ve served with Strom Thurmond. I’ve served with all these guys that have set terrible records on race. But guess what? These guys are worse. These guys do not believe in basic democratic principles.
“By the time Strom left, he did terrible things,” Biden continued but added that he had done much good too, having more black employees “in his staff than any other member in Congress. He voted to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act.
“I’m not making him more than he was,” Biden concluded. “But my point is, at least you could work with some of these guys.”
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Thurmond was a South Carolina politician and one of the fiercest opponents of integration. He holds the record for the longest filibuster, having spoken for 24 hours and 18 minutes in opposition to the 1957 Civil Rights Act. He maintained his opposition to integration throughout the ’60s, though he moderated his stance afterward. Biden delivered a eulogy at his funeral in 2003.
The president also described Thurmond in 2019 as “one of my closest friends.”
