The president says in NBC interview that violence has no place in American politics and says his ‘bullseye’ comment was a mistake.
WASHINGTON—President Joe Biden discussed a wide range of topics during an interview with NBC News that aired Monday evening, days after the attempted assassination of his political rival, former President Donald Trump.
In the interview, President Biden shared his thoughts on former President Trump’s vice presidential pick, his confidence in the Secret Service, and his phone conversation with former President Trump.
He also emphasized the urgent need to end political violence.
President Biden confirmed that he had a conversation with former President Trump following the assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, describing it as “very cordial.”
“I told him how concerned I was, and I wanted to make sure I knew how he was actually doing. He sounded good, he said he was fine, and he thanked me for calling him,” the president told NBC’s Lester Holt.
President Biden told former President Trump that the GOP nominee was in his “prayers” and hoped the Trump family was doing well “weathering” the event.
“My first reaction was, my God,” the president said of his reaction to the shooting at the Pennsylvania rally.
“There’s no place at all for violence in politics in America, none, zero. And we’ve reached a point where it’s become commonplace.”
Following the assassination attempt, President Biden has been seeking to “lower the temperature” in the country’s deeply divided political environment.
However, he said that his “bullseye” comment about former President Trump was a mistake, referring to his conversation with donors during a call on July 8.
“It’s time to put Trump in the bullseye,” President Biden said during that call, which was shared by his campaign. However, his comments since then have faced backlash from critics.
“It was a mistake to use the word,” President Biden said during the NBC interview.
He said he meant to say Democrats should “focus on” the former president and his actions and policies instead of him after the presidential debate.
Trump’s Vice President Pick
On Monday, President Biden remarked on former President Trump’s choice of Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) as his GOP running mate, calling him a “clone of Trump on the issues.”
“I don’t see any difference,” the president told reporters.
During the interview, President Biden described the choice of Mr. Vance as the GOP vice presidential pick as “not unusual” for former President Trump, suggesting that the Republican nominee prefers to “surround himself with people who agree completely” with him.
The Biden campaign said Vice President Kamala Harris called Mr. Vance on July 15 and left a message to congratulate him.
In a call with reporters, the Biden campaign also said that Ms. Harris was ready to debate Mr. Vance in late July on CBS News.
During the interview, the president also commented on U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s decision on Monday to dismiss the indictment against former President Trump in his classified documents case on the unlawful appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith.
“I’m not surprised. That comes from the immunity decision the Supreme Court ruled on,” he said.
Secret Service
When asked if he had confidence in the Secret Service after the assassination attempt on the former president, President Biden said he feels “safe with the Secret Service.”
“They’re ready to give their lives to the president. The question is, should they have anticipated what happened? Or should they have done what they needed to do to prevent this? That’s a question. That’s an open question.”
President Biden said the incident has affected his ability to get out and meet everyday voters.
“I like to walk out, shake hands, move, look at people in the eyes, see what they’re thinking. It just really curtailed that ability on my part and everybody’s part,” he said.
President Biden said he hasn’t changed his mind about running for the 2024 election, expressing a firm commitment to stay in the race to finish the job he started.
“Fourteen million people voted for me to be the nominee in the Democratic Party. Okay. Listen to them,” he said.
“I had a bad, bad night. I wasn’t feeling well at all,” the president said when asked about his debate performance.
“I’m going to debate him in September,” he said.
This was the president’s second television interview aired during a prime time hour, following the presidential debate in Atlanta on June 27.
The White House announced the interview before the assassination attempt on the former president. The interview was recorded on Monday afternoon at the White House and aired at 9 p.m. Eastern. The network stated that the pre-recorded interview was unedited.
