Biden: Trump bull's-eye comment was a "mistake"
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President Biden delivers a nationally televised address from the Oval Office on the attempted assassination of former President Trump. Photo: Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images
President Biden said it was a "mistake" to tell donors to put Trump in a "bull's-eye" on a private call days before the attempted assassination of former President Trump during an interview with NBC News' Lester Holt.
Driving the news: Several Republican lawmakers pointed to Biden's figurative comment after the attack, which the president has ardently condemned.
- "I have one job, and that's to beat Donald Trump. I'm absolutely certain I'm the best person to be able to do that. So, we're done talking about the debate. It's time to put Trump in a bull's-eye," Biden said on the call, Politico reported.
- "I meant focus on him, focus on what he's doing, focus on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told at the debate," the president said in his first unscripted appearance since the attack at a Butler, Pennsylvania Trump rally.
- NBC News will air the full interview with Biden tonight at 9pm ET during their coverage of the Republican National Convention. Interview excerpts also aired on tonight's edition of "NBC Nightly News" at 6:30pm ET.
Friction point: Holt asked Biden if he felt his comment might have incited people who are "not balanced" after the accusations from some Republicans.
- "Look, how do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says? Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody?"
- "I've not engaged in that rhetoric," Biden said. "My opponent has engaged in that rhetoric. He talks about, there will be a bloodbath if he loses, talking about how he's going to...suspend the sentences of all those who were arrested and sentenced to go to jail because of what happened at the Capitol."
- "You can't only love your country when you win," Biden said.
Asked whether he felt that he had survived the push from Democrats urging Biden to depart from the race, the president told Holt, "14 million people voted for me to be the nominee in the Democratic party, OK? I listen to them."
State of play: Biden must handle a fragile political ecosystem following the attempted assassination of his rival for the White House.
- Biden's campaign pulled on-air advertising and ceased outgoing communications following the shooting, but he has addressed the nation three separate times to condemn the violence.
The bottom line: After the disappointing debate appearance that sparked an avalanche of concern about his fitness, Biden has sat for several media interviews in an attempt to demonstrate his off-the-cuff abilities.
- He spoke with ABC's George Stephanopoulos following the debate, but the 22-minute chat did not do enough to soothe nerves within the party, several Democrats said.
Go deeper: Trump rally shooting upends Democrats' Biden crisis
