Some might say President Joe Biden’s prime-time speech in Pennsylvania last week amplified “racial division.” Critics could also say the speech featured a president “leaning into the culture wars” to exploit the nation’s historic polarization. Others might even say the speech was “dark and divisive,” where the president accused his political opposition of being a “threat” to “the very soul” of America.
These descriptors, however, weren’t used to characterize President Biden’s opening message for the November midterms delivered under a blood-red background flanked by marines as his personal stormtroopers. This was how the media portrayed President Donald Trump’s patriotic address to celebrate Independence Day in 2020.
Weeks after the George Floyd riots erupted across the country with up to $2 billion in damage and threatened sacred monuments, President Trump gave an address on the steps of Mount Rushmore espousing American patriotism as national pride fell to a record low.
“This monument will never be desecrated, these heroes will never be defaced, their legacy will never be destroyed, their achievements will never be forgotten, and Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an eternal tribute to our forefathers, and to our freedom,” Trump triumphantly declared amid the summer of rage.
The president celebrated American greatness, paid tribute to the founders, shared tales of their heroism, and railed against the latest wave of cancel culture sweeping the nation. Trump condemned the mobs terrorizing Main Street and touted American innovation that will “one day very soon” allow 21st-century pioneers to “plant our flag on Mars.”
The press went ballistic.
“President Trump delivered a dark and divisive speech at Mount Rushmore, leaning into the culture wars and barely mentioning the pandemic,” wrote the New York Times.
“Pres. Donald Trump pushes racial division, flouts virus rules at the foot of Mount Rushmore,” shamed ABC.
“At Mount Rushmore, Trump exploits social divisions, warns of ‘left-wing cultural revolution’ in dark speech ahead of Independence Day,” the Washington Post reported.
Biden’s speech last week claiming Republicans “represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic” was met with a different reception.
“Biden Calls on Americans to Resist Threats to Democracy,” read the New York Times headline in agreement.
“Biden sounds newly strong alarm: Trumpism menaces democracy,” ran a Washington Post headline with a story from the Associated Press.
“Biden identifies 2022 campaign opponents: MAGA and Trump,” headlined coverage from ABC.
The reality is, that Biden’s speech at Independence Hall last week was everything the press claimed Trump’s was at Mount Rushmore two years ago. Biden stoked racial tension by vilifying half the country as white supremacist. Biden pointed at Republicans whom his Justice Department is targeting as propping up “authoritarian leaders” who “fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights.” Biden aimed to justify the total cancellation of the more than 74 million Americans who dared cast a ballot for Trump in 2020.
“They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies,” Biden said.
Biden however, received celebrity treatment after his speech in a scene straight out of hell. Trump on the other hand, was painted as the anti-Christ.
