Gowdy: Biden squandered his chance to lead a divided country
‘Sunday Night in America’ host explores how Biden’s push for voting rights bill is dividing the country.
Fox News host Trey Gowdy said Sunday that President Biden used "deliberate misinformation" to "denigrate" the people of Georgia with his polarizing voting rights speech last week.
"Less than one year removed from his inaugural address where he talked about unity to the everlasting delight of editorial boards across the country, this president is dividing the country again using race and voting," the "Sunday Night in America" host told viewers.
SEN. TIM SCOTT: BIDEN'S VOTING RIGHTS SPEECH WAS ‘OFFENSIVE’ TO ME AS A SOUTHERNER AND AN AMERICAN
"It’s not hard to vote in Georgia. It’s actually pretty easy," Gowdy added, "so easy that Biden won in Georgia along with two Democrat candidates for Senate. Which is why it’s so hard to understand why he would want to denigrate one of the few southern states he has a chance to win. But he did, and he used deliberate misinformation to do it."
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the grounds of Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., January 11, 2022. (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
Biden warned of a stark dichotomy between the proponents and opponents of the Democrats' election law overhaul bill dubbed the "John Lewis Voting Rights Act," asking a crowd in Atlanta last Tuesday whether they were on the side of reviled figures like segregationist Gov. George Wallace and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, or on the side of civil rights leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and the late John Lewis. Wallace notably proclaimed in his 1963 gubernatorial inauguration address, "segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever."
Critics say the Democratic voting bill is an overreaching federalization of state-based election laws. Biden, in his speech, maintained that the act is necessary to protect the right to vote, but Gowdy said it would prevent state legislatures from enacting election security measures such as voter identification and the prohibition of ballot harvesting.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to preside over a procedural vote on the John Lewis Voter Rights legislation at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. November 3, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
"Biden wants to change the Senate rules, so he can federalize elections. He says voting rights are so important the rules of the Senate must be changed. What about the judges who preside over voting rights cases, they’re important too aren’t they?," Gowdy said.
"Why not change the rules for judges? What about the U.S. attorneys and FBI agents who enforce these laws? What’s the use in having laws if they aren’t enforced? Let’s change the Senate rules for U.S. attorneys and FBI Directors too? And you need money to enforce and prosecute voting Laws so let’s change the rules for budget and appropriations while we’re at it," the host said.
The federal bills, if passed, would allow for same-day voter registration, establish Election Day as a national holiday and expand mail-in voting. The legislation however appears to have no immediate path forward after Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., reaffirmed her opposition to removing the filibuster, which would have meant the upper chamber only needed a simple majority to pass the legislation.