CNN correspondent: Biden speech was about 'reclaiming patriotism'
CNN correspondent Eva McKend described President Biden's Philadelphia speech on Thursday as "very, very patriotic" and "pro-USA" despite attacking Republicans.
CNN correspondent Eva McKend lavished praise on President Biden’s "very, very patriotic" political speech in Philadelphia Thursday despite several divisive statements.
Biden delivered a speech emphasizing what he considered to be a political battle between "MAGA Republicans" and those supporting democracy. Although Biden was slammed for his previous claims that these "extremist" Republicans promoted "semi-fascism," he doubled down on the assertion during his speech, suggesting they threaten democracy.
"But as I stand here tonight, equality and democracy are under assault," Biden said. "We do ourselves no favors to pretend otherwise."
McKend joined a panel on "Anderson Cooper 360" to discuss the aftermath of the speech. Although senior political analyst John Avlon suggested that Biden politicized his speech by invoking "MAGA Republicans," McKend insisted that his comments were "pro-USA" and "patriotic."
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on what he calls the "continued battle for the Soul of the Nation" in front of Independence Hall at Independence National Historical Park, Philadelphia, U.S., September 1, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (Reuters)
"And something else that really stuck out to me is that he almost seemed to be reclaiming patriotism. Often you hear Republicans argue that they are the pro America party. The Democrats are not patriotic enough. But what was more pro-USA than this speech? And I think this is exactly what Democratic voters wanted to hear. We honor the will of the people, right? A nod to our democracy but also a nod to preserving reproductive rights. He is the president of all America," McKend said.
CNN was among the mainstream media outlets that defended Biden’s original "semi-fascism" claims as truth, though Avlon admitted on Tuesday that his comments were "not helpful."
McKend continued to praise the speech saying, "You mentioned before too much of what is happening is not normal in this country. We are still at our core a democracy. I mean all of these things, it was a very, very patriotic speech and I think that that is a lot of what Democratic voters across the country, they want to be patriotic, too. They want to be part of the American story, too. I think he spoke to that."
President Biden attacked "extremist" MAGA Republicans as promoters of "semi-fascism" and threatening democracy. ((AP Photo/Matt Slocum))
Elsewhere in the segment, political commentator Scott Jennings, by contrast, criticized the speech as "very, very partisan."
"This was a very, very partisan speech. His core message to me was if you don’t vote Democrat, we don’t have a democracy anymore, so that’s not going to land very well at all with any Republican voter, no matter what kind of Republican they consider [themselves to be]," Jennings said.
Mainstream media outlets and Democrats largely defended President Biden's suggestion that "MAGA Republicans" promoted "semi-fascism." (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
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CNN anchor Brianna Keilar also criticized Biden on Twitter for having the military stand in the background of a political speech.