CNN's John Avlon says President Biden's 'semi-fascism' comments were 'not helpful'
CNN's John Avlon said President Biden's "semi-fascism" comments were "not helpful" and "not befitting of the office president."
CNN's John Avlon said on Tuesday's "New Day" that President Biden's "semi-fascism" comments were "not helpful" or "befitting the office of president."
Host John Berman read a statement from Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., who said Biden's comments "painted with way too broad a brush."
"Joe Biden’s campaign was about saving the soul of our nation. And we’re in a very dangerous moment around democracy. I also want to put context into what the president said. He did not call half of America fascist. He said people who believe that the 2020 election was stolen, people who want to ban books, people who are taking these steps, we’re on a very dangerous line. We have to call a thing a thing," Ashley Allison, a CNN political commentator, argued. "I don't think Joe Biden is calling everybody fascist."
The president said during a fundraiser on Aug. 25 that the "extreme MAGA philosophy" is "like semi-fascism."
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
"The term semi-fascist is not helpful, it's not befitting the office of president. And while you can absolutely call out the dangers to our democracy, but it makes obviously perfect sense for somebody like Senator Hassan because, look, in New Hampshire, more than 40% of registered voters are independents, right? I mean, Another thirty and change are Republicans. Democrats are the third category among registered voters. She needs to be able to reach out," Avlon said.
Republican strategist Alice Stewart said Allison was being "kind" by putting Biden's word into context. "The takeaway from Republicans is that the President of the United States who campaigned on and won on and was sworn in on a message of unity, lowering the temperature and bringing this country together, just called half the country fascist," Stewart said, adding that Hassan was right.
CNN political commentator Scott Jennings said this wasn't the first time something like this happened. "Biden has all the precision of a surgeon with a meat ax," he said. "His natural instinct is to go to extreme insult. You’re either racist or you're a fascist."
CNN's John Avlon said Tuesday that President Biden's "semi-fascism" comments were "not helpful." (Screenshot/CNN/NewDay)
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"Whether its right or wrong, I think it’s notable that the White House and Joe Biden seem to be running toward this thing — maybe not those words again — but they’re leaning into this thing," Berman said.
Biden is set to appear in Pennsylvania on Thursday to make a stump speech about American's democracy being "under attack."
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event to celebrate passage of the "Safer Communities Act," on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 11, 2022. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo)
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"He will speak about how the core values of this nation — our standing in the world, our democracy — are at stake," a White House official told Fox News. "He will talk about the progress we have made as a nation to protect our democracy but how our rights and freedoms are still under attack."