WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Monday that it was “a mistake” to say that he wanted to put former President Donald Trump back in “a bull’s-eye” but defended his descriptions of his rival in the 2024 election as a threat to the foundations of the nation’s democracy.

Biden’s Interview with NBC

“How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says?” Biden asked NBC’s Lester Holt, according to an excerpt from an interview released by the network Monday afternoon.

“Do you just not say anything because it may incite somebody?” he asked.

Biden’s comments come just two days after a would-be assassin shot at Trump at a rally in western Pennsylvania, grazing the former president’s right ear and killing one of his supporters.

Republicans have accused Biden of stoking violence against Trump, pointing to a comment that the president made last week to donors. He told them that “we’re done talking about the debate; it’s time to put Trump in a bull’s-eye.”

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Biden told Holt that “it was a mistake to use the word.” He added: “I didn’t, I didn’t say crosshairs. I meant bull’s-eye. I meant focus on it. Focus on what he’s doing.”

He added that Trump has used incendiary rhetoric for years, citing the former president’s statement that he intends to be a “dictator on Day 1” and his comments in the lead-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, in which he encouraged people to head to the Capitol.

Asked by Holt whether he had done any soul-searching about his own rhetoric, Biden said he had not.

“Look, I’m not engaged in that rhetoric,” he insisted. “Now, my opponent is engaged in that rhetoric. He talks about there’ll be a bloodbath if he loses, talking about how he’s going to forgive, although, actually, I guess suspend the sentences of all those who were arrested and sentenced to go to jail because of what happened in the Capitol.”

Biden said he was not sure whether the assassination attempt on Trump would alter the trajectory of the presidential contest. He said he was focused more on ensuring that the candidates in the race get the level of protection they require from the Secret Service.

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President Remains Concerned

And the president said he remained concerned about the way people talk about politicians.

“You ride through certain rural areas of the country, and people have signs they’re standing — big Trump signs with a middle — sign that says ‘F Biden’ and a little kid standing there, putting up his middle finger,” he said.

“I mean, that’s the kind of stuff that is just inflammatory and kind of vicious,” he added. “It’s a very different thing to say, ‘Look, I really disagree with Trump’s — the way he takes care of taxes.’”

Asked whether he believes he has moved past concerns among Democrats about his age and mental capabilities, Biden was dismissive.

“Fourteen million people voted for me to be the nominee, in the Democratic Party,” he said. “OK. I’ll listen to them.”

Also Monday, an interview that Biden gave to Chris “Speedy” Morman, a Black YouTuber who has a large following of young viewers, was released. The interview was recorded a day before the assassination attempt on Trump.

In it, Biden said he is “1,000%” going to stay in the 2024 presidential race and accused Trump of doing nothing for people in minority groups during the four years he was in the White House.

“What has he done when he was president? Tell me,” Biden said. “What has he done to help young people in America? What has he done to deal with racism? What has he done to deal with the fact that you had, the way in which African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans are treated. I mean, what has he done?”

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The interview with Morman is part of a concerted effort by the Biden campaign to expand the president’s outreach directly with Black voters and other minority groups. Since the debate last month, Biden has sat for several interviews with Black radio hosts in the hopes of boosting turnout and support in one of his most important constituencies.

Biden Calls Himself a Zionist

In the interview, Biden defended his support for Israel, calling himself a Zionist.

“If there weren’t an Israel,” he said, “every Jew in the world would be at risk; every Jew in the world would be at risk.” He added, “And so there’s a need for it to be strong.”

But Biden also claimed to be “the guy that did more for the Palestinian community than anybody,” citing his efforts to open routes for humanitarian aid through Egypt. He also noted that he had recently denied Israel the use of 2,000-pound bombs that have contributed to mass casualties in the Gaza Strip.

The president has been heavily criticized by Palestinian Americans and others who say he has helped to enable the Israeli response to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,200 people. Israel, which relies heavily on American weapons, has pummeled Gaza for nearly 10 months, killing tens of thousands of people living there.

Biden did not make any major gaffes during the 18-minute interview. But his voice was soft and raspy, and he sometimes meandered through answers or stopped himself from completing a thought.

After starting to explain his reasons for a crackdown on illegal immigration, he noted that he had recently moved to ease burdens on some immigrants who have long settled in the United States, protecting potentially hundreds of thousands of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally from deportation if they are married to U.S. citizens.

“We have 10,000 people, women or men, married to an American citizen after 10 years and still can’t get a green card — I changed that,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons and we — anyway, I could go on.”

In the middle of an answer about Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, 2021, Biden said: “Policemen were killed. People were wounded. People were hurt. The place was smashed up or, hanging — anyway.”

But he did have a concise answer when Morman asked if there was one thing Trump would do well if he gets elected to a second term.

“I’m not being facetious,” Biden said. “I can’t think of a single thing.”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Michael D. Shear/Pete Marovich
c.2024 The New York Times Company