President Joe Biden is turning once again to a strategy he has used since announcing his run for president in 2019: exploiting fears of hatred and bigotry, which he falsely associates with Republicans; then presenting himself and his party as the answer.
Last week, the White House announced Biden would host a “unity summit” to bring Democrats and Republicans together to “counter the corrosive effects of hate-fueled violence on our democracy and public safety.”
The announcement came days after Biden emerged from vacation to sign the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act,” and to claim Republicans opposed everything good and decent in the bill:
Every single Republican in Congress voted against lowering prescription drug prices, against lowering healthcare costs, against a fairer tax system.
Every single Republican — every single one — voted against tackling the climate crisis, against lowering our energy costs, against creating good-paying jobs.
Never mind that Republicans do not oppose lower drug prices — and that, in fact, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to lower the cost of insulin and epinephrine, which Biden canceled on his first day in office. Nor do Republicans oppose lowering healthcare costs, fair taxes, lower energy costs, or good-paying jobs.
Republicans disagree about the “climate crisis,” and argue Biden’s actions will, in fact, raise energy costs and destroy jobs. But that is substantially different than not caring.
Biden’s rhetoric was only the latest example of the way in which he has actually fueled division — and even hatred — among American since promising in his Inaugural Address to emphasize “unity.” Here is a brief list of ways in which he has done so:
- Backing the impeachment. Rather than bringing the nation together after the Capitol riot on January 6, Biden backed the second (and pointless) impeachment of former President Trump, which failed to convict Trump and only reinforced divisions.
- Purging the military. The Biden administration launched a political purge of the military, causing parts of the armed forces to “stand down” while searching for supposed extremists — on the right; supporters of “Black Lives Matter” were not vetted.
- Endorsing protests against Supreme Court justices. When left-wing activists besieged the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices following the leak of the Dobbs decision, Biden actually encouraged the protests, which are illegal under federal law. When a crazed left-wing activist was arrested for attempting to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Biden did not personally condemn the crime; the White House merely issued a statement condemning violence on his behalf.
- Remaining silent in the face of left-wing terrorism against religious groups. In the wake of the Dobbs leak, left-wing groups have carried out terror attacks on religious institutions nationwide — and the Biden administration has remained silent.
- Accusing Republicans of “Jim Crow” for passing common-sense voting laws. Biden has falsely accused Republicans of trying to bring back segregation — “Jim Crow 2.0” — for passing ballot integrity laws more liberal than those in his own state.
- Imposing transgender ideology on states and local communities. The Biden administration has tried to impose a radical transgender ideology, including on school sports, without recognizing any boundary between childhood and adulthood.
- Backing the January 6 Commission. Biden has supported the one-sided show trial under way in the House, in which the minority has been excluded from participation, and witnesses are denied constitutional rights even as they are slandered.
- Refusing to comment on the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago. The White House has refused to comment on the raid of Trump’s private residence, even to reassure the public that the Department of Justice is not operating — again — as a political tool.
- Forcing through spending bills on party lines. The “Inflation Reduction Act” — which will not reduce inflation — was pushed through the reconciliation process, as was Biden’s 2021 COVID spending bill, which — ironically — fueled inflation.
Biden has long said that he was motivated to run for president by the Charlottesville riots — including the hoax that Trump praised neo-Nazis (he condemned them “totally”). He claimed to be running to restore unity — while also calling for a “battle for the soul of this nation.”
He was slow to condemn violence in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in 2020, and even claimed falsely that rioters attacking federal law enforcement officers in Portland, Oregon, were “peaceful protesters.”
At the same time, the Biden administration has thrown the book at protesters who were at the Capitol in January 2021 — even those who did not commit any violence. Far from unifying the country, Biden has exploited its divisions for partisan gain.
Meanwhile, hate crimes have risen on Biden’s watch — from record-high antisemitic attacks, to rising anti-Asian hate crimes in Democrat-run cities.
Hatred is a problem, but Biden has little interest in stopping it. In fact, he finds it politically useful.
If racism didn’t exist, Democrats would invent it (and the party was, in fact, once the refuge of segregationists and the KKK). Fear of racism is the glue that holds the Democratic Party’s disparate coalitions together.
Hence Biden’s “unity summit.” Just in time for midterm elections.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.