Matt Bush, FISM News
In a world where Russia invaded Ukraine, China’s ambitions are growing by the day, ISIS still exists, the middle east is as chaotic as ever, and North Korea continues to threaten the U.S. and others, President Joe Biden declared white supremacy “the most dangerous terrorist threat” to the American homeland.
Biden was giving the commencement address at Howard University, a historically black college, just one week after another mass shooting in Allen, Texas. Eight people were killed in the attack at a mall in Texas and the suspected shooter allegedly sympathized with the white supremacy movement, according to his social media posts. Biden used that to bring the topic of white supremacy back to the mainstream.
“We know that American history has not always been a fairytale. From the start, it’s been a constant push and pull for more than 240 years between the best of us, the American ideal that we’re all created equal — and the worst of us, the harsh reality that racism has long torn us apart. It’s a battle that’s never really over,” Biden said at the Howard graduation.
But on the best days, enough of us have the guts and the hearts to st- — to stand up for the best in us. To choose love over hate, unity over disunion, progress over retreat. To stand up against the poison of white supremacy, as I did in my Inaugural Address — to single it out as the most dangerous terrorist threat to our homeland is white supremacy.
Throughout his speech, Biden made both veiled and pointed remarks at former president and current favorite to receive the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, Donald Trump.
At one point Biden recounted the 2017 events in Charlottesville that he has repeatedly called the impetus for his 2020 presidential run.
“And what did you hear? That famous quote. When asked about what happened, that famous quote. ‘There are very fine people on both sides,’” Biden said, referring to Trump’s response to the events in Charlottesville.
An NPR article from 2017 states that “when President Donald Trump blamed the violence on both sides, the former vice president says he was stunned” and Biden decided to run soon after.
According to the Washington Post, President Biden “leaned into rhetoric and imagery aimed at shoring up his support among black voters, declaring that he has made good on his promises to a community that in many ways saved his political prospects and propelled him into office. His reelection announcement video included several images of Vice President Harris and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black women to serve in those positions after they were selected by Biden.”
His commencement speech at Howard seemed to continue in that push to shore up support among black voters and to steer the discussion away from areas that might make his reelection more difficult. The problem, according to most polls, is that for the Biden administration to steer the discussion away from weak areas would be to steer away from almost every major issue in American politics.
A recent Politico article showed Biden’s approval rating dipped to 36% at the beginning of May and it continues to hover below 40% in a lot of polls.
A CNN article concerning Biden’s approval numbers on specific issues states,
His approval ratings for handling immigration (35% approve), the economy (37%) and gun policy (37%) all fall significantly below his overall approval rating. On national security (44% approve) and the US relationship with China (40% approve), his numbers are about the same as his overall approval rating.