Cue the Far-Right Hate Machine
Extremist reactionaries are crawling out of their cesspools to let us know what they think of President Biden’s “Soul of America” speech
HOUSTON - In extremist circles online, there are threats of harm made every day against many marginalized groups. The likelihood of domestic terrorist attacks seems to be increasing as we draw closer to the upcoming midterm elections. President Joe Biden’s speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, however, has triggered a flood of alarming rhetoric.
Some of that language is being echoed by influencers on social media.
Ben Shapiro is one such influencer. He immediately took to social media using an image that portrayed exactly what he wanted it to. He declared the speech to be “demagogic, outrageous, and divisive.” While he may not have used the word “demonic,” others who share the same beliefs as Shapiro have. Shapiro’s tweet is a big hit with Christian nationalists.
“Now I want to be very clear up front, not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans," said President Biden during his speech.
No matter how clear anyone makes their point, far-right actors benefit greatly by being hyperbolic and taking things out of context. Hate is big business and it’s profitable. People like Ben Shapiro know their audience. Even if he agreed with the president, he would still have to come out against him because animus-based content is what he sells. And everyone business person knows, you don’t go against what works. It’s all about the money for them.
Similarly, the “facts not feelings” crowd is all up in its feelings. So much so that they’re leaving out the vitriolic hate espoused by their dear leader. They don’t care that FORMER President Donald Trump tried to subvert democracy or that he incited thousands to attack the Capitol. They also don’t care that Trump’s entire platform had racism and bigotry as its foundation.
The strategy is to keep stoking hate and fear because that’s what sells.
When Biden said, “not every Republican,” he was talking about Republican voters who extremists regard as “normies”. They disregard many of them unless they join their so-called clubs. Recruitment among these groups continues to be at all-time highs but the vast majority of voters all share similar concerns regarding extremism and the downfall of democracy.
“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,” said the president.
While it may appear President Biden was trying to appeal to Republicans, it was clear he was courting independent and progressive voters. In that sense, Democrats overall have been successful. This threat to the elections of many Republicans has been noted in extremist circles across the internet leading to an increase in dangerous conspiratorial language that suggests everything from rigged elections to taking another step toward the extinction of white people.
More concerning than what extremists are saying is the open and blatant lying by Republicans on more mainstream outlets from social media to cable news. They’re betting since the major networks didn’t carry the speech that their constituents said “Let’s Go Brandon” and skipped the speech entirely. This is how the Breitbarts and Fox News’ of the world are able to peddle conspiracies and outright lies which are then retransmitted unchecked all over the web.
For the last 7 years, anyone who wasn’t on board with Trump’s brand of hate was bullied and talked down to by his supporters. To declare that President Biden is being divisive by calling MAGA what it is is not just asinine but willfully ignorant. The same people who called people like me everything from a libtard to a “rice and bean eating motherfucker” can spare me the feigned outrage.
To be perfectly clear, I’m no Joe Biden fan. Far from it. I’ve called his administration out as much as I have any other one. I don’t play the fandom game. No politician is to be trusted. My beat in journalism focuses on human rights overall. Therefore, the fight is constant and it matters not who is in office. What matters more is what they do and what they say.
When it comes to MAGA and Trump, they told on themselves.
Also, I fucking love rice and beans.
Read the full transcript of President Biden’s speech here.