In case you missed this one, I think it’s important to reflect on especially considering recent legal events with former President Trump.
Because let’s be honest, if Trump had said or done anything like this, he would’ve been completely chastised.
Meanwhile Biden gets away with anything and everything…even ‘murder’ in this case.
During a test drive of the new Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, Joe Biden had an exchange with a reporter that has caused outrage on social media.
After being asked “a quick question about Israel…since it’s so important?”, Biden responded “No you can’t,” and then followed up his rejection of the inquiry by suggesting he would run over the reporter with his car.
Although Biden claims he was only teasing, many people believe this behavior is highly unbecoming of the President.
REPORTER: "Mr. President, can I ask you a quick question on Israel before you drive away since it’s so important?"
BIDEN: "No you can’t. Not unless you get in front of the car as I step on it."
If Trump said this, even as a joke, he'd be impeached & Brian Stelter would cry. pic.twitter.com/1b20M2rWdW
— Mike Hahn (@mikehahn_) May 18, 2021
This incident has raised a lot of questions about how Donald Trump was treated for making jokes in comparison to Joe Biden getting away unscathed.
Conservative podcast host Stephen L. Miller remarked that “Biden joking about running down a reporter for asking about Israel in an F-150 truck is a pretty good tell about just how performative the ‘how dare he’ fainting spells of the past 4 years actually were.”
Former Nevada GOP Chairwoman Amy Tarkanian also noted on Twitter that if President Trump had done this he would have been impeached, adding “Jokingly or not, this rhetoric is completely unbecoming of the President.”
She later reminded then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki of her previous statement regarding their “paramount responsibility” to ensure safety and security for journalists covering major events such as the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In response to these tweets Jonathan Turcotte from National Republican Senatorial Committee campaign stated “While America’s most important Middle East ally is under attack, Joe Biden threatened to run over a reporter for asking a question about it”.
He went on to criticize mainstream media coverage which only focused on Biden’s excitement when driving rather than addressing his concerning remarks towards journalists.
Conservative journalist Jerry Dunleavy commented that there were other things going on but it was worth revisiting how Joe Biden reacted when asked an important foreign policy question concerning Israel and Hamas.
Instead of providing an answer, he chose avoidance tactics by threatening violence against reporters who wanted more information.
The internet firestorm stemming from this event signifies how truly disturbing some find his actions – regardless if they were meant as a joke or not – because these words coming out of our Commander-in Chief’s mouth carry weight and set precedence for what kind of behavior is acceptable in our society today.
This brings us back to our original question: why do we treat two leaders differently based on their political party affiliation?
It seems like we have started to accept threats against journalists as well as avoiding difficult topics from becoming public knowledge because it might disrupt certain political agendas.
However, isn’t transparency one of our country’s core values?
If we are ever going to make progress in terms of holding our politicians accountable then we must emphasize free speech above all else and demand answers when tough questions arise so everyone can be informed before making decisions that will shape our future.
