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(CNN) — President Joe Biden believes his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, is a fascist, the White House said Wednesday – the clearest sign yet of what Biden believes is at stake with the election less than two weeks away.
The comments from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre came a day after a series of articles reported that Trump’s former chief of staff, retired Marine Gen. John Kelly, said the former president fits “into the general definition of fascist” and wanted the “kind of generals Hitler had.”
Asked by CNN’s MJ Lee whether the White House agrees with Kelly’s reported assessment of his former boss, Jean-Pierre launched into a lengthy answer on the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol before ultimately saying that “yes,” the White House agrees with that assertion.
“Look, you have heard from this president over and over again about the threats to democracy, and the president has spoken about that. You’ve heard from the former president himself saying that he is going to be a dictator on Day 1. This is him, not us. This is him,” she said.
Jean-Pierre was referring to a Fox News town hall Trump participated in late last year. Fox News’ Sean Hannity tried giving Trump an opening to assure Americans he would not abuse the power of his office were he to win a second term, but the former president responded: “Except for Day 1. I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
Jean-Pierre later added on Wednesday: “I know that the vice president just spoke about this, to agree about that determination. Yes, we do. We do.”
Asked directly whether Biden believes Trump is a fascist, Jean-Pierre then said: “I mean, yes … the former president has said he is going to be a dictator on Day 1. We cannot ignore that.”
While Biden has frequently pitched this election about a choice between the future of democracy in America and its possible destruction, Jean-Pierre’s answer Wednesday is one of the strongest denunciations of the former president that has come from the White House briefing room during Biden’s term.
It’s another moment that signals Biden and his White House are feeling less constrained now that his term is entering its final months. The president had made appealing to moderate Republicans a part of his reelection strategy before he dropped out of the race in July and – while he branded Trump a “threat to democracy” frequently – he had not been quite so blunt. Previously, Biden said more than two years ago that “semi-fascism” underpins MAGA ideology.
Vice President Kamala Harris has also been forthright about what she sees as the dangers involving a second Trump presidency. In an interview with Charlamagne Tha God earlier this month, the Democratic presidential nominee agreed that Trump is “about fascism.”
The-CNN-Wire
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