Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden posted a video message in which he says “America was an idea” that “we’ve never lived up to.”
His statement is interspersed with a notable line from the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident …”
“America was an idea, an idea,” he says in the clip. “‘We hold these truths to be self-evident.'”
“We’ve never lived up to it, but we’ve never walked away from it before, and I just think we have to be more honest,” Biden continues.
“Let our kids know, as we raise them, what actually did happen,” he concludes. “Acknowledge our mistakes, so we don’t repeat them.”
It’s the kind of apology for the failures of America you would expect to hear from the more radical fringe elements of the party, not the man who wants to lead the nation for the next four years.
America was an idea. We’ve never lived up to it but we’ve never walked away from it before.https://t.co/VRCnKI0rfQ pic.twitter.com/xLuhhGyJVp
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) October 22, 2020
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America Not Living Up to the Idea Is Not a Uniquely Biden Idea
Criticizing the country that gave you everything while simultaneously trying to gain power in it seems like an odd tactic.
But Biden’s words aren’t unique on the left.
The following is a shortlist of similar statements by others who either ran for the Democrat presidential nomination or are prominent voices within their party.
- New Jersey Senator Cory Booker: “There’s things that are savagely wrong in this country.”
- Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has said “there is something fundamentally immoral and wrong about” America due to the wealth gap.
- Senator Elizabeth Warren has said the American justice system is “racist … I mean front to back.”
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo: “We’re not going to make America great again. It was never that great.”
- Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes America in its current form is just “10% better from garbage.”
Fox News host Tucker Carlson has called the left out for comments such as these.
“The conclusion can’t be avoided — these people actually hate America,” he said when discussing the topic of removing statues of the Founding Fathers. “There’s no longer a question about that.”
“That leads to the most basic of all questions: Can you really lead a country that you hate?” he wondered. “Ask yourself, what kind of parent would you be if you hated your children?”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ratchets up verbal feud with Pres. Trump: “We’re not going to make America great again – it was never that great.” https://t.co/dk5cGlJvWr pic.twitter.com/GOqFBGP7V5
— ABC News (@ABC) August 15, 2018
James Woods, Conservatives Fire Back at Biden
Biden’s video message stirred up quite a bit of outrage from conservatives on social media – no one more so than conservative Hollywood icon James Woods.
When my father lay wounded on a beach in the Pacific defending his country in World War II, America more than lived up to her promise. When Americans walked on the moon, we were the brightest star in the firmament. If you weren’t owned by China, you might love this country, too. https://t.co/XpOEK0BEKN
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) October 22, 2020
Biden just said America was never great
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) October 22, 2020
Joe Biden just said all of American history is a mistake
Hundreds of years of our military heroes
The first responders on 9/11
Ending slavery, Civil rights
Was Hunter passing the crack pipe?
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) October 22, 2020
BREAKING: Joe Biden says American has never lived up to its ideals, and that he will raise our children by teaching them America’s mistakes
— Jack Posobiec ?? (@JackPosobiec) October 22, 2020
Tim Murtaugh, director of communicates for President Trump’s re-election campaign, slammed Biden for essentially calling America a disappointment.
Running for President, Joe Biden’s closing argument is that America has always been a disappointment.
You know he’s blaming this on you.
And after 47 years as a failed DC politician, he wants you to believe that NOW he’ll get it right. https://t.co/j6MfuDFvCa
— Tim Murtaugh (@TimMurtaugh) October 22, 2020
Others simply countered with basic reminders of the greatness that is America.
Joe Biden: “America was an idea. We’ve never lived up to it.”
America: https://t.co/UQE9FWFUvH pic.twitter.com/2J6DVBSz4S
— CatholicVote.org (@CatholicVote) October 22, 2020
There are, indeed a litany of achievements that set America apart and prove that our nation not only lived up to the idea put forth by our founders but exceeded it.
- Declaration of Independence – A blueprint for freedom that inspired numerous other nations’ own movements for independence.
- Immigration – There is a reason over 50 million immigrants have come to America since 1960, more than the next four nations combined. It’s because the places they come from pale in comparison to this exceptional nation – the one they are coming to.
- World War II – America saved the world from Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
- Charity – We are the most charitable nation by far, whether it is providing funds or time to others.
- Emancipation Proclamation – Declared “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.”
And lest we get started on extraordinary achievements such as the moon landing, the Wright Brothers and the birth of aviation, the polio vaccine, the internet (no, not Al Gore), cell phones, the first mass-produced automobile, and on and on.
Those 18 year old Americans who stormed Omaha Beach say you are wrong – and this statement is offensive. https://t.co/QaT3r7zUiE
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) October 22, 2020
Says the guy who was a US Senator from 1973 to 2009 and Vice President for 8 years. https://t.co/UzzOhi2CKv
— Chad Felix Greene (@chadfelixg) October 22, 2020
Maybe *you* never lived up to it, Joe, but don’t you dare speak for anyone else https://t.co/0GoCY0w2AM
— Will Chamberlain (@willchamberlain) October 22, 2020
Honestly, the fact that Biden got a quote from the Declaration of Independence right is a step in the right direction we suppose.
Joe Biden tries to quote the Declaration of Independence, failspic.twitter.com/ULzGB0XtQK
— Elizabeth Harrington (@LizRNC) March 2, 2020
No, Joe, America isn’t just an idea.
It’s an achievement. It’s something all other nations aspire to be. And you have no business asking voters to put you in the White House when you can’t even see that very evident truth.