Biden Says “I Ran for President to Unite the Country” Days After Comparing Opponents to George Wallace and Bull Connor

On 1/14/2022, President Biden — whose approval rating had fallen to 33% — said “I ran for President to unite the country” just days after delivering a divisive speech in Georgia comparing Americans who opposed his voting rights bills to George Wallace, Bull Connor, and Jefferson Davis. Psaki was pressed on why Biden compared opponents to segregationists after campaigning on unity, and Doocy noted Biden had failed to pass Build Back Better, voting rights, or legal vaccine mandates in his first year.

”I Ran for President to Unite the Country”

Biden’s claim of running to unite the country came amid widespread criticism of his Atlanta speech, in which he had labeled opponents of his voting rights legislation as “domestic” enemies and compared them to some of the most reviled figures in American history.

Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy pressed Psaki directly: “About a year ago, he was working with Republicans. Now he is talking about Republicans that don’t agree with voting rights. He’s describing them as George Wallace, Bull Connor, and Jefferson Davis. What happened to the guy who, when he was elected, said, ‘To make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy’?”

Psaki defended the speech. “I think everybody listening to that speech who’s speaking on the level, as my mother would say, would note that he was not comparing them as humans. He was comparing the choice,” she said. “Do you want to be the side of Dr. King or George Wallace? Do you want to be the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?”

Pelosi: “Absolutely No Sense of Responsibility”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked whether she bore any responsibility for the divisions in the country. Her response was sharp: “Absolutely not. I have absolutely no sense of responsibility for divisions in our country. Use of intimidation, politics of personal destruction — they have all come from the other side.”

“I don’t appreciate, frankly, when the press thinks there’s some equivalence in all of this,” Pelosi added.

Doocy: “What Happened?”

Doocy delivered one of his sharpest exchanges of the year. “President Biden promised to bring decades of DC experience to the Oval Office, but Build Back Better has not passed. Voting rights apparently not going to pass. And vaccine requirements that he likes are apparently illegal. What happened?”

Psaki responded by listing first-year achievements: the American Rescue Plan, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, cutting childhood poverty by 40%, and more than 95% of schools being open. “There’s a lot of talk about disappointments and things we haven’t gotten done. We’re building back better than ever before,” Psaki said.

When pressed on whether she would admit the upcoming filibuster vote on voting rights would fail, Psaki refused. “If we believed everything every pundit said, the President would not have run for office, he would not be President, we would not have an infrastructure bill that is law,” she said.

Sinema and Manchin Unmoved

Despite Biden personally meeting with Senator Sinema at the White House — even after she publicly declared her opposition to changing the filibuster — neither she nor Manchin showed any sign of changing position.

Sinema had said on the Senate floor: “There is no need for me to restate my longstanding support for the 60-vote threshold to pass legislation. There is no need for me to restate its role protecting our country from wild reversals in federal policy."

"What’s Your Message to Democratic Voters?”

A reporter asked what Biden’s message was to Democratic voters who had expected action on voting rights, climate change, prescription drug prices, police reform, minimum wage, and student debt — and had gotten none of it.

“Our message to them is that we’re still fighting for absolutely every component of what you just listed,” Psaki said. “An agenda doesn’t wrap up in one year.”

The Bengals Shout-Out

In a lighter moment, Psaki ended the briefing with a personal aside: “The Bengals are playing tomorrow. I’m just giving it a shout-out so that my husband will be excited at home. They haven’t won a playoff game in 31 years.”

Key Takeaways

Biden claimed “I ran for President to unite the country” just days after comparing opponents of his voting rights bills to George Wallace, Bull Connor, and Jefferson Davis.
Psaki defended the comparisons as being about “the choice” rather than comparing people “as humans.”
Doocy noted Biden had failed to pass Build Back Better, voting rights, or legal vaccine mandates — asking “what happened?”
Senators Manchin and Sinema remained unmoved on the filibuster despite personal meetings with Biden at the White House.
Pelosi said she had “absolutely no sense of responsibility for divisions in our country,” blaming Republicans entirely.

Transcript Highlights

The following is transcribed from the video audio (unverified — AI-generated from audio).

I ran for President to unite the country.
He’s describing them as George Wallace, Bull Connor, and Jefferson Davis. What happened to the guy who said, to make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy?
He was not comparing them as humans. He was comparing the choice. Do you want to be the side of Dr. King or George Wallace?
President Biden promised to bring decades of DC experience to the Oval Office, but Build Back Better has not passed. Voting rights apparently not going to pass. What happened?
Absolutely not. I have absolutely no sense of responsibility for divisions in our country.
There is no need for me to restate my longstanding support for the 60-vote threshold to pass legislation.

Full transcript: 1046 words transcribed via Whisper AI.