WASHINGTON, July 16, (AP): US President Joe Biden told NBC News in an interview Monday that it was a "mistake” to say he wanted to put a "bull's-eye” on Republican nominee Donald Trump, but argued that the rhetoric from his opponent was more incendiary while warning that Trump remained a threat to democratic institutions.
The remark in question came during a private call with donors last week as Biden had been scrambling to shore up his imperiled candidacy with key party constituencies. During that conversation, Biden declared he was "done” talking about his poor debate performance and said it was "time to put Trump in the bull's-eye,” saying Trump has gotten far too little scrutiny on his stances, rhetoric and lack of campaigning.
The NBC interview - during which, at times, Biden grew defensive under questions about his fitness for office - came as the president and his reelection team prepared to resume full-throttle campaigning after a brief pause following the weekend assassination attempt on Trump. The Biden campaign let loose a flurry of criticism after the GOP nominee announced freshman Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate.
"He’s a clone of Trump on the issues,” Biden told reporters as he headed to Nevada for a series of speeches and campaign events. "I don’t see any difference.”
He expanded on that during the NBC interview, telling Lester Holt that Vance has the same policies as Trump when it comes to abortion, taxes and climate change, adding, "He signed onto the Trump agenda, which he should, if he's running with Trump.”
Once Vance was tapped as Trump’s vice-presidential pick, the Biden campaign hit send on a fundraising solicitation signed by the president, and his team issued a blistering statement saying he picked the freshman senator because he would "bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda.” For her part, Vice President Kamala Harris phoned Vance to congratulate him and left him a voicemail message, according to a person familiar with the matter.