Jamie Raskin Defends Biden’s Rhetoric: Denying Elections, Embracing Political Violence are ‘Hallmarks of a Fascist Political Party’

Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) defended President Joe Biden’s sharpening rhetoric toward Republicans as he bashed Donald Trump’s continued railing against the 2020 election results.

Raskin, a member of the January 6 Committee, joined CBS’s Face The Nation to discuss Trump’s latest remarks in the aftermath of the Mar-a-Lago search. Major Garrett tee’d Raskin up by noting how Trump recently demanded he be declared winner of the election he lost, plus the former president promised — if re-elected — to give “full pardons” to his supporters who’ve been charged for their part in the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Raskin began by emphatically pointing out that Trump’s demand for the 2020 election to be rerun is “totally outside of the Constitution.”

“There is no procedure for the military just to seize the election machinery and run a new election, which is one of the things that his disgraced former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was pushing and we know was part of the January 6 plot,” Raskin said. “More than 60 courts rejected every claim of electoral fraud and corruption which Donald Trump advanced. He’s had the benefit of more than 60 courts, including 8 courts where he appointed the judges to office, look at all those claims and they were all rejected.”

As Raskin went on with his answer, he changed subjects somewhat to address “two of the hallmarks of a fascist political party.”

One, they don’t accept the results of elections that don’t go their way, and two, they embrace political violence. And I think that’s why President Biden was right to sound the alarm this week about these continuing attacks on our constitutional order from the outside by Donald Trump and his movement.

Raskin’s defense of Biden follows the president’s speech where he blasted “MAGA Republicans” and pronounced their “extremism” a threat to American democracy. The speech has been met with controversy due to the increased intensity of Biden’s rhetoric, which comes after he described Trumpism as “semi-fascism.”

Trump, whose entire political existence has consisted of inflammatory rhetoric, called the address the “most vicious, hateful, and divisive speech ever delivered by a [U.S.] president.”

The interview continued with Raskin addressing the January 6 Committee’s interest in hearing from Newt Gingrich and Ginni Thomas. This went on with Raskin saying he expects to hear testimony from former Vice President Mike Pence, who recently suggested his willingness to cooperate.

In no one’s case is a subpoena out of question,” Raskin said, “but I would assume he’s going to come forward and testify voluntarily, the way the vast majority of people have.”

Watch above via CBS.

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