McCarthy to call on Biden to apologize after 'semi-fascism' remark
By Jessica Dean and Daniella Diaz, CNNUpdated: Thu, 01 Sep 2022 19:48:56 GMTSource: CNNHouse GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is set to take on President Joe Biden in a prebuttal speech on Thursday ahead of
By Jessica Dean and Daniella Diaz, CNNUpdated: Thu, 01 Sep 2022 19:48:56 GMT
Source: CNN
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is set to take on President Joe Biden in a prebuttal speech on Thursday ahead of a prime-time address later in the evening from the President.
As part of the speech, McCarthy is expected to focus in on remarks from Biden last week in which he labeled the philosophy that underpins former President Donald Trump and those who have stood by him as "like semi-facism."
While the President's remarks focused on Trump and his supporters' ideology, McCarthy will call on Biden to apologize for calling some Americans fascists when he gives his speech in Scranton, Pennsylvania, according to a source familiar with the minority leader's speech.
"What we're seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of an extreme MAGA philosophy," Biden recently told a group of Democratic donors at a private home in Maryland.
"It's not just Trump," he went on, "it's the entire philosophy that underpins the -- I'm going to say something: It's like semi-fascism."
McCarthy's prebuttal speech will mark an effort to counter the President's message -- ahead of the 2022 midterms as Republicans fight to win back control of the House of Representatives.
The message delivered by McCarthy could be a sign of what's to come should he remain leader of the House GOP if Republicans take over. And his remarks will offer Republicans a chance to counter what Biden is expected to say in his primetime address with the key battleground state of Pennsylvania serving as the backdrop for both speeches. McCarthy's speech will take place in Biden's hometown of Scranton.
A previous news release said McCarthy would also focus on crime and inflation in his speech.
Biden, meanwhile, is expected to reinforce the offensive against extremism in the Republican Party that he has recently made a focus of his messaging as he seeks to tie GOP candidates to his White House predecessor, framing the midterms as a second round against Trump.
