President Joe Biden faced intense backlash online following remarks that he made during a press conference on Wednesday about how Americans who own firearms to defend against tyranny would need to own advanced military-grade technology to take on the U.S. government.
“The Second Amendment, from the day it was passed, limited the type of people who could own a gun and what type of weapon you could own,” Biden said. “You couldn’t buy a cannon. [Those who] say the blood of the, the blood of patriots, you know, and all this stuff about how we’re going to have to move against the government.”
“Well, the tree of liberty is not [watered with] the blood of patriots, what’s happened is that there never been, if you want, if you think you need to have weapons to take on the government, you need F-15s and maybe some nuclear weapons,” Biden continued. “The point is that there’s always been the ability to limit, rationally limit, the type of weapon that can be owned, and who can own it.”
WATCH:
BIDEN: "Those who say the blood of Patriots, you know, and all the stuff about how we’re gonna have to move against the government.”
"If you think you need to have weapons to take on the government, you need F-15s and maybe some nuclear weapons."pic.twitter.com/WVHUffpphP
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 23, 2021
The reaction to Biden’s comments was overwhelmingly negative, as everyone from members of the Trump family, to politicians, to journalists weighed in on the matter.
The following are the top responses to Biden’s remarks:
- Donald Trump Jr.: “Our founders explicitly wanted an armed citizenry to keep potentially tyrannical governments in check. Instead of threatening to nuke law-abiding American citizens, maybe this doddering old fool should ask himself why crime is rising so rapidly in cities w/ the most gun control?”
- Buck Sexton, host of “Hold The Line”: “Biden is unfamiliar with recent history in Afghanistan, apparently.”
- John Cardillo: “Biden is now threatening Americans who criticize the government with nuclear weapons and fighter jets. This senile old lunatic is out of his mind.”
- Jon Gabriel, Editor in Chief of Ricochet: “DC is threatening to nuke its own people again. The Swalwell Doctrine.”
- Stephen Miller, political commentator: “You’re not a conservative if you voted for this man.”
- Matt Whitlock, Republican strategist: “Nobody has ever heard ‘guns won’t protect you from the force of the government’ and thought ‘oh well in that case I’ll give up my guns.’ They think ‘well I guess I better get a bigger gun.'”
- Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY): “Weird flex, not OK: Threatening nuclear war with Americans.”
- Michael Malice, political commentator: “Five minutes ago the government was almost overthrown by a bunch of unarmed dudes led by a viking hat.”
- Doug Ernst, writer at The Washington Times: “American president tells Americans that any concerns over a tyrannical government taking root are moot because the government has F-15s and nukes. Yikes.”
- Frank Fleming, writer at The Babylon Bee: “The absolute worst anti-gun argument — the one I think has only ever pushed people in the other direction — is ‘If the government decides to go full-Nazi, it’s too powerful for you to stop it.'”
- Casey Mattox, attorney: “This is a really really bad approach – telling people that resistance is useless. Not confidence building. An alternative and better approach, never tried, might be demonstrating that the government is willing to abide by the restraints of the Constitution on its power.”
- Dana Loesch, political commentator: “There wasn’t a ban on cannons or any arm days of the Revolution.”
- Jeryl Bier, political commentator: “Biden is literally recording NRA ads.”