Governor Chris Sununu (R-NH) slammed President Joe Biden on Sunday for suggesting some Republicans are motivated by “semi-fascism.”
Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, Sununu blasted Biden for comparing the “extreme MAGA philosophy” of pro-Trump Republicans to “semi-fascism.” Sununu pointed out that Biden campaigned on being a unifier and called on him to apologize for maligning “half of America” that disagrees with him politically.
“Horribly insulting,” Sununu said. “The fact that the president would go out and insult half of America — because effectively half of America votes Republican and half of America ultimately votes Democrat, it swings a little bit one way or the other. But to effectively call half of America semi-fascist because he’s trying to stir up controversy, he’s trying to stir up this anti-Republican sentiment right before the election, it’s horribly inappropriate and insulting and people should be insulted and he should apologize.”
Sununu also decried Republicans painting Democrats with the broad brush of socialism or communism but lashed out at Biden again for using such divisive rhetoric.
“We can say all the Democrats are communists; they’re all ultra-socialist communists that just want to bring down our capitalistic market. That’s not true of Democrats either,” he said.
“When we allow ourselves to talk in these extremes, we polarize the country, we bring people further apart. If I remember, [Biden] was the guy, the candidate at the time, to be president that said he was going to bring everybody together, and then to call half of America fascist, come on. Look, he owes an apology. That’s not appropriate. That isn’t leadership.”
At a closed-door meeting with Democratic donors in Rockville, Maryland, on Thursday, Biden attacked pro-Trump Republicans, saying that faction of the GOP is committed to a philosophy of “semi-fascism.”
“What we’re seeing now is either the beginning or the death knell of extreme MAGA philosophy,” Biden said. “It’s not just Trump, it’s the entire philosophy that underpins the — I’m going to say something, it’s like semi-fascism.”
At a rally later in the day, Biden told supporters he doesn’t respect the so-called “MAGA Republicans.”
“I respect conservative Republicans,” said Biden. “I don’t respect these MAGA Republicans.”
“There are not many real Republicans anymore,” Biden added.
Biden: "There are not many real Republicans anymore. By the way, your sitting governor [Hogan], he's a Republican you can deal with … I respect conservative Republicans. I don't respect these MAGA Republicans" pic.twitter.com/OQ6F8gr53z
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 26, 2022