“Biden signed a record number of executive orders during his first week – but just three months ago, according to Biden himself, this is something that only a dictator would do,” Fox News presenter Sean Hannity said on Tuesday. market.
“By his own definition, Biden is already ruling like a dictator,” commentator Joe Concha’s headline featured in The Hill. Biden signs more executive orders, despite allegations he once said were for dictators, “said a headline from the conservative Washington Examiner.” Joe Biden admits that he is governing as a ‘dictator’, “said a caption posted on Instagram by Charlie Kirk, founder and president of the conservative group of students Turning Point USA.
In an email, McConnell spokesman David Popp vehemently rejected CNN’s conclusion that McConnell had incorrectly characterized Biden’s “dictator” comment. Popp said that, given the full text of what Biden said in October, and other campaign comments made by Biden about his belief in a government philosophy that seeks consensus, “his fact check does not confirm”.
We respectfully disagree. Let’s look at some relevant stories.
Biden’s Comments
Biden argued during the campaign that other politicians, including some of his rivals in the Democratic primaries, were proposing the use of executive orders in situations where the orders could not be used properly. He told the New York Times editorial board in December 2019 that it would be unconstitutional to sign an executive order to ban possession of assault weapons or make substantial changes to the judiciary.
At an ABC News municipal event in Philadelphia in October 2020, Biden was asked by presenter George Stephanopoulos whether it is wise to carry out his proposals to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy at a time when the economy is weak. After Biden defended his plan, Stephanopoulos said: “Therefore, there will be no delay in tax increases.”
Biden replied, “No, well, I have to get the votes. I have to get the votes. That’s why – you know, the only thing that I – I have this strange notion. We are a democracy. Some of my Friends Republicans and some of my Democratic friends even occasionally say, ‘Well, if you don’t get the votes, by executive order you’re going to do something.’ Things you can’t do in executive order, unless you’re a dictator. We are a democracy. We need consensus. ”
This was Biden’s well-known rhetoric. Like his earlier comments to the Times, the “dictator’s” remark was a criticism of proposals to use executive orders for initiatives that require congressional approval, not an assertion that signing many executive decrees is inherently tyrannical.
Popp argued that Biden’s subsequent phrase about the need for “consensus” shows that he was making a broad statement about his government philosophy, not just talking strictly about executive orders for a change in tax policy. And Popp noted that Biden had spoken several times, including in the Times interview, about the importance of bringing people together and working in Congress.
This is fair. But McConnell went too far in suggesting that Biden signing a lot of executive orders meant that he contradicted the “dictator” comment in particular.
There is also some important additional context.
Biden’s campaign pledges
Biden’s multiple executive orders simply rescind the policies that Trump had imposed through his own executive orders without public complaint from McConnell and other Biden critics. And critically, Biden promised during the campaign that he would be sign significant executive orders. In fact, many of the executive orders of Biden’s first presidency deliver on explicit campaign promises.
For example, Biden signed a series of orders aimed at combating climate change – just as his climate campaign plan, which is still on his website, said he would: “On the first day, Biden will sign a series of new executive orders with unpublished achieving that goes far beyond the Obama-Biden administration platform and puts us on the right track. ”
Biden’s order to rescind Trump’s ban on transgender people openly serving in the military was another campaign promise. As well as his orders to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration program, which Trump tried to eliminate, to pursue a “Buy American” buying policy, to prevent Trump’s.
withdrawal World Health Organization and rescind the travel ban focusing on Trump Muslims.
After a Washington Examiner correspondent mentioned the “dictator’s” comment on Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters that Biden also proposed important legislation on pandemic and immigration relief. She said Biden would “use the levers that every president in history has used: executive actions. But he also feels that it is important to work with Congress – not just one party, but both – to make things happen.”
