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“Biden signed a record number of executive orders in his first week – but just three months ago, according to Biden himself, that’s something only a dictator would do,” the host said. Fox News Sean Hannity Tuesday.
“As recently as October, President Biden said that you can only legislate by executive action if you are a dictator. Well, in a week he signed over 30 unilateral actions, and the Working Americans are no longer short of things, “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell
said Thursday in the Senate.
“By his own definition, Biden is already ruling like a dictator,” commentator Joe Concha’s opinion column in The Hill read. Biden signs other executive orders despite claims he said they were for dictators, “read a headline in the conservative Washington Examiner.” Joe Biden admits he rules like a ‘dictator’, “said a caption posted on Instagram by Charlie Kirk, founder and president of conservative student group Turning Point USA.
In an email, McConnell spokesman David Popp strongly dismissed CNN’s conclusion that McConnell had mischaracterized Biden’s “dictator” remark. Popp said that given the full text of what Biden said in October and other campaign comments Biden had made about his belief in a consensus-seeking philosophy of government, “your fact check doesn’t verify. not.”
We respectfully disagree. Let’s review a relevant story.
Biden’s comments
Biden argued during the campaign that other politicians, including some of his rivals in the Democratic primary, were proposing to use executive orders in situations where 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 banning the possession of assault weapons or to make substantive changes to the justice system.
At an event hosted by ABC News in Philadelphia in October 2020, host George Stephanopoulos asked Biden if it was wise to implement his proposals to raise taxes on businesses and the wealthy at a time when the economy is weak. After Biden defended his plan, Stephanopoulos said: “So there will be no delay on 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 I have – I have this weird idea. We’re a democracy. Some of my Republican friends and some of my Democratic friends sometimes even say, “If you can’t get the votes by executive order you’re going to do something.” Things you can’t do by executive order unless you to be a dictator. We are a democracy. We need a consensus. ”
It was Biden’s familiar rhetoric. Like his previous comments to The Times, the “dictator’s” remark was a criticism of proposals to use executive orders for initiatives that require congressional approval, not a claim that signing a large number of executive orders executives is inherently tyrannical.
Popp argued that Biden’s next sentence about the need for “consensus” shows that he was making a general statement about his philosophy of government, and not just talking narrowly about the decrees for a change in tax policy. And Popp noted that Biden had spoken on several occasions, including in the Times interview, about the importance of bringing people together and working with Congress.
It’s fair enough. But McConnell went too far when he hinted that Biden signing a bunch of executive orders meant he was contradicting the “dictator” comment in particular.
There is also another important context.
Biden’s campaign promises
Several executive orders from Biden simply overrule policies Trump had imposed through his own executive orders without public complaint from McConnell and other critics of Biden. And, critically, Biden promised during the campaign that he would have sign important executive decrees. In fact, many executive decrees from Biden’s first presidency fulfill explicit campaign promises.
For example, Biden signed a series of ordinances aimed at tackling climate change – just like his climate campaign plan, which is still on his website, said he would: “On day one, Biden will sign a series of unprecedented new executive orders. it goes way beyond the Obama-Biden administration platform and puts us on the right track. ”
Biden’s order to overturn Trump’s ban on transgender people from openly serving in the military was another campaign promise. So were his orders to preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration program that Trump tried to eliminate, to pursue a “Buy American” buying policy, to stop Trump’s policies.
Withdrawal from the World Health Organization and overturn Trump’s travel ban on Muslims.
After a Washington Examiner correspondent raised the “dictator” comment on Thursday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki noted to reporters that Biden had also proposed major pandemic relief legislation and immigration. She said Biden “will use the levers that every president in history has used: the actions of the executive. But he also feels it’s important to work with Congress – not just a party, but them. two parts – to get things done. ”
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