There is no reason to read grave portents into President Biden’s Mussolini-like rant against the “MAGA Republicans” who are supposedly attacking democracy. If he were a real Mussolini, his next step would be to mobilize the National Guard to round up the enemies of the state. But he won’t do that. The worst that will occur will be continuing collusion between federal bureaucrats and social media companies to keep critical voices off the latter’s platforms, which would mean something only if Twitter and Facebook were the real world. While the Administration’s soft censorship is despicable, it isn’t likely to have much effect.
No, the Biden harangue, set against a blood-red background and backed up by Marine guards, should be seen for what it truly is: the flailing of a man far out of his depth (which isn’t very deep) who at some level realizes that his policies are comprehensively failing but refuses to consider any alternatives and imagines that shouting into the night sky will exorcize the phantasms with which his feverish brain surrounds him.
He is a pitiful figure, no more to be feared than a lunatic ranting on a street corner. We should pray for his recovery, which will be hastened by speedy retirement from public life.
Above all, let us look to the example of Abraham Lincoln, who, entering the fourth year of a genuine insurrection, had the greatness of spirit to counsel “malice toward none, charity for all”.
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