Politics

Biden Suggests ‘Greatly Diminished’ GOP Will Eventually Fall In Line With His Agenda, Shake Off Trump’s ‘Phony Populism’

OLIVIER HOSLET/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Shelby Talcott Senior White House Correspondent
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President Joe Biden slammed the Republican Party and former President Donald Trump’s “phony populism” during a press conference Monday, but declared he still believes the situation will “pass.”

“The Republican Party is vastly diminished in numbers,” Biden told reporters. “The leadership of the Republican Party is fractured, and the Trump wing of the party is the bulk of the party but it makes up a significant minority of the American people.

Biden noted that other leaders attending the NATO and G-7 summit “have seen things happen … that shocked them and surprised them” but agreed with his view of believing “the American people are not going to sustain that kind of behavior.”

This comment appeared to be a reference to the Jan. 6 riot mentioned just prior by a reporter, where Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (RELATED: Biden Takes Swipe At Two Democratic Senators For Voting ‘More With My Republican Friends’ During Speech)

Biden expressed “shock and surprise” at events that have occurred because of “Trump’s phony populism.” He called out some Senate Republicans, though not by name, for being “reluctant to take on” a Jan. 6 investigation, saying it’s because “they’re worried about being primaried.”

“But at the end of the day we been through periods like this in American history before,” Biden added, going back to his overall theme that things will come together. “Where there has been this reluctance to take a chance on your reelection because of the nature of your party’s politics at the moment.”

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“I think this is passing. I don’t mean easily passing,” he continued. “That’s why it’s so important that I succeed in my agenda. The agenda, whether’s it’s dealing with the vaccine, the economy, infrastructure. It’s important that we demonstrate we can make progress and continue to make progress.”

Despite Biden’s harsh words for what he called a large wing of the allegedly diminishing Republican party, the president ended by reiterating his believe that things will change.

“I think you’re gonna see that there’s a – that God-willing, we’re gonna be making progress and there’s gonna be a coalescing of a lot of Republicans, particularly younger Republicans, who are coming up in the party,” he said.

Biden has pressed for “unity” throughout his presidency. He’s also been pushing for bipartisan solutions, although there are lines in the sand from both his administration and Republicans that may prove too difficult to overcome.

Most recently, Biden has been speaking with Republicans in an attempt to come to a bipartisan agreement on an infrastructure plans. The talks have so far proven futile and the president began looking to a new bipartisan group to negate with just before leaving for his first foreign trip since taking office.