White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded to a reporter at Thursday’s briefing comparing President Joe Biden’s “MAGA king” remark to former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s previous “basket of deplorables” comment.
Biden labeled former President Donald Trump “the great MAGA king” during a Wednesday speech at the 40th International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers convention in Chicago.
“Hillary Clinton expressed some regret not too long ago for referring to Trump voters as a basket of deplorables who couldn’t be redeemed and, considering that Trump got 74 million votes, I’m just wondering if this is the best strategy for Biden to win people over and win over support ahead of the midterms, especially given his inaugural theme being America United,” Fox News White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich said.
“I would say that the president is not afraid to call out what he sees as extreme positions that are out of line with where the American people stand,” Psaki replied. “And whether that is supporting a tax plan that will raise taxes on 75 million Americans making less than $100,000 a year or whether it is supporting efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade, something that two-thirds of the American people, in a Fox News poll may I add, support it. And there are countless examples from there.”
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“The president believes that there is still work we can still do together, the Bipartisan Innovation Act is a good example of that,” she continued. “But again, he is not going to stand back and stand aside while people are pushing for extreme positions that are not in the interests or supported by the vast majority of the American people.” (RELATED: Biden Calls MAGA Supporters ‘The Most Extreme Political Organization’ In ‘Recent American History’)
The press secretary previously said at Tuesday’s press conference that supporting the overturn of Roe v. Wade is an “ultra MAGA” position. She said the president uses the phrase in reference to Republicans with alleged extreme or unpopular positions.
Psaki referenced a Fox News poll finding that although over 60% of voters support upholding Roe v. Wade, about half of respondents supported restrictions that the landmark decision forbids. Over half of respondents, 54%, support state laws banning abortion at 15 weeks of gestation, which the Supreme Court is currently taking up regarding the Mississippi law in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Abortion-related protests have taken place across the country and even at the homes of conservative Supreme Court justices, including Associate Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh.