ClineWatch: Ben Cline joins the meltdown over President Biden’s prime time speech

Like many congressional Republicans, Congressman Ben Cline denounced President Biden’s Thursday speech in Philadelphia calling out Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans.

Biden said:

Now, I want to be very clear, very clear up front. Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology. I know, because I’ve been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.

But there’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans. And that is a threat to this country.

Was it a scathing speech in parts? Of course. But what exactly did Biden say that was incorrect about the most extreme and dominant elements of today’s Republican party (or the Trump party, as the former president’s son thinks it should be called instead)?

What did he say that was worse than anything that “our great president Donald J. Trump” (Cline’s words) ever said?

Relax, Congressman. If you don’t think that any election Trump loses is rigged; if you don’t consider the January 6 rioters to be patriots; if you don’t think violence against the government is justified; Biden wasn’t talking about you, or about everyone who has ever voted for Trump. Do you really think he was?

To Cline’s discredit, he did everything he could to cast doubt on the election of Joe Biden as president in 2020. He joined a majority of Congressional Republicans in voting not to certify the election and has refused to put the blame for the January 6 insurrection where it clearly belongs: on Donald J. Trump.

But to Cline’s credit, he posted this on Facebook as the pro-Trump mobs were storming the U.S. Capitol and brutally assaulting police officers on January 6, 2021:

So, Congressman: now that Trump has promised full pardons to the January 6 rioters “with apologies to many” if he becomes president again, you must feel pretty foolish.

And all you can do is whine about Biden’s speech?

Gene Zitver is the author of ClineWatch.