Former Biden White House communications director Kate Bedingfield sparked liberal outrage for explaining Donald Trump's remarks about Christians not needing to vote anymore after 2024, arguing that he was saying that future elections didn't matter because he wouldn't be on the ballot, not calling for an end to democracy.
"I realize this will earn me the ire of many Dems, but…I don’t think that here he’s saying there will be no more elections. I think he is saying I won’t be on the ticket either way, so who cares. Which is hideously damning in its own right, cause this is what the Republican Party has turned itself inside out and shredded its credibility for — to become a stan account for this one awful, narcissistic guy," Bedingfield wrote on X, reacting to a clip of Trump's speech.
Trump spoke at the Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida on Friday and drew liberal criticism for saying, "Christians, get out and vote, just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. … You got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again. We’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote."
Bedingfield, a CNN political commentator, was called out in several replies to her original post that argued Trump should never be given the benefit of the doubt.
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Some accused her of "minimizing" his statements.
Bedingfield followed up in two more posts on social media.
"I am in no way minimizing January 6th or the threats that Trump poses to democracy when he constantly tries to undermine faith in our elections. They are real. I’m just saying that right here what he is telling us is WHY he doesn’t care about this country — cause he only cares about him," she said in a subsequent post.
Appearing to respond to those suggesting she was giving Trump the benefit of the doubt, Bedingfield insisted she was not.
"I’m neither defending him nor giving him the benefit of the doubt - I called him an awful, narcissistic man who is a threat to democracy in my tweets. But we win this thing in part by persuading people who aren’t yet persuaded. And telling them why he’s a threat - bc he only cares about himself - is more persuasive than just saying he’s a threat. This is good evidence of that," she said.
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Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who is running for Senate in California, responded to his remarks on X and said, "This year democracy is on the ballot, and if we are to save it, we must vote against authoritarianism. Here Trump helpfully reminds us that the alternative is never having the chance to vote again."
"The only way ‘you won’t have to vote anymore’ is if Donald Trump becomes a dictator," Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., said.
Conservatives such as Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., suggested he was making a joke.
"I think he’s obviously making a joke about how bad things had been under Joe Biden, and how good they’ll be if we send President Trump back to the White House so we can turn the country around," Cotton said during an interview on CNN.
Gov. Chris Sununu, R-N.H., described the comment as a "Trumpism."
"I think he’s just trying to make the point that this stuff can be fixed. You know, obviously, it’s — we want everybody to vote in all elections. But I think he was just trying to make a hyperbolic point that — that it can be fixed as long as he gets back into office and all that. But, you know, classic Trump right there," he continued.
