President Joe Biden sat down with NBC Nightly News’ Lester Holt on Monday in an exclusive interview, his first since the failed assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump just two days before.
Holt began the interview by asking Biden about the call that the two leading presidential nominees shared following Saturday’s shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania—which left one attendee and the gunman dead.
“Very cordial,” Biden began, “I told him how concerned I was, and wanted to make sure I knew how he was actually doing. He sounded good, he said he was fine, and he thanked me for calling him. I told him he was literally in the prayers of Jill and me.”
Holt then began to ask Biden about how he is thinking about political rhetoric in the wake of the assassination attempt and the swift blame that followed from some of Trump’s allies. On a recent private call with donors, Biden had said that it is “time to put Trump in a bull’s-eye.” Holt gave Biden the chance to respond.
“It was a mistake to use the word,” Biden said, before noting, “I didn’t say crosshairs. I meant bull’s-eye. I meant focus on him. Focus on what he’s doing, focus on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told in the debate.”
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Their interview takes place as the Republican National Convention kicks off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Just shortly before Holt and Biden sat down, Trump officially announced that Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, who reportedly once called Trump “America’s Hitler,” will be his vice presidential pick.
Before a suspect was identified or a motive determined, Vance took to X to blame Biden and the Democrats for inciting the shooting. “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” he wrote. “That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination.”
When asked to respond to the news that Vance will be on the 2024 ticket, Biden said that it’s unsurprising that Trump would “surround himself with people who agree completely with him, have a voting record, that support him.”
“Even though, if you go back to look at the things J.D. Vance said about Trump,” Biden continued, with a laugh. In 2016, Vance said “I can’t stomach Trump” and that he was “a ‘Never Trump’ guy,” referring to his now running mate as “cultural heroin”
