President Joe Biden maintained he's not contributing to the rising temperature fueling political upheaval in a pre-taped interview with NBC's Lester Holt that aired on Monday night where he was pressed on the language he's used when talking about the former president.
While Biden described the phone call between him and Trump after the attempted assassination as "cordial" and reiterated that violence in politics is "never, never appropriate," his point that Trump continuously condones and encourages violence was still clear.
Holt questioned Biden on his choice of words on a call last week where he said "it's time to put Trump in the bullseye," to which Biden said it was a mistake to use those words and meant Trump's policies should be focused on.
Other events of political violence
Biden referenced the January 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill and the 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia as instances of Trump-supported violence.
"I'm not the guy that said I want to be a dictator on day one. I'm not the guy who said they won't accept the outcome of this election automatically," Biden said. "You can't only love your country when you win."
Holt then asked Biden how his words could incite people.
"How do you talk about the threat to democracy, which is real, when a president says things like he says?" Biden asked. "Now my opponent is engaged in rhetoric where he talks about a bloodbath if he loses."
Biden is still not conceding the position of presumptive Democratic nominee, saying his mental acuity has been "pretty damn good" as he's achieved a lot during his presidency.
Biden indicated he's not interested in debating Trump earlier than their next scheduled debate in September.