US President Joe Biden’s primetime Thursday
address focussed on the threat to democracy from ‘MAGA’ Republicans has many
from the Grand Old Party irked. Biden’s target in the speech was former
President Donald Trump’s support base. In 2016, the Trump campaign slogan was ‘Make
America Great Again.’ On Thursday, Biden attacked these MAGA Republicans saying
they pose a serious threat to democracy and added their actions were close to ‘semi-fascism.’

“MAGA forces are determined to take this country
backwards. Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right
to privacy. No right to contraception, no right to marry who you love,” Biden
said during his address, adding, “They promote authoritarian leaders. They
fanned the flames of political violence,” in a hardly-veiled attack at Donald
Trump.

Also Read | Who are MAGA Republicans?

However, it was Biden’s comparison of ‘MAGA
Republicans’ with semi-fascism that drew the most ire from the Republican
Party. Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, said
Joe Biden was dividing the nation. “Joe Biden is the divider-in-chief and
epitomises the current state of the Democrat Party, one of divisiveness,
disgust and hostility towards half the country.”

Biden, however, maintained that he did not wish to
target the entire Republican Party. White House officials said that when Biden
spoke of the threat to democracy, he was not talking about the Republicans as a
whole but those who style themselves after Donald Trump.

Also read | How Biden’s primetime speech shows U-turn in stance on Trump

The disclaimers haven’t worked well, but. New
Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, a Republican who hasn’t allied with Trump,
said, “He’s trying to stir up controversy, he’s trying to stir up this
anti-Republican sentiment right before the election, it’s just horribly
inappropriate,” Sununu said of Biden’s address.

Even New Hampshire’s Democrat Senator has found
Biden’s comments a bit much. Biden “painted with too broad a brush,” said
Senator Maggie Hassan who is fighting a tight re-election race.