Biden slams violent rhetoric from politicians: 'Where the hell are we?'
 
 
President Biden on Tuesday seemingly responded to Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) declaration during a Fox News appearance that if former President Donald Trump is prosecuted over his handling of classified material, it would lead to "riots in the street."
"No one expects politics to be patty cake — sometimes it's mean as hell," Biden said while addressing a crowd in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. "But the idea you turn on a television and see senior senators and congressmen saying, 'If such and such happens, there'll be blood on the street?' Where the hell are we?"
Graham compared Trump taking classified material from the White House to his Florida residence to Hillary Clinton using a private email server during her time as secretary of state. A 2019 investigation by the State Department found "there was no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information" by Clinton.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
 
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Biden also said that in order for there to be a safer United States, everyone must "uphold the rule of law. Not the rule of any one party or any one person." Despite how divided it might feel in the country, unity can still be achieved, Biden added, bringing up how he often worked with Republicans while in the Senate. "I got a lot done," Biden said. "We respected each other. We disagreed on principle. We never had lunch together. Not a joke. [But] what in God's name has happened to that? ... Folks, let's bring it back. We can do this."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
- 
 Should Labour break manifesto pledge and raise taxes? Should Labour break manifesto pledge and raise taxes?Today's Big Question There are ‘powerful’ fiscal arguments for an income tax rise but it could mean ‘game over’ for the government 
- 
 Nigerian Modernism: an ‘entrancing, enlightening exhibition’ Nigerian Modernism: an ‘entrancing, enlightening exhibition’The Week Recommends Tate Modern’s ‘revelatory’ show includes 250 works examining Nigerian art pre- and post independence 
- 
 To the point: the gender divide over exclamation marks To the point: the gender divide over exclamation marksTalking Point 'Men harbouring urges to be more exclamative' can finally take a breath – this is what using the punctuation really conveys 
- 
 Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariff Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax 
- 
 Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICE Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch 
- 
 Shutdown stalemate nears key pain points Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff 
- 
 Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan ad Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy 
- 
 NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footage NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges 
- 
 Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East Wing Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction 
- 
 Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 more Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters 
- 
 Trump demands millions from his administration Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations 
