President Biden released a statement condemning the actions of one of his predecessors, but people were quick to point out the one glaring problem with his condemnation.
On Sunday, Biden released a statement for the Day of Remembrance of Japanese American Incarceration, which acts as a memorial for the Japanese-American men, women and children who were incarcerated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration during World War II.
The statement said that FDR’s Executive Order 9066 ordering the mass incarceration of Japanese-Americans “ushered in one of the most shameful periods in American history … And in a tragic miscarriage of justice, the Supreme Court upheld these immoral and unconstitutional policies.”
I do think we can all agree with the sentiment expressed in this statement. The internment of thousands of American citizens based on their ancestry was a despicable act by the government, especially when we were claiming to fight for justice against the murderous Nazi and Japanese regimes.
The statement was then tweeted out by White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
.@POTUS: “When President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, eighty-one years ago today, it ushered in one of the most shameful periods in American history.”
Read the full statement: https://t.co/g48DKAfIz9
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) February 19, 2023
But Twitter users were quick to point out to KJP — and Biden — that there was one massive problem with this statement: Biden admires FDR and wants to emulate him … and he has a massive picture of him front and center in the Oval Office.
Umm who is this- front and center? pic.twitter.com/gYqB0NfCim
— Nick Britton (@njbritton) February 19, 2023
INSIDE THE OVAL OFFICE: Cesar Chavez. Rosa Parks. FDR. For a president, the symbols set the tone about who inspires them and who they hope to inspire. Our exclusive tour @NBCNightlyNews @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/qaXyPejIE6
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) January 21, 2021
Meanwhile, one Twitter user commented that Biden is in many ways just like FDR in this respect, given his attempts to demonize and discriminate against the unvaccinated during the COVID pandemic.
History will view your vaccine mandates the same way. pic.twitter.com/sWL7Sxio16
— IT Guy (@ITGuy1959) February 19, 2023
Biden does indeed want to be like FDR, and there is a lot about his administration that bears similarities to those of FDR.
His presidency has overseen massive economic problems, and Biden is currently trying to inch the nation ever closer to another world war. In many ways, it does seem as if Biden is desperate to imitate his hero.
But there is something rather ironic about this. Biden admires FDR because he sees him as the man who defeated Nazism and racism in World War II while fighting for justice and equality for all. Yet at the same time, he condemns that same man for his own racism and xenophobia against a large segment of the American public.
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As the Twitter user pointed out, Joe Biden is doing much the same thing as his hero — dividing Americans based on one single characteristic.
In FDR’s case, it was race; in Biden’s case, it was healthcare decisions.
Biden and FDR do indeed share many character traits, but there is one massive difference. FDR, for all his faults, was still a figure who inspired confidence in the public during the darkest days of the war; Biden inspires absolutely no confidence whatsoever.
Biden wants to imitate his hero, warts and all it seems, but he has none of FDR’s redeeming traits.
