Biden, while speaking a the National Action Network’s (NAN) MLK breakfast in Washington DC, said Americans would need to have F-15 fighter jets instead of AR-15s to successfully fight the federal government in an armed conflict.
Biden’s remarks came as he promised to ban so-called “assalt rifles,” which have largely been attributed as being AR-15 and similar-style rifles.
Biden said, “I love my right-wing friends who talk about ‘the tree of liberty is watered with the blood of patriots.’ If you need to worry about taking on the federal government, you need some F-15s. You don’t need an AR-15.”
The NRA responded to Biden’s comments saying “Mr. President, Law-abiding Americans defend themselves from criminals with semi-automatic firearms every week. Dangerous criminals who you and your political allies set free with your soft-on-criminals policies prey upon innocent Americans.”
Mr. President, Law-abiding Americans defend themselves from criminals with semi-automatic firearms every week. Dangerous criminals who you and your political allies set free with your soft-on-criminals policies prey upon innocent Americans.
Do better, Joe. pic.twitter.com/jZLtBrTN0w
— NRA (@NRA) January 16, 2023
The quote he was referencing was from Thomas Jefferson in 1787, which states “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
Biden made a similar comment in 2021 during a speech focused on deterring violence committed by people with guns. He said, “If you wanted or if you think you need to have weapons to take on the government, you need F-15s and maybe some nuclear weapons.”
Biden’s lack of knowledge of how guns operate (or guns in general) have been well documented throughout his Presidency. For example, in August of 2022, he said rounds fired from an AR-15 move “five times as rapidly as a bullet shot out of any other gun.”
