During the first presidential debate in Cleveland Tuesday night, former Vice President Joe Biden claimed the leftist anarchist organization antifa is just "an idea."
"Antifa is an idea not an organization," Biden said.
But a new ad put out by the Republican Attorneys General Association destroys that narrative and asks whether ideas are responsible for burning down buildings or destroying cities across the country.
"If Antifa is only an idea then who is burning down our cities, assaulting our law enforcement officers, and causing the violence we've seen over the last four months?" RAGA Executive Director Adam Piper released in a statement. "Biden's remarks don't come as a surprise to anybody who has paid attention to the Democrats' recent rhetoric. As lives and livelihoods are being destroyed by lawless liberal mobs across the country, Democrat attorneys general are either encouraging the violence or downplaying its existence. Voters this November must hold Democrats up and down the ballot accountable for their recklessness and incitement of this violence."
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany made a similar argument during a briefing Thursday afternoon.
.@PressSec on Antifa:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 1, 2020
"Ideas do not target police officers. Ideas do not burn down buildings. Ideas do not kill innocent Americans. Organizations do. And Democrats should condemn this shameful group in the same manner President Trump continues to condemn white supremacy." pic.twitter.com/NaN9ACJkLw