In yet another case of Joe Biden saying one thing and doing the opposite, the president has been doing a whole lot of the thing he previously said was dictatorial. Of course, Biden doesn't see things the same way now that he's the one acting, according to his own words, as a dictator.
You see, back in 2020 before taking office, Joe Biden said in an interview that using executive orders to legislate was wrong, and doing so was untenable "unless you're a dictator."
Here's what Biden said in October 2020:
No, well, I've gotta get the votes. I gotta get the votes. That's why — you know, the one thing that I — I have this strange notion. We are a democracy. Some of my Republican friends and some of my Democratic friends even, occasionally say, 'Well, if you can't get the votes, by executive order you're going to do something.' Things you can't do by executive order unless you're a dictator. We're a democracy. We need consensus.
That is quite the definitive claim for Biden to have made, and of course he's already abandoned his previous, supposedly crystal-clear stance, in favor of legislating from the Oval Office via executive orders that circumvent the will of the American people exercised by their elected representatives in the legislative branch. His team, of course, argues that only certain executive orders would be used by a dictator and Biden conveniently hasn't signed any of the dictatorial-type orders.
But, in little more than two years' time, Biden has used the power of his pen to sign executive orders circumventing congressional authority on a suite of issues including guns, COVID policy, abortion, and climate change. Here are just a few:
I announced an executive order on gun violence to intensify our work to save lives. It will keep firearms out of dangerous hands, takes every lawful action to move as close to universal background checks without new legislation, expands awareness about red flag laws, and more.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 14, 2023
This Court has made it clear it will not protect the rights of women.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 8, 2022
I will. That’s why today I'm signing an Executive Order to protect access to reproductive health care.
I’ve called on Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, but Senate Republicans have stood in the way of progress. That’s why this afternoon, I’m taking action and signing an Executive Order that delivers the most significant police reform in decades.
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 25, 2022
Today, I signed an executive order directing the federal government to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 8, 2021
The future of the auto industry is electric — and made in America.
— President Biden (@POTUS) August 5, 2021
Today I'm signing an executive order with a goal to make 50% of new vehicles sold by 2030 zero-emission — and unveiling steps to reverse the previous administration’s short-sighted rollback of vehicle standards.
Just last week, Biden's climate "czar" John Kerry bragged about how Biden is "issuing executive orders" to force his economically disastrous climate policies on the United States through executive fiat.
The difference between 2020 Biden and President Biden is yet another flip-flop for the commander in chief who doesn't seem to have a standard that isn't double. Watch:
BIDEN IN 2020: You can't legislate by executive order "unless you're a dictator!"
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 27, 2023
JOHN KERRY LAST WEEK: "The president is issuing executive orders" to impose his climate agenda. pic.twitter.com/Zkn3SAiMXz
So, there you have it. President Biden defining what he said was the behavior of a dictator, then turning around and doing the thing that he, in his own words, said was reserved for dictators.