Biden’s history lesson: In a two-hour White House lecture by historians, the president was told the US is facing a crisis similar to the tensions that preceded the Civil War and the fascist movement that led to World War II
- Biden has held a series of secret meetings with historians, policy experts and even former President Bill Clinton
- He seeks advice on how to address various issues facing the nation
- He speaks to historians about the political divisions facing the nation, which they likened to times in the Lincoln and FDR presidencies
- He spoke to Clinton about inflation
President Joe Biden has held a series of secret meetings with historians, policy experts and even former President Bill Clinton, a new report revealed Thursday, as he navigates a variety of issues facing the nation.
Biden met with a group of scholars last week, on August 4, the same day a violent thunderstorm raged across Washington DC, where they told him about a perilous moment in modern political history, the Washington Post reported.
Historians compared Biden’s moment in history to the 1860 election, when Abraham Lincoln warned that a “House divided against itself cannot stand,” and the 1940 election, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt denied growing sympathy for the European fascism and resistance to US accession to World War II.
In the 1860 election, Lincoln won the presidency by a majority and his election sparked the Civil War. In the 1940 election, Roosevelt won an unprecedented third term and said he was running to help the suffering Europe was facing.
President Joe Biden has held a series of secret meetings with historians and policy experts as he navigates a variety of issues facing the nation
Historians have compared Biden’s moment in history to the 1860 election, when Abraham Lincoln (left) warned that a “House divided against itself cannot stand,” and the 1940 election, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt (right) opposed growing domestic political sympathy for European fascism and resistance fought for US entry into World War II.
A Pew study this spring found that “Americans have seldom been as polarized as they are today.”
The differences are apparent across a range of policy areas – including economics, racial justice, climate change and law enforcement – but became even more apparent during the 2020 election and the coronavirus pandemic.
Biden said he was running because of the political violence he witnessed in August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, when protesters at the Unite the Right rally clashed with counter-protesters, resulting in three deaths and multiple injuries.
In his first major speech as President-elect, he said, “I promise to be a President who seeks not to divide but to unite.”
“In order to make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemies,” he said. “We are not enemies. We are Americans.’
Now, Biden is using these private meetings at the White House to help him navigate the crises his presidency is facing – including race relations, economics and international affairs.
Bill Clinton met with President Biden in May to discuss inflation – above, the two men are seen together when Biden was Vice President
Bill Clinton spoke with Biden in May about fighting inflation and the midterm election, the Post reported. And a group of foreign policy experts, including former Republicans, was at the White House in January to brief Biden ahead of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Biden asks many questions and sometimes takes advice.
It was Clinton who advised him to confront his policies with those of Republicans, including those of Republican Senator Rick Scott, who had proposed a five-year suspension of all federal laws, including Social Security and Medicare.
Biden has continued the attack on GOP politics, specifically naming Scotts. He has also attacked “extreme MAGA” Republicans.