Biden appears to lose his cool after reporter's question on divisiveness: 'Go back and read what I said'

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Biden snaps at reporter for question on divisive statements: 'Go back and read what I said'

President Biden appeared to raise his voice after a reporter asked him about his statement comparing reviled segregationists to those opposed to his election reform legislation.

President Biden appeared to lose his composure during a press conference Wednesday when asked by a reporter about his comments comparing those who opposed his voting reform agenda to reviled figures in American history. 

"You campaigned, and you ran on a return to civility. And I know that you dispute the characterization that you called folks who would oppose those voting bills as being Bull Connor or George Wallace. But you said that there would be sort of in the same camp?," Philip Wegmann, reporter for RealClearNews, asked.

President Biden answers questions during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on Jan. 19, 2022, in Washington, D.C.  ( Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Biden interrupted and at one point in his response appeared to raise his voice. 

"No, I didn't say that. Look what I said. Go back and read what I said and tell me if you think I called anyone who voted on the side of the position taken by Bull Connor that they were Bull Connor? And that is an interesting reading of English. Yeah, I assume you got it in the journals because you like to write."

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Last week, Biden said in his speech about voting rights, "Do you want to be on the side of Dr. [Martin Luther] King or George Wallace? Do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?"

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Getty Images)

The president doubled down on the controversial rhetoric when he used the phrase "Jim Crow 2.0" in a tweet pushing voting reform. 

Biden said, referring to his legislation that is locked in a political stalemate, "Jim Crow 2.0 is about two insidious things: voter suppression and election subversion. It’s about making it harder to vote, who gets to count the vote, and whether your vote counts at all. We have to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act."

(Jack Delano/PhotoQuest/Getty Images | Tom Brenner/Getty Images)

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Wegmenn followed up and asked the commander-in-chief whether he thought the heated rhetoric would sway Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.

"Now here's the thing. There are certain things that are so consequential you have to speak from your heart as well as your head," Biden responded. "I was speaking out forcefully on what I think to be at stake. That's what it is and by the way, no one. No one forgets who was on the side of [Dr. Martin Luther] King versu[s] on Bull Connor. No one, ... [and] the history books will note it ... I was making the case – don't think this is a freebie. You don't get to vote this way, and then somehow it goes away. This will be stick with you the rest of your career. And long after you're gone."

Biden's snappy response wasn't the first of its kind. In June, Biden appeared to lash out at a reporter, saying she was "in the wrong business."