Real Threat to Democracy Is Not Trump But ‘Biden’s Support For The Progressive Agenda’: Bill Barr

‘The real threat to democracy is the progressive movement and the Biden administration,’ Bill Barr said, adding that he backs President Trump for the presidency

(Left) President Joe Biden speaks to a group of governors in the East Room of the White House in Washington on February 23, 2024. (Right) Former U.S. President Donald Trump receives applause during the Black Conservative Federation Gala in Columbia, S.C., on Feb. 23, 2024. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images; Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Former Attorney General Bill Barr said Friday that he would back former President Donald Trump over President Joe Biden in the 2024 election and that he believes the real threat to democracy is not the former president but the progressive movement and its backing by the Biden administration.

Mr. Barr made the remark in an April 26 interview on CNN, in which he was asked to respond to a mocking social media post by President Trump in reaction to the former attorney general’s statement last week on Fox News that he would vote for the Republican candidate, whoever that ends up being.

“I think it’s my duty to pick the person I think would do the least harm to the country,” Mr. Barr said on Fox News’s ‘America’s Newsroom’ program on April  17. “And in my mind, that’s—I will vote the Republican ticket.”

President Trump reacted to Mr. Barr’s remark in an April 25 post, stating that he greatly appreciates his “wholehearted” endorsement, while taking a swipe at his one-time attorney general, who has criticized the former president on numerous occasions, including over his claims of voter fraud.

“Wow! Former A.G. Bill Barr, who let a lot of great people down by not investigating Voter Fraud in our Country, has just Endorsed me for President despite the fact that I called him ‘Weak, Slow Moving, Lethargic, Gutless, and Lazy’ (New York Post!),” President Trump posted on Truth Social. “Based on the fact that I greatly appreciate his wholehearted Endorsement, I am removing the word ‘Lethargic’ from my statement. Thank you Bill.”

Mr. Barr was asked by CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins on April 26 to comment on President Trump’s mocking reaction to his endorsement. The former attorney general made clear it had no effect on his decision to back the Republican nominee.

“I’m very disappointed that this country is stuck with this choice between two people—I don’t think either of them should be President of the United States,” he replied. “But given that binary choice, I feel I have to choose Trump.”

Ms. Collins interjected: “But he’s mocking you.”

The former attorney general then said that decisions affecting the direction of the country shouldn’t be taken based on personal animus.

“It’s not about me,” Mr. Barr said. “If faced with a choice between two people—neither of which I think should be president—I feel it’s my duty to pick the person who I think would do the least damage to the country and I think Trump would do less damage than Biden.”

He added that, “all this stuff about a threat to democracy—I think the real threat to democracy is the progressive movement and the Biden administration,” adding that he’s most worried about “Biden’s support for the progressive agenda.”

‘Collectivist Socialist Agenda’

The Biden administration has used executive orders, regulatory actions, and grants to direct taxpayer resources to various leftist causes. Examples include climate policy, race and identity issues, and labor policy, with the president repeatedly touting a “whole-of-government” approach to address these matters.

Republicans, and conservatives more broadly, have argued that the Biden administration’s broad-based progressive agenda is only possible by deploying the power of government to coerce compliance.

“The Biden Administration has used executive orders, regulatory actions, and administrative decisions to steer large volumes of taxpayer-funded resources to radical ideological causes and to impose greater federal control over the nation and economy,” David Ditch, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, wrote in a recent analysis.

“Although Congress has enabled some of these actions by broadly delegating authority to the executive branch, the Biden Administration has also circumvented or outright violated federal laws in pursuit of its agenda,” he added, while providing a series of examples like Executive Order 14008 that imposes trillions of dollars in costs on the U.S. economy to achieve net-zero emissions in the name of fighting climate change.

Mr. Barr was asked in the CNN interview what, specifically, he means by saying that he sees the Biden administration as the biggest threat to democracy.

“The threat to freedom and democracy has always been on the left, that’s the collectivist socialist agenda,” he said. “And that is where we’re losing our freedom. Parents are losing the freedom to control their children’s education. And people can’t speak their mind without losing their jobs and things like that. This is worse than the McCarthy era.”

Then-U.S. Attorney General William Barr in St Louis, Mo., on Oct. 15, 2020. Jeff Roberson/Pool/Getty Images

He also pointed to a lack of enforcement of border security laws, along with a “fast and furious” regulatory agenda, such as “telling people what kind of stoves they can use and what kinds of cars they have to drive,” he said, referring to the Biden administration’s crackdown on natural gas-powered appliances and push for electric vehicle adoption.

Mr. Barr also objected to President Biden’s moves to circumvent the Supreme Court to forgive student loans, adding that he believes his “whole administration is a disaster for the country.”

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Mr. Barr’s criticism.

While sharply critical of the Biden administration, Mr. Barr has also been highly critical of his former boss.

During the 2020 election, he did not endorse President Trump’s comments alleging fraud throughout the election before he resigned from office in December of that year.

Later, he cooperated with the Democrat-dominated House Jan. 6 subcommittee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, breach at the U.S. Capitol. He also has defended special counsel Jack Smith’s cases against the 45th president as legitimate.

In his April 26 interview on CNN, Mr. Barr said he was “very loud” in criticizing President Trump’s efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 election but insisted any excesses associated with this pale in comparison to the Biden-backed progressive agenda.