President Joe Biden has been accused of flip-flopping after a historical interview resurfaced in which he appeared to criticize a constitutional amendment on gay marriage.
The President posted a “happy pride month” graphic on his @POTUS account on June 1, 2024. However, social media personality Benny Johnson hastily responded to the message with a minute-long clip of Biden on an episode of NBC’s “Meet the Press” (below):
The clip, from around 2004 to 2005, features Biden disputing the need for a George Bush-backed constitutional amendment on banning gay marriage on the basis that it was redundant due to existing laws he supports.
“We already have a law – the Defense of Marriage Act,” says Biden in the clip. “We’ve all voted – well I’ve voted, and others said ‘look, marriage is between a man and a woman, and states must respect that.”
Highlighting the lack of challenges to the law at the time, Biden added: “Why do we need a constitutional amendment? Marriage is between a man and a woman. What’s the game going on here?”
Biden is regarded by some as the most LGTBQ+-friendly president in American history. That said, its clear that his personal position has been shaped by changing public opinion (and a desire to pander) as the former Sen. once described homosexuals as “security risks” while objecting to gay marriage in the aforementioned Defense of Marriage Act.
Some social media users responded to Johnson’s post by arguing that Biden had the right to change his mind, though the science isn’t clear on how he could change his mind considering that he no longer has one.
Nevertheless, such comments were met with backlash from those who pointed out that the President’s views have only changed in his sixties.
