Fact Check: Yes, Biden Said, 'It's Time to Put Trump in a Bull's-Eye.' Here's the Context

Claim:

Several days before an assassination attempt was made on former U.S. President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden said, "I have one job, and that’s to beat Donald Trump. I’m absolutely certain I’m the best person to be able to do that. So, we’re done talking about the debate. It’s time to put Trump in a bull's-eye."

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Context:

Biden made the remark in a private phone call with campaign donors. As the context suggests, his use of the word "bull's-eye" was metaphorical and referred to refocusing the campaign's efforts on defeating Trump in the 2024 election. It was not, as some claimed, a call to violence. It is also not the case that Biden tweeted those same words from his X account; the circulating screenshot is fake.

After the attempted assassination of former U.S. President Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, his supporters accused President Joe Biden of using violent rhetoric to provoke violence against Trump. Many posts online claimed that Biden had told people to "put Trump in a bull's-eye" and pointed to a news report saying he said those words.

Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins shared the purported Biden quote in an X post, further claiming that "Joe Biden sent the orders" to assassinate Trump. Conservative podcast host Megyn Kelly "called out" Biden on her show for using the words "put Trump in a bull's-eye" just days before the assassination attempt. Other posts on X claimed (falsely) that Biden had posted the words on his X account and later deleted them.

(X user @MikeCollinsGA)

(X user @joshuasteinman)

It's true that Biden uttered the "bull's-eye" comment during a private phone call with Democratic Party donors, but the above claims omit the context of what he said and misrepresent it as a call for violence against Trump.

In reality, Biden called for his campaign to stop focusing on damage control in the wake of his weak performance in a June 27 debate against Trump and instead focus on defeating Trump in the November election. The quote was pulled from news reports about a private phone call Biden had with campaign donors on July 8. It was neither a public statement nor an order for a physical attack on Trump.

Both Politico and CNN quoted Biden's statement based on a recording each had obtained of Biden's call with donors. Biden said: "I have one job, and that's to beat Donald Trump. I'm absolutely certain I'm the best person to be able to do that. So, we're done talking about the debate, it's time to put Trump in a bull's-eye."

On the same call, Biden said, "We need to move forward. Look, we have roughly 40 days til the convention, 120 days til the election. We can't waste any more time being distracted."

A Washington Post reporter shared Biden's full quote on X:

https://x.com/michaelscherer/status/1812511685791642045

As noted above, Biden did not post the "bull's-eye" statement on X and then delete it, contrary to claims that he did. There is no evidence Biden ever posted such a tweet in the first place. As such, the claim that he made the statement publicly and with the intention of provoking a random gunman to attack Trump is unfounded.

On July 15, a day after Biden gave a speech saying both parties should cool the "heated rhetoric" of their campaigns, he acknowledged making the "bull's-eye" remark and said, "It was a mistake to use the word."

"I meant focus on him. Focus on what he's doing. Focus on his policies, focus on the number of lies he told at the debate," Biden added.

Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, who is speaker of the House of Representatives, said about Biden's "bull's-eye" comment: "I know that he didn't mean what is being implied there." However, he added, "That kind of language on either side should be called out."

The suspect in the attempted assassination was shot dead soon after firing shots that injured Trump, critically wounded two spectators and killed one other. As of this writing, his motives remain unknown; records show that he was registered as a Republican and once donated to an organization that supports Democrats.

Sources:

Ferris, Sarah, and Elena Schneider. "Defiant Biden Tells Donors: 'We're Done Talking about the Debate.'" Politico, 8 July 2024, https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/07/08/congress/defiant-biden-tells-donors-were-done-with-the-debate-00166834. Accessed 15 July 2024.

Ibrahim, Nur. "No, Biden Didn't Say, 'Let Me Say This as Clearly and Simply as I Can: [Inaudible].'" Snopes, 10 July 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/bbc-biden-fake-graphic/. Accessed 15 July 2024.

Klein, Betsy and Michael Williams. "Takeaways from Biden's Interview with NBC News | CNN Politics." CNN, 15 July 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/15/politics/joe-biden-nbc-interview/index.html. Accessed 16 July 2024.

"Republicans: Biden's "bullseye" Comment Partly to Blame in Trump Attack." BBC News, July 14, 2024. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw0y9xljv2yo. Accessed 15 July 2024.

"Speaker Mike Johnson on Trump Shooting: 'Everyone Needs to Turn the Rhetoric Down.'" NBC News, 14 July 2024, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/speaker-mike-johnson-trump-shooting-political-rhetoric-rcna161762. Accessed 16 July 2024.

"What to Know about Trump Assassination Attempt and the Investigation into the Shooting." AP News, 14 July 2024, https://apnews.com/article/trump-rally-shooting-election-violence-ae383dee203d82ddf38d2e76c63a8bc6. Accessed 15 July 2024.