Biden Jokes With Kimmel About Republican Rule-Breakers: 'You Gotta Send 'Em To Jail'

"If we do the same thing they do, our democracy will literally be in jeopardy," the president told the late-night host in an interview.
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President Joe Biden told Jimmy Kimmel he won’t bend the rules, as some Republicans do, because if he does, “our democracy will literally be in jeopardy.”

The “Jimmy Kimmel Live” host asked Biden during an in-studio interview Wednesday whether he would consider issuing an executive order in response to gun violence, considering how former President Donald Trump “passed those out like Halloween candy” during his tenure.

“I have issued executive orders within the power of the presidency to be able to deal with these, everything having to do with guns and gun ownership ... all the things that are within my power,” Biden replied.

“What I don’t want to do ― and I’m not being facetious ― I don’t want to emulate Trump’s abuse of the Constitution and the constitutional authority.”

“I often get asked: Look, the Republicans don’t play it square. Why do you play it square? Yeah, well, guess what? If we do the same thing they do, our democracy will literally be in jeopardy,” he said.

Kimmel pushed back, saying he understood the argument but said it was like playing Monopoly with someone who won’t play by the rules. “How do you ever make any progress if they’re not following the rules?” he asked.

“You gotta send ’em to jail,” Biden replied.

Biden’s appearance on the show marked his first in-studio late-night appearance as president. He taped the interview in Los Angeles during his visit for the Summit of the Americas.

His first late-night interview as president was in December, when he virtually appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

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