- Olivia Troye, a former aide to Mike Pence, defended Joe Biden's primetime address on Saturday.
- Biden in a speech said the GOP is a "threat" because it's "dominated" by MAGA Republicans.
An aide to former President Mike Pence defended President Joe Biden's speech denouncing the MAGA ideology on Saturday.
Olivia Troye, who served as the homeland security and counterterrorism advisor in the Trump administration, said in an interview with MSNBC that the faction of the GOP that stands for MAGA is "dangerous."
Her remarks come after Biden delivered a speech in Philadelphia that many Republican lawmakers criticized.
In the speech, Biden said there's "no place for political violence in America." He also criticized the MAGA ideology and said it's a "threat" to the US.
"MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards. Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love," Biden said. "They promote authoritarian leaders and fan the flames of political violence."
Biden said in the speech that the GOP is "dominated, driven, and intimidated by MAGA Republicans," but clarified that he wasn't talking about most Republican voters.
"For a long time, we've told ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it is not. We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us," the president urged.
The speech received backlash from prominent Republicans. Sen. John Kennedy, for example, characterized Biden's primetime address as "a very cynical attempt to fill our heads with stupid."
Troye defended his remarks and emphasized that Biden wasn't talking about the average Republican voter.
"He wasn't criticizing Republican voters, which I've seen a lot of talk about that. What he's saying is that this extreme faction...is dangerous," she said, per Newsweek.
She said many people within the GOP agree with and support Biden.
"Many of us agree. There are many of us Republican voters who are not the right-wing crazy that is taking over the party that is damaging, I would say, to the party," she said. "We don't identify with that at all. And I think as long as they continue to do this, they will lose."