Joe Biden really went for full American unity this week when he compared his political opponents to racist, segregationist white supremacists:

"How do you want to be remembered," Biden said, squaring off famous human rights champions against pro-segregation and anti-American activists: "Do you want to be on the side of Dr. King or George Wallace? Do you want to be on the side of John Lewis or Bull Connor? Do you want to be on the side of Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis?"

Those are very inflammatory words. You don't just go willy-nilly comparing your political opponents to the pro-slavery breakaway Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis. If you say something like that, you better mean it.

But according to Jen Psaki the president didn't actually mean it:

Q: But as he talked about a year ago and working with Republicans, now he is talking about Republicans that don't agree with voting rights. What happened to the guy who — when he was elected said, "To make progress, we must stop treating our opponents as our enemy"?

MS. PSAKI: I think everybody listening to that speech who is "speaking on the level," as my mother would say, would note that he was not comparing them as humans, he was comparing the choice to those figures in history and where they're going to position themselves if they — as they determine whether they're going to support the fundamental right to vote or not.

Ummm...what?

I hate to break this to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki, but if you suggest that your opponent is "on the side of" notorious racist figures from history, you obviously are "comparing them as humans."

That's how it works! We're all humans! You can't avoid "comparing them as humans" when you are literally comparing them as humans.

This is rock-bottom simple stuff; you can't really quantify it any more simply than this. Either Psaki gets it or she doesn't (or the third option: she does get it but wants to pretend like she doesn't).

Either way, it's not a good look for the White House.