On Tuesday, both Joe Biden and Donald Trump were in Iowa trading attacks on each other while campaigning. According to Biden’s prepared remarks, which were obtained by The Hill, Biden called Trump “an existential threat to America,” and said that “There’s a lot of ways Trump fails the basic standard to be president.”
Last I checked, Donald Trump is president, Joe.
“Did he do anything to signal that he’s prepared to walk away from the thugs he’s embraced on the world stage — from Putin to Kim Jong Un? No. He did none of that,” Biden also said.
Oh, Joe, thou doth protest too much. Does Biden think we’ve forgotten that his best buddy Barack was so desperate to achieve a nuclear deal with Iran that he made all sorts of concessions while Iran made none? That the deal was so one-sided and horrible he didn’t even attempt to get the constitutionally required ratification from the U.S. Senate? Does Biden think we’ve forgotten the lopsided Bergdahl swap, or how Obama abandoned our ally Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in favor of the terrorist organization the Muslim Brotherhood? Heck, does he think we’ve forgotten how he promised to be “more flexible” with Russia on issues like missile defense after his reelection?
In response to reports on what Biden planned to say in Iowa, Trump unloaded on him.
Trump appeared to stoke speculation about Biden’s health and age, saying the former vice president is a “different guy” and “slower than he used to be.”
He also said Biden would be the “weakest” opponent he could face in 2020, dismissing reports that he fears Biden the most. He also labeled Biden “one percent Joe.”
“He’s failing,” Trump said of Biden, pointing to polls showing his Democratic rivals gaining on him.
Trump also mocked Biden’s previous failed attempts at running for president, saying “Joe never got more than one percent” and that Obama “took him off the trash heap” when he chose him as his running mate. Perhaps that’s not entirely fair. I’m sure Obama was trying to appeal to the plagiarist demographic.
In all seriousness, Trump has a point. Biden was never a serious contender for the presidency, and the strength of his current candidacy is entirely based on his association with Barack Obama, and that Obama nostalgia appears to be fading already. Biden claimed he specifically didn’t want Obama’s endorsement, but has done everything but tattoo Obama’s name on his forehead to remind voters that he was Obama’s number two.
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Matt Margolis is the author of The Scandalous Presidency of Barack Obama and the bestselling The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama. His new book, Trumping Obama: How President Trump Saved Us From Barack Obama’s Legacy, will be published in July 2019. You can follow Matt on Twitter @MattMargolis
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