CONCORD, Oct 23: President Joe Biden tore into his predecessor on Tuesday, suggesting that global leaders are terrified of what Donald Trump’s return to the White House could do to democratic rule around the world.
“Every international meeting I attend,” Biden said, specifically referencing his whirlwind trip to Germany last week, “They pull me aside – one leader after the other, quietly – and say, Joe, he can’t win.’ My democracy is at stake.” His voice rising, Biden then asked if, “America walks away, who leads the world? Who? Name me a country.”
The comments came during what was supposed to be a rather staid speech on health care in New Hampshire. They were a dose of unfiltered politics at an event otherwise focused on Biden’s policy legacy with the race to replace him just two weeks from concluding. And they made clear that the president also sees not having Trump succeed him as an important piece of how he might go down in history.
After the speech, Biden went to a campaign office to support New Hampshire Democratic candidates and continued his broadsides against Trump, even saying at one point, “We’ve got to lock him up.”
Some supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris – who replaced Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket in July – have yelled that during her rallies.
That line drew applause from those assembled at the campaign office, but Biden quickly corrected himself: “Lock him out, that’s what we have to do.”
Biden didn’t mention Harris much during his comments, though he noted that she’d been endorsed by some high-profile Republicans. Instead, Biden continued to focus on Trump, slamming him for being proud about being friends with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and joking that Trump “believes in the free press like I believe I can climb Mt. Everest.”
He said Trump and supporters of his “Make America Great Again” movement have “anti-democratic” attitudes toward the way the Constitution functions and “virtually no regard” for it.
“Think about what happens if Donald Trump were to win this election,” Biden said, adding, “He’s not joking about it, he’s deadly earnest” and “It’s a serious, serious problem.” “We must win,” Biden said. (PTI)
