In a now customary bravado-filled tweet, US President Donald Trump has threatened former Vice President Joseph Biden, claiming that Mr. Biden would “go down fast and hard, crying all the way” in a fight with Mr. Trump.
The context of Mr. Trump’s tweet about the former Vice President is remarks that Mr. Biden made at a rally at the University of Miami. The rally was organized to fight sexual assault. In his speech Mr. Biden said, “A guy who ended up becoming our national leader said, ‘I can grab a woman anywhere and she likes it,’” in reference to an Access Hollywood recording from some years ago, wherein Mr. Trump said that he could “grab women by the pussy.”
When asked whether he wanted to debate with the President, Mr. Biden replied, “If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.” Mr. Biden has a long history of being anti-sexual assault advocate.
To this, the President tweeted, “Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesn’t know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don’t threaten people Joe!”
The President is again facing allegations of sexual misconduct. A judge in New York recently released a ruling allowing a defamation lawsuit made by a woman who accused Mr. Trump of unwelcome sexual advances to proceed. The day before taking on Mr. Biden, the President criticized former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama for what he perceived to be their inability to have good relations with Russia.
Mr. Biden has also been campaigning for the Democrats recently, including special congressional elections in western Pennsylvania, in an area that had been a Trump stronghold. The President had also campaigned in the same district, which the Republican candidate lost.
The Democratic win in this area has been interpreted by the party as indicative of likely wins in the coming midterm elections. It is also possible that Mr. Biden, 75, will challenge Mr. Trump, 71, for the presidential elections in 2020.
In 2016 Mr. Biden had thought of running for president, but had eventually decided against it due to the death of his son. Mr. Trump had then praised Mr. Biden’s decision back then, stating that he preferred to run against Hillary Clinton for the presidency.
The President has a history of tweeting about the former Vice President, calling him out for his mistakes. In 2012, the he expressed that he was sorry for the Vice President’s communications team, who had to “clean up after his gaffes.”