Biden knocks Trump on tweets about ‘smart as hell’ Ocasio-Cortez

Former Vice President Joe Biden in a Tuesday interview praised the four progressive congresswomen told to go back to their home countries by President Trump, calling his remarks “shameful.”

Biden singled out Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) for praise in the interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” stating that she in particular is “smart as hell.”

Trump’s tweets were “not only shameful, but it’s incredibly damaging,” Biden told MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski.{mosads}

“We have led the world by the power of our example, and what presidents say, they’re the face of America, like it or not,” he added. “The idea that Trump says and does the things he does is despicable.” 

“I think the freshmen, particularly AOC, is smart as hell,” Biden said. Ocasio-Cortez, he added, is “really a value added to the party in terms of her pushing the edges.”

Biden also defended Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who, prior to the Trump tweets, had been in a public fight with the four congresswomen after dismissing Ocasio-Cortez and Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in an interview with The New York Times as only representing four votes.

Pelosi was also angered by a tweet criticizing centrist Democrats sent by Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, telling lawmakers at a closed-door caucus meeting last week to keep their disputes private and not to attack one another.

“Nancy knows what she’s doing,” Biden said. “Nancy understands that … you know, there’s a sum total in the Congress of 535 folks. You have to get them all moving in the right direction.”

Asked what advice he would offer Ocasio-Cortez, Biden responded, “I would not presume to give her advice,” adding, “AOC is brilliant, the other three women are really smart.”

Pelosi dismissed “the squad,” as they are often referred to, after they were the only representatives to vote against a Trump-backed border aid bill, telling Maureen Dowd, “All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world. But they didn’t have any following.”

Ocasio-Cortez fired back, accusing Pelosi of singling out women of color, which in turn prompted a rebuke from members of the Congressional Black Caucus aligned with the Speaker.

However, the divisions among the caucus have largely been dropped since Trump’s Sunday tweets telling the four congresswomen, all of whom are American citizens and three of whom were born in the U.S., to “go back” to other countries.

Pelosi has announced she will introduce a resolution in the House condemning the remarks.