Trump: ‘I don’t see Biden as a threat’
President Trump said Friday he doesn’t view former Vice President Joe Biden as a threat to his reelection bid.
“I don’t see him as a threat. I think he’s only a threat to himself,” Trump told reporters as he left the White House for a trip to the southern border.
“He’s been there a long time,” Trump continued. “His record’s not good. He’d have to run on the Obama failed record.”
{mosads}Biden, who is expected to announce a presidential campaign in the coming weeks, has been at the center of controversy in recent days after multiple women said he touched them inappropriately.
Trump shared a doctored video on Thursday that mocked Biden over the allegations. The 14-second clip showed an image of the former vice president rubbing Biden’s shoulders as he addressed the allegations of inappropriate behavior.
The president defended the video on Friday, saying he believes people “got a kick” out of it.
Trump, who himself has been accused of sexual misconduct by more than a dozen women, downplayed a question about whether he’s the right person to speak out about Biden, telling reporters he believes he’s a “very good messenger.”
“He’s going through a situation and let’s see what happens,” Trump said of Biden. “But people got a kick. We’ve got to sort of smile a little bit.”
Several women have gone public in recent days to describe accounts of past interactions with Biden in which they said he touched them inappropriately or behaved in ways that made them uncomfortable.
Biden addressed the women’s stories in a video message posted Wednesday. He did not directly apologize to his accusers, but acknowledged that times have changed and that he would adjust his behavior.
“Social norms have begun to change, they’ve shifted, and the boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset, and I get it,” he said. “I hear what they’re saying. I understand it. I’ll be much more mindful. That’s my responsibility, and I’ll meet it.”
Trump has seized on the allegations, at times aggressively.
In addition to the parody video, the president took multiple shots at Biden during a House GOP fundraising dinner this week.
Trump’s attacks on Biden have drawn criticism given his own history with allegations of misconduct.
More than a dozen women accused Trump during the 2016 campaign of sexual misconduct. The president has denied the allegations.
Trump was widely criticized during the campaign after audio from a 2005 “Access Hollywood” appearance emerged in which he bragged about groping and kissing women without their consent. He later described his comments as “locker room talk.”
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