Biden calls Trump ‘sucker’ and ‘loser’ to his face after insult to veterans

The first personal attack of an historic night came from a fiery Joe Biden, who publicly declared Donald Trump a criminal and branded him ‘a sucker’ and ‘a loser’, in response to the former President’s previous comments about war veterans who died during their service.

In tonight’s fiery CNN presidential election debate, a fired-up Biden has also called out Trump for the billions he owes in legal penalties; for “molesting” the writer E. Jean Carroll and for allegedly having sex with a porn star “while his wife is pregnant”.

Then, as they continued, Trump took a shot at Hunter Biden’s recent conviction, to which Biden replied that Trump was the “only felon on the stage,” before lambasting him for having “sex with a pornstar” and telling him he has “the morals of an alley cat.”

Later in the debate, Trump began boasting about his golf swing when questioned about his age and health, before Biden began talking up his own golf swing and performance. Trump then said “let’s not act like children” before Biden replied “you are a child, you are a child”. The pair were then cut off by the hosts. And, in response to Trump’s claim that he is being politically persecuted in the courts, Biden told him “you’re a whiner”.

Trump also bizarrely claimed that abortions “after birth” were legal under Roe V. Wade, while he bragged about the reason that the abortion law was overturned. He claimed that before the overturning of Roe v. Wade last summer, many doctors were performing abortions even after birth. This would, of course, be murder. Infanticide has long been a crime in the US, in all 50 states, and the status of abortion rights has never affected that.

Also, In a clear breach of decades-long tradition, Trump and Biden did not tonight perform the ceremonial handshake at the start of their first 2020 election debate. This icy interaction matches the pattern of the last two debates, where Trump similarly avoided shaking hands with his Democratic rival – another break from practice. The pair communicated scarcely after 2021, fostering a popular belief that the two presidents do not get along.

In October 2023, John Kelly, former Chief of Staff in Trump’s White House, criticised his ex-boss for derogatory comments he reportedly made about service members and veterans. He also pointed out Trump’s alleged dishonesty regarding his stance on various groups and his position on abortion.

In first half hour of debate, a raspy Biden delivered rambling answers that sometimes trail off as he defends his policies and record. Trump has countered with falsehoods on issues including the economy, abortion and NATO members’ defense spending.

Biden pushed back at Trump bragging about pushing European allies to put more money into defense. “This is a guy who wants to pull out of NATO,” Biden said, adding that he “got 50 other nations” to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

Biden forcefully responded to Trump’s NATO comments, saying: “He has no idea what the hell he’s talking about.”

Trump says migrants are coming into the U.S. illegally from “mental institutions” and “insane asylums.” He has not provided any evidence for that claim, which he has frequently made at rallies.

At another point, Biden, referring to retribution on political opponents, turns to Trump and says, “The idea that you have a right to seek retribution against any American just because you’re president is wrong, is simply wrong.”

Meanwhile, Trump replied “He’s not equipped to be president. You know it and I know it.” he said of Biden.

John Kelly previously lambasted Donald Trump in a statement given to CNN months ago where he confirmed reports from The Atlantic in 2020 that detailed such remarks from Trump’s presidency.

“A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all ‘suckers’ because ‘there is nothing in it for them,'” Kelly accused Trump. “A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because ‘it doesn’t look good for me.’ A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family – for all Gold Star families – on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America’s defence are ‘losers’ and wouldn’t visit their graves in France.”, reports the Mirror US.

Aaron Kall, Director of Debate Program at the University of Michigan, downplayed the significance of the lack of handshake. Pre-debate, he explained that he didn’t anticipate much ceremony considering Trump’s previous refusal to shake hands.

In 2016, both Trump and Hillary Clinton also avoided the pre-debate handshake, signalling mutual disdain.

Kall remarked: “They didn’t shake hands during their last two debates in 2020. That was during Covid and their podiums were farther apart. President Biden and Trump haven’t spoken in nearly four years. Given the disdain and animosity between the two, I don’t expect a pre-debate handshake.”

In 2016, The Miami Herald’s “Naked Politics” blog delved into the YouTube archives of past presidential debates and unearthed an unbroken tradition of handshakes dating back to the inaugural face-off between Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter in 1976 – the first ever debate. This historic run of debate handshakes was snapped by none other than Donald Trump during his debate with Hilary.

In 2020, Joe Biden and Donald Trump also bypassed the handshake. However, Kall believes this could be the key to a ‘civil’ debate between two candidates notorious for their lack of civility towards each other.

“Their podiums are closer this year and there is no live audience- just a mostly vacant studio. If they do engage in a surprising pre-debate handshake, I think that would foreshadow a more civil and issue-focused debate ahead later tonight,” Kall adds.

To gear up for the inevitable clash between the two, CNN equipped their studio’s mics with a handy feature: auto mute. The microphones will switch off when a candidate’s time is up, preventing them both from interrupting each other.

The power to mute anyone’s microphone is typically held by the moderator, but it’s a rare occurrence for it to be automatically switched off. This was a request made by Biden to prevent Trump from interrupting his debate opponent, something Trump has become infamous for.

Tonight, moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper won’t have as much work on their hands to keep each candidate in line.

Trump is notorious for courting anyone and saying whatever it takes to win a vote. As Trump and Biden geared up for a policy face-off, a Biden insider spilled to CNN that the President’s squad is bracing him for Trump’s expected jibes at his family.

Hunter Biden, Joe’s son, has been embroiled in legal trouble, recently convicted on felony gun charges.

In a twist of fate, Trump now finds himself branded a felon, awaiting his sentence after a New York court found him guilty on 24 counts of criminal hush money charges. Despite this, Biden is likely to steer clear of mentioning Trump’s legal woes, given Trump’s penchant for attacking the Biden clan.

Trump’s blatant refusal to denounce white supremacy during the 2020 presidential debates spoke volumes about his position.

Yet, Trump’s usual tactics might not play out as well this time, especially with abortion being a hot-button topic in his campaign. A single careless remark could drive away many pro-life advocates who demand substantial restrictions.

The controversy continues as the once-convicted felon seemed to flip-flop on his staunch pro-life stance.

Back in 2020, Trump’s Supreme Court picks, including Amy Coney Barrett who was vocal about her aim to overturn Roe v. Wade, were seen as a conservative triumph.

Two years on, Barrett’s goal came to fruition, erasing the federal right to an abortion from the books. The former president was quick to claim responsibility for the seismic shift, prematurely predicting a “red wave” to sweep through Congress.

This GOP victory quickly became a contentious issue as not all Republicans were in agreement with the pro-life extremists who were advocating for a nationwide ban on abortion.

This ideological divide led to traditionally conservative states such as Kansas and Kentucky swinging democratic in order to preserve access to abortion. In an effort to avoid a repeat of the 2022 midterms, Trump has taken a more subdued approach towards abortion rights, while still trying to keep his far-right pro-life supporters on side.

However, his toned-down stance may be too little too late, given his previous boasts about being the president who eradicated a woman’s right to choose.