Vice President Joseph R. Biden on Thursday offered a blunt assessment of Republican Donald Trump, telling a crowd of union workers in the key battleground state of Oho that the billionaire doesn’t have the intelligence or experience to lead the United States.
“I don’t believe he’s a bad guy. I just think he is thoroughly, totally, completely uninformed. He has no idea what the hell he’s talking about,” the vice president said at a rally in Warren, Ohio. “The Trump world is already making us less safe … The man is totally irresponsible.”
Mr. Biden will hold another rally in Ohio later Thursday, underscoring the importance of the Buckeye State in the presidential contest. The vice president made a forceful case for Hillary Clinton, telling the audience of United Auto Workers union members that the former first lady “gets it” and understands what it will take to strengthen the middle class, reduce income inequality, protect collective bargaining rights and make college affordable for all American families.
But Mr. Biden saved his sharpest comments for Mr. Trump. He recounted his recent trip to Europe, where he met with the leaders of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania in an effort to convince them American would intervene in the case of Russian aggression.
Mr. Trump has suggested that, in some circumstances, he may not necessarily honor U.S. commitments to NATO allies.
“They’re scared to death, with good reason, that Russia will cross the border and annex them like they did Crimea,” Mr. Biden said, referencing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014.
Mr. Trump “is causing for the first time, with Bush or Clinton or Obama, for the first time he’s causing nations to actually wonder whether we’ll keep our word,” the vice president continued.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
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