President Trump said Friday he doesn’t see Joseph R. Biden as a threat in 2020, arguing if anything, the former vice president is a “threat to himself.”
Mr. Trump, speaking to reporters as he departed the White House, was referring to complaints from several women that Mr. Biden’s hands-on approach to politics crept into inappropriate territory. In a video clip, Mr. Biden said he heard the complaints, that social norms have changed and he will be more careful.
Mr. Trump tweeted a doctored version of the video in which a version of Mr. Biden creeps up on himself and caresses him.
“WELCOME BACK JOE!” the president wrote.
Some, including Mr. Biden, found the swipe beneath the dignity of Mr. Trump’s office and a bit hypocritical, given the slate of women who — during the 2016 campaign — accused Mr. Trump of groping them over the past decades.
Mr. Trump denied the accusations, and on Friday said it’s all right for him to needle Mr. Biden over the issue.
SEE ALSO: Donald Trump posts video of Joe Biden getting touched … by Joe Biden
“I think I’m a very good messenger. People got a kick out of it,” Mr. Trump said. “We’ve got to sort of smile a little bit, right?”
Early polling suggests Mr. Biden could be one of the biggest threats to Mr. Trump amid a crowded 2020 Democratic field, even though he hasn’t entered the race. A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, the ex-vice president says he understands the needs of Mr. Trump’s blue-collar base in key states.
“I just don’t see him as a threat. He’s been there a long time, his record’s not good. He’d have to run on the Obama failed record,” Mr. Trump said Friday. “I’d be happy with any of them, to be honest.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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