- The Washington Times - Monday, May 6, 2019

Joe Biden called President Trump a “clown” on Saturday when asked by a small group of supporters whether he planned to return the president’s attacks.

“There are so many nicknames that I’m inclined to give this guy. We could just start with clown,” the former vice president, who recently announced a 2020 Democratic presidential bid, told a private gathering of about two- to three-dozen campaign donors, according to reports.

The comments come after Mr. Trump’s repeated insults against Mr. Biden, who he recently referred to as “Sleepy Joe” and a “sleepy guy” who won’t be able to handle the high-stress situations of being president.

Mr. Biden said the president’s attacks are “ridiculous.”

“When he says these ridiculous things he says, I mean this, I put my hand up and say, ’everybody knows who you are’ because they do know,” Mr. Biden said Saturday night, Bloomberg reported.

“On every single issue and on every demeaning thing he says about other people, I have no problem responding directly,” he said, Politico reported. “What I’m not going to do is get into what he wants me to do. He wants this to be a mud-wrestling match.”

“The only place he has any confidence is in the mud,” he added. “The only thing he doesn’t know how to respond to is issues and specifics.”

Despite vowing not to get in the mud, Mr. Biden also referred to the president as a “no good S.O.B.” who would likely turn to attacking his children and grandchildren, Bloomberg reported.

“This guy is going to go after me and my family,” Mr. Biden said.

The former vice president also said he regretted once saying that he would have “beat the hell out” Mr. Trump if the two were in high school.

“Well guess what? I probably shouldn’t have done that,” Mr. Biden said Saturday. “I don’t want to get it down to that level. The presidency is an office that requires some dignity.”

• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.

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