Saagar Enjeti rips Biden over testy exchange in Iowa

Opinion by: Saagar Enjeti

Vice President Joe Biden had a full-scale meltdown during his No Malarky tour in Iowa yesterday afternoon…

For those who missed it when a self professed fan of Elizabeth Warren dared to ask him about his son’s dealings in Ukraine. There are few words to describe this exchange lets watch it in its entirety,

Biden: “You’re a damn liar, man. That’s not true. And no one has ever said that. No one has proved that.”
“No one has said my son has done anything wrong and I did not on any occasion.”
“I’m not sedentary. The reason I’m running is because I’ve been around a long time and I know more than most people know. And I can get things done. That’s why I’m running.”
You want to check my shape on, let’s do push-ups together, let’s run, let’s do whatever you want to do, let’s take an IQ test.”
“Look, fat.

There’s so much to unpack there, Biden calling the voter a damn liar for telling the truth about his son’s relationship to Ukraine, Biden challenging the man to a push-up contest, and then saying quote “Look fat” when he addressed his portly adversary.

To make matters even more hilarious, Biden Senior Advisor Symone Sanders tried to clean up his mess after the event saying that “Any assertion VP Biden said a word about the gentleman’s appearance is making this something it is not. In the latter part of the exchange, the VP began to say look facts and then said here’s the deal. If you’ve been to a Biden event, you’ve heard this before.”

Let’s unpack that. First it’s hilarious that their excuse isn’t that Biden was fat shaming his critic but instead he is so incapable of forming sentences that we all misheard his intent. I guess that’s not an implausible explanation. But further, if you watch that clip it’s extremely clear that Biden glances at the voter’s weight, challenges him to a push-up contest, and more.

The truth is that the Former Vice President absolutely will not stand for any questioning whatsoever of his son’s past business dealings with Ukraine. In that clip you again heard him say that his son has done absolutely nothing wrong, even though Hunter Biden himself told ABC News in an interview that he exhibited quote poor judgement and that in many ways it was a swamp type thing to do.

Let’s take a listen.

Hunter Biden: I think that it was poor judgment on my part. Is that I think that it was poor judgment because I don’t believe now, when I look back on it — I know that there was — did nothing wrong at all. However, was it poor judgment to be in the middle of something that is…a swamp in — in — in many ways? Yeah. I take — full responsibility for that. Do I — did I do anything improper? No, and not in any way. Not in any way whatsoever. I joined a board, I served honorably. I did — I focused on corporate governance. I didn’t have any discussions with my father before or after I joined the board as it related to it, other than that brief exchange that we had.”

Biden’s unhinged response also underscores how much of a disservice the media, and yes his own opponents have done the american people throughout this primary process. That Iowa voter very mildly questioned biden about his business dealings and he began to really fall apart after he pushed back.

Why hasn’t a single news organization actually pressed Biden during one of the last 4 Democratic debates about his son’s business dealings instead of just giving the Former Vice President an opportunity to say his son did nothing wrong and check his notes to say whatever he’s supposed to about beating Trump like a drum.

Furthermore, every single Democratic candidate has refused to touch this issue on the debate stage despite it being clear evidence of corruption. The closest that anyone has come is Andrew Yang with his declaration that anyone who served in his administration wouldn’t be allowed to serve on domestic or foreign boards, but he hasn’t called him out on the stage for it. Biden is riding through one of the softest primary processes in modern memory

And the funny part is, we all know exactly how this is going to go in the general election. Trump has made no secret of the fact that Hunter Biden is going to play a very central role in the story of the 2020 democratic nomination if Biden is the nominee. Just look at this from a recent rally of his.

Trump: Despite knowing absolutely nothing about Energy. What business are you in sir?
Attendee: The Mailbox Business? Oh, Bail Bonds, Whoa. You know Hunter Biden? Do you know Sleepy Joe? Bail Bonds. Hmm

If Joe Biden can’t take an elderly Iowan Elizabeth Warren supporter, he has no business trying to go into the general election. As Farhad Manjoo put it, we were promised no malarkey but it looks like that’s all we’re going to get.