Hill.TV host Krystal Ball criticized Joe Biden over the former vice president’s exchange with a CBS reporter concerning his feud with fellow 2020 contender Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
“These mini campaign meltdowns aren’t just fascinating to watch. They beg a very real, very serious question: Is Joe Biden actually ready to weather the storm of a general election?,” Ball, a Sanders supporter, asked Thursday.
“If you think a mild critique of Biden’s record on Social Security is the worst that this campaign has offer, you’ve got another thing coming,” she added. “Biden will long for the days of Bernie’s mild-mannered attacks.”
A clip of Biden went viral on Wednesday after he told CBS News reporter Ed O’Keefe to “calm down” in response to a question about his latest attack against Sanders.
“Yesterday, you said you accepted Bernie’s apology, now you’re attacking him,” said Ed O’Keefe “Why are you doing that? Why wasn’t his apology enough, Mr. Vice President? Why attack Sanders?”
Biden responded by saying, “Why, why, why, why, why, why, why.”
“You’re getting nervous, man. Calm down, it’s OK!” Biden continued before clarifying that Sanders had not apologized for claiming that the former vice president had supported efforts to cut Social Security.
The exchange comes as the two top-tier contenders battle over Social Security, and an op-ed written by a Sanders supporter called him corrupt. The Sanders campaign apologized for the op-ed, but stood by its claim that Biden had supported efforts to cut Social Security. Biden, meanwhile, has maintained that he only supported efforts to fix the federal agency.
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