The country should be ashamed of how President Trump acted during the chaotic opening debate, according to 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
“Maybe I shouldn’t say this, but the president of the United States conducted himself the way he did — I think it was just a national embarrassment,” he told reporters Wednesday in Alliance, Ohio.
Biden picked up on Trump declining to condemn white supremacist and militia groups during their 90 minute debate in Cleveland, saying instead: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by!”
The two-term vice president said his message to Proud Boys chapters around the country, described by the Anti-Defamation League as a hate organization, was “cease and desist.”
Tuesday’s debate, moderated by Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, was a disorderly display of personal snipes and swipes, rather than a serious policy discussion, as the pair struggled to be heard over crosstalk, mostly started by Trump.
“I just hope there’s a way in which the debate commission can control the ability of us to answer the question without interruption,” Biden said, though he committed to the next two meetings.
He added Trump’s performance reminded him why he launched his White House bid last April, saying it should serve as “a wake up call for all Americans.”
Biden, who Trump tried to peg as a puppet for the Democratic Left after a hard-fought primary, defended his position within the party.
“I won and I’ve laid out what we’re going to do, so I’m not worried about losing the Left, Right or the center of the party. This is a big party,” he said.
Biden is on a seven-stop “Build Back Better Express” train tour Wednesday through eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania, the first major swing of his campaign.
