Trump Revives ‘sleepy Joe’ Attacks But Gets The Facts Wrong
President Trump kicked off the first of his three reelection rallies in Pennsylvania on Monday by renewing his attempt to depict former Vice President Joe Biden as sleepy and confused. But it was Trump who got his facts wrong.
In a speech in Allentown, Pa., that stretched over 81 minutes, the president seized on a purported flub first tweeted by a Republican operative and picked up by Fox News in which Biden appeared to begin saying the name of former President George W. Bush rather than President Trump during a virtual campaign event.
Trump misstated the source of the quote, attributing it to CBSs 60 Minutes, which had broadcast interviews with the presidential candidates Sunday night.
Did you watch him on 60 Minutes last night? Trump asked the crowd. Did you see yesterday when he called me George? No, no, I dont if I like George. No, not George. Not George. What a mess.
Can you even imagine losing to a guy like this? the president continued. He cant even remember my name. Now, Im not that big of an ego guy. He should be able Im the candidate, good candidate. He could not remember my name yesterday. This is who youre putting in office.
Except Biden was not referring to Trump by the wrong name. He was addressing the comedian George Lopez, who was interviewing him for a live stream called I Will Vote.
If someone who is undecided, or maybe thinking about not voting, why should they vote and why should they vote for you? Lopez asked Biden.
How Joe Biden Earned His Nickname: Creepy Uncle Joe
Kellyanne Conway, the first woman to run and win a presidential campaign, and Counselor to President Trump was asked for her reaction to the accusation of physical misconduct by former V.P. Joe Biden against Nevada Democrat Lucy Flores. She responded by explaining Bidens nickname, Creepy Uncle Joe.
This was an incredibly difficult thing to do, but something that felt necessary. It took awhile before I found the words and the support that made me feel like this was finally a story I could tell.
Trump Mocked His Successor Joe Biden For Appearing To Fall Asleep On Monday 1 November Before His Speech At The Cop26 Climate Summit In Glasgow
IMAGE: AP/TWITTER
Former US President Donald Trump mocked his successor Joe Biden for appearing to fall asleep on Monday, 1 November, before his speech at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. According to the New York Post, Trump, in an email blast, implied that the snooze indicates that Biden doesnt truly believe global warming is a dire threat. He reportedly said that even Biden couldnt stand hearing so much about the Global Warming hoax, the 7th biggest Hoax in America.
Trump said that Biden went to Europe saying Global Warming is his highest priority, however, he then promptly fell asleep, for all the world to see, at the Conference itself. Nobody that has true enthusiasm and belief in a subject will ever fall asleep, Trump added.
Biden was caught seemingly napping during the opening remarks at the COP26 climate change conference on Monday. He appeared to close his eyes and nap for at least 22 seconds until an aid whispered something into his ear. He then rubbed his eyes when Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi took the stage.
You May Like: Jobs Trump Created
Joe Biden Laughs At Trump’s ‘sleepy Joe’ Tweet Questioning His Intelligence: ‘everybody Knows Donald Trump’
Former Vice President Joe Biden, the latest candidate to enter the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, laughed off a tweet from President Donald Trump that dubbed him “Sleepy Joe” and questioned his intelligence.
“Everybody knows Donald Trump,” Biden said as he stopped for pizza at Gianni’s in Wilmington, Delaware. The key player in the administration of President Barack Obama laughed and waved off a journalist as he asked about the president’s tweet, which backhandedly welcomed Biden to the 2020 race.
“Welcome to the race Sleepy Joe. I only hope you have the intelligence, long in doubt, to wage a successful primary campaign. It will be nasty – you will be dealing with people who truly have some very sick & demented ideas. But if you make it, I will see you at the Starting Gate,” the president tweeted after Biden announced his long-expected candidacy, his third bid for the presidency, on Thursday.
Biden has set his campaign in direct opposition to Trump. In a video shared on social media to announce his campaign, he said he could not bear to stand on the sidelines. “If we give Donald Trump eight years in the White House, he will forever and fundamentally alter the character of this nation,” Biden said. Speaking to reporters after he picked up his pizza, Biden said it was time for America to return to its true self and be accountable to its allies.
Column: Biden Drives A Stake Through Trumps Sleepy Joe Attacks Reminds Us What Weve Missed In A Leader
I had been told Joe Biden was incapable of completing a sentence, that he was a doddering old man holed up in his basement and also an unstoppable, raging leftist who would unleash terror on Americas suburbs.
I never put much stock in any of that, and on Thursday night, as the Democratic National Convention wrapped up, the former vice president drove a stake through the heart of President Donald Trumps Sleepy Joe and Slow Joe attacks.
Biden will never be a grand orator. And when it comes to convention speeches, or most political speeches, for that matter, you can take the promises and soaring rhetoric with a grain of salt.
But Biden did precisely what he needed to do Thursday night, speaking without an audience in our coronavirus-altered world. Passionately, clearly and forcefully, he said things we arent used to hearing.
Things like: I will draw on the best of us, not the worst. I will be an ally of the light, not the darkness.
He promised to be an American president, adding: I will work hard for those who didnt support me.
He decried Americas divisions under Trump: Too much anger. Too much fear. Too much division.
You can say that again. In fact, please say that again. Its honestly refreshing to hear.
Biden will never change the minds of the presidents most loyal followers. Theyll stick with him through the presidency and beyond, never finding fault.
Thats OK. Thats where they want to be, and its a point of no return.
Recommended Reading: How Much Does It Cost To Stay At Trump Hotel
Sleepy Joe Trended After Biden Appeared To Nod Off During Climate Conference
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about his son and his visit to the Pope during a press conference at … the La Nuvola conference center for the G20 summit in Rome, Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021. Leaders of the world’s biggest economies made a compromise commitment Sunday to reach carbon neutrality “by or around mid-century” as they wrapped up a two-day summit that was laying the groundwork for the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
We’ve probably all been there at some time dozing off briefly in school or during a presentation at work. Add in jet lag, and back-to-back meetings most of us would have a hard time not falling asleep. However, while it can result in a disappointed professor or an irate boss, catching a few Zs probably won’t make the world news.
That is unless your name is Joe Biden, and you happened to be caught on video during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.
To make matters worse, the 78-year-old Biden had warned U.S. military service members just this past summer that top Pentagon officials consider climate change to be the “greatest threat” to America’s national security. So when Biden was on video catching some Zs, reporters took notice.
It was soon shared across social media.
“Biden appears to fall asleep during COP26 opening speeches,” tweeted Zach Purser Brown , who covers politics for The Washington Post.
Trump Singles In On ‘sleepy Joe Biden’ At Campaign Rally
Joe BidenUS bishops to weigh whether Biden should receive communionCongress barrels toward end-of-year pileupBiden taps former New Orleans mayor Landrieu to spearhead infrastructureMORE as he continues to rail against one of his top political rivals.
The former vice president, who has emerged as a frontrunner in the crowded 2020 Democratic primary field, is a favorite foil of the president, who often hits Biden on his age despite the fact that the Democrat is just three years older than him.
Weve now named him, very slow Sleepy Joe. Hes gotten slower and slower,” Trump said to cheers from the crowd in Mississippi. “Im afraid if he gets the nomination hell be so slow well have the lowest-rated debates in history.”
I dont think Sleepy Joe will get it, he added, referring to the Democratic 2020 nomination.
Biden has emerged as a particularly popular target for Trump in recent days as the president seeks to defend himself against the Houses impeachment investigation over his dealings with Ukraine.
While the House investigates claims that Trump tied $400 million in aid to Ukraine in exchange for Kiev announcing an investigation into Biden and his sons business dealings in the country, the president has turned to repeatedly floating unsupported claims that Biden abused his power as vice president to help his son.
You know in a certain way, I was impressed because I didnt think he had the energy, the brain power, Trump said.
Read Also: Was Melania Trump A Prostitute
Aocs Tax The Rich Dress Ultimate Fashion Statement Or Display Of Hypocrisy
Biden’s Catnap In The Crosshairs
Many mocked the president, while hashtags included “Sleepy Joe” the name former President Donald Trump had referred to Biden as during the 2020 campaign. It is unlikely that the disparaging moniker will go away anytime soon after the video went viral on Monday.
Dozens of reporters poked fun.
Ian Haworth , editor of the Daily Wire, also poked fun at the individual who seemed to wake the president, tweeting, “What’s your role on the trip, random intern? ‘Well, I go and wake up the president every time he falls asleep.'”
owever, Sky News political correspondent Kate McCann was among the reporters who offered some sympathy for President Biden, noting, ” Such a horrible feeling when you can’t keep your eyes open and you … know … you …….. can’t …… fall …. asleep …. [but also I’m not the President}”
Overshadowing The Conference
While critics of the president used it as yet another opportunity for mockery, Professor Jane Hall, school of communication at the American University and author of Politics and the Media: Intersections and New Directions, expressed concern that the reporters covering the actual event focused too much on Biden’s gaffe.
Hall said this was just the latest example of confirmation bias in politics.
Social Media Calls Out Gaffes
Both men took the mockery in stride.
Social media on the other hand is mockery in real-time by the masses. It is endless and it is ruthless.
Trump: ‘welcome To The Race Sleepy Joe’
President Donald Trump on Thursday welcomed former Vice President Joe Biden to the 2020 field, dubbing him Sleepy Joe and questioning his intelligence.
Welcome to the race Sleepy Joe. I only hope you have the intelligence, long in doubt, to wage a successful primary campaign, Trump tweeted. It will be nasty – you will be dealing with people who truly have some very sick & demented ideas. But if you make it, I will see you at the Starting Gate!
Earlier on Thursday, Biden released a video announcing his candidacy that focused heavily on Trump. He accused the president of drawing a moral equivalence when he said there were fine people on both sides of the white supremacist rally and counterprotest in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017.
In that moment, I knew the threat to this nation was unlike any I had ever seen in my lifetime, Biden said in the video. I wrote at the time that were in a battle for the soul of this nation. Well, thats even more true to today.
Trumps latest attack on Biden comes after he predicted last week that Bernie Sanders and Biden would be the last two Democrats standing in their party’s crowded 2020 primary field.
I believe it will be Crazy Bernie Sanders vs. Sleepy Joe Biden as the two finalists to run against maybe the best Economy in the history of our Country ! Trump wrote in a tweet. I look forward to facing whoever it may be. May God Rest Their Soul!
You May Like: How Much Does It Cost To Stay At Trump Hotel
Why Do They Call Him Sleepy Joe
A lot of Trump’s nicknames seem to play into whatever narrative he’s trying to construct in order to discredit his opposition. For Hillary Clinton, it was the imagery of her as a corrupt politician. He constantly played into the collective distrust many people had of the Clintons and he’d bring up the email scandal where she had emails hosted on a private server.
Something that both he and members of his administration and White House aides did as well after he took office, although there are some slight differences between the two usage cases.
The name of “Sleepy Joe” comes from Trump’s suggestion that Joe Biden is suffering from a cognitive decline of his mental faculties.
Joe has gone on record saying some either off-color or unintelligible things, something that’s been attributed to a stutter that he suffers from. Cognitive mental decline isn’t uncommon in individuals who are Joe’s age, either. The man was born in 1942 and is nearing 78 years of age at this time of writing.
There are reports of Ronald Reagan often asking members of the Secret Service staff at times where he was, but once they reminded him, he’d be “back on track” so to speak.
So “Sleepy” Joe was part of the narrative that Donald Trump and his administration were lining up in their attack of Joe Biden, questioning the mental fortitude of the DNC’s top presidential pick and if he would be capable of actually running the country and holding coherent discussions.
Rex Huppke Columns Newsletter
He didnt need to be cruel. He didnt need to write off Americans who disagree. He presented himself to all Americans and said: Are you ready?
What I saw Thursday night was not a perfect person there are none or a perfect presidential candidate. What I saw was not a person I think will get everything right or manage to mend all the tears in our national fabric.
What I did see was an American. Someone who, I believe, actually gives a damn about something greater than himself. Someone capable of taking steps forward without knocking somebody else down.
I dont know if that moment Thursday night in Delaware, in the middle of a year of health and economic cataclysm, will change minds.
But it was a moment that reminded many of us and Ill bet even some reluctant to admit it exactly what weve missed seeing in a leader.
Read Also: How Much Does It Cost To Stay At Trump Hotel
