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Arizona Gov Doug Ducey seems to mock Biden's stutter as he says 'J-J-Joe' at Trump rally, labeled 'disgusting'

In the video, Ducey can be heard saying, 'J-J-Joe Biden is wrong for America!' while the president stood at the stage, waiting for his turn at the microphone

On Monday, October 19, Doug Ducey, the Governor of Arizona, who introduced President Donald Trump on the stage at the Tucson, Florida campaign rally, sparked controversy online after he appeared to stutter when he took Democratic nominee Joe Biden's name on stage. 

Video of the incident was shared on Twitter by the New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman. In the video, Ducey can be heard saying: “J-J-Joe Biden is wrong for America!” while the president stood at the stage, waiting for his turn at the microphone. “The governor of Arizona mocks Biden’s stutter, almost certain to become the latest person to claim he didn’t know when asked about it," Haberman’s presently deleted tweet read. 

Haberman later clarified why she had chosen to delete her original tweet. She said that she was not entirely sure whether Ducey was indeed mocking Biden, or if it was a “reverb” sound malfunction. "Deleting this because there are enough folks who say they hear it as a reverb - folks can click audio and decide what they think without prelude" she wrote. Responding to the journalist's tweet, Ducey denied the allegations against him. “This is false. I did not mock Joe Biden's stutter, nor would I ever," he said.

However, by then, the damage had been done and the video had gone viral on social media, even being uploaded on YouTube. 

Many social media users called out Ducey for mocking Biden's speech impairment as a child. "Doug Ducey openly mocks Joe Biden’s stutter. Trump’s GOP is deplorable. Vote them all out," one said while another said, "Republican Arizona Governor Doug Ducey Appears to Mock Biden's Stutter at Trump Rally. At least the crowd didn't think it was funny." A third opined, "So nice to hear our distinguished AZ Gov. Doug Deushy mocking Joe Biden's stutter today at Trump's super spreader event. Disgusting."

There were a number of people who stood up in defense of Ducey and claimed that he would never mock someone's stutter. "Maggie, I've covered Governor Ducey for many years here in AZ. He occasionally stutters the beginning of sentences, and it would not be in his character to mock someone. To insinuate otherwise or say 'folks can decide what they think' is irresponsible," reporter Joe Dana of them said, while CBS News reporter Briana Whitney tweeted, "This is the video circulating after a NYT reporter claimed @dougducey made fun of Joe Biden’s stutter. She has since deleted her claim. Gov. Ducey tweeted he would never mock somebody. As a reporter who covers Ducey, I don’t believe this was intentional"

New York Times bestselling author Steve Silberman commented, "I mean, Maggie, I try not to pile on to you, but really: this is pathetic. Even the tweet you deleted was too tentative." Another remarked, "Reverb that only affected the 'J' in 'Joe'? C'mon."

The allegation against Ducey comes after another Republican senator was accused of racism for making fun of Democratic VP candidate Kamala Harris’s name at another Trump rally. David Perdue fired up the crowd by asking a rhetorical question about what would happen if his opponents win. He himself answered the question by saying, “The most insidious thing that Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden are trying to perpetrate, and Bernie and Elizabeth and Kamala — Kah-ma-la or Kah-mah-la or Kamalamalamala, I don’t know,” he said, ridiculously pronouncing his Senate colleague Harris’ name.