Joe Biden slams Detroit worker who accused him of 'taking away' guns, tells him 'you are full of s**t'
Former vice president Joe Biden inched closer to his presidential nomination on Mini-Tuesday (March 10) by bagging at least four of the six states that went to primary polling.
The former deputy to Barack Obama widened his gap over Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders after the phenomenal show in the Super Tuesday a week ago and it seems now that it is only a matter of time before Biden emerges as the challenger to President Donald Trump in the November 3 election.
However, even as he is winning states after states, Biden's ugly engagements with individuals on campaign trails have not gone down. On Super Tuesday, he had a confrontation with an Air Force veteran over his support to the 2003 Iraq War declared by the former George W Bush administration at a campaign stopover in California.
On Mini Tuesday, he had another face-off and this time, it was with an automobile worker at a plant in Detroit who accused Biden of wanting to confiscate guns from Americans. The septuagenarian was so irked that he even said the man was "full of s**t".
The incident happened at yet another campaign stopover — a Fiat Chrysler assembly plant where the former Delaware senator greeted workers and took photos with them ahead of the Michigan Primary that he eventually won.
There, Biden was confronted on the issue of gun control, something he has supported in his campaign. The worker made a reference to the video that was circulated by the conservatives recently claiming Biden is in favor of large-scale confiscation of weapons.
The fact that Beto O'Rourke, a former Texas representative who sought radical gun control during his unsuccessful presidential run, has endorsed Biden has sent across the message that Biden too is a gun-grabber.
"You are actively trying to end our Second Amendment right and take away our guns," the man, who was standing amid his fellow workers wearing a helmet, told Biden in a tone of accusation.
"You're full of s**t," Biden hit back, before adding: "I did not — no, no, shush, shush. I support the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment — just like right now if you yelled 'fire'. That's not free speech. And from the very beginning: I have a shotgun, I have a 20-gauge, a 12-gauge. My sons hunt, guess what? You're not allowed to own any weapon, I'm not taking your gun away at all. You need 100 rounds?”
The man then mentioned O'Rourke who had proposed mandatory buyback of assault-style rifles though it met backlash from his fellow competitors. However, it seems now that O'Rourke's ideas have come to haunt Biden although he hasn't endorsed the radical policies.
"You and Beto (O'Rourke) say you're going to take our guns," the worker told Biden. At a Democratic debate last year, O'Rourke had said: "Hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15, your AK-47."
"I did not say that," Biden said, adding: "That's not true. I did not say that." When the man said: "You're working for me, man," Biden said: "I'm not working for — gimme a break, man. Don't be such a horse's a**."
Both campaigns of Sanders and Trump criticized Biden's exchange with the worker and when asked about it, the former vice president said he was surprised to see Sanders "joining" Trump.