Trump states the major difference between Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton and why he'd rather run against Hillary
For the first time in his presidential career, incumbent Donald Trump is set to face a male opponent and it is former vice president Joe Biden. The 77-year-old veteran Democrat was formally picked earlier this week as the Democratic presidential nominee to challenge the mercurial Republican and he at once vowed to bring to an end the “darkness” of the Trump era.
Trump, who is finding his re-election bid more and more difficult in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, race riots and foreign policy challenges, also hit back at Biden after the latter’s formal pick to say that while the Democrat saw “darkness”, he saw “American greatness”.
On Friday, August 21, Trump also cited the difference between running against Biden and Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state who he took on in the 2016 election. Though Trump lost the popular vote count, he still went on to become the president by the virtue of having more electoral votes.
'Joe not nearly as smart but more likable'
Delivering a speech to the 2020 Council for National Policy meeting in Arlington, Virginia, Trump said Clinton is smarter than his 2020 opponent but was less liked.
“Somebody said, ‘What’s the difference between Clinton and Biden?’ Should I say it? Should I tell you? Well, Clinton is much smarter, but not a likable person. Joe is not nearly as smart, but he is more likable. So, you know, I don’t know. Maybe I’d rather have the smarter person, who cares about personality, right?” the president said to earn a laughing reaction from the audience. Trump also called Hillary a "lunatic" and "something".
Trump though has not treated either of his opponents more kindly. While he calls Hillary as “Crooked Hillary”, he described Biden as “Sleepy Joe”. Both Hillary and Biden worked as members of the previous Barack Obama presidency.
Hillary mocked Trump in later times as an “illegitimate president” because she considers he did not win the election fairly.
“No, it doesn’t kill me because he knows he’s an illegitimate president. I believe he understands that the many varying tactics they used, from voter suppression and voter purging to hacking to the false stories — he knows that — there were just a bunch of different reasons why the election turned out like it did,” the former first lady said in an interview to CBS News last September.
Trump and Biden have been trading barbs this election season. After his nomination acceptance speech at the end of the four-day virtual national convention, the Democratic nominee blasted the incumbent alleging that the latter failed to carry out his most basic duty to the country. “He failed to protect us. He failed to protect America. And, my fellow Americans, that is unforgivable,” the Democrat said.
“That's the job of a president — to represent all of us, not just our base or our party. This is not a partisan moment. This must be an American moment,” he said while attacking Trump.
Trump said in his speech that the Democrats were trying to show America in a wrong light while claiming that his administration has made some great achievements.