Joe Biden Says No One—Including Republican Senators—Wants Their Kid to Turn Out Like Donald Trump
Former Vice President Joe Biden said nobody wants their children to grow up to be like President Donald Trump in remarks made at a New York City fundraiser.
According to a pool report, Biden, the leading candidate in the 2020 Democratic race, was asked about the Senate's potential acquittal of Trump at an impeachment trial.
Trump is facing impeachment by the House for allegedly abusing the power of his office to coerce Ukraine into opening an unfounded corruption investigation that would damage Biden and advantage the president's re-election campaign.
Biden's son Hunter Biden sat on the board of Burisma, a Ukrainian gas company, at the same time his father was in office, which had sparked criticism over a conflict of interest.
The corruption allegations stem from a spurious and debunked claim that Biden forced out a Ukrainian prosecutor who was investigating Burisma. Trump argues he was legitimately chasing down allegations of corruption and denies and wrongdoing.
Some Republican senators have said before the prospective trial that they think the president is innocent of the charges, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Biden said at the fundraiser at law firm O'Melveny & Myerson on Monday afternoon that even if Trump is acquitted "the American people, including the senators who are going to vote to acquit him know no one wants their kid to grow up like him," the pool report said.
The Democratic candidate also appeared to suggest that Trump has a mental disorder, echoing a criticism made by others, including the prominent lawyer and critic of the president George Conway, and several professional psychiatrists and psychologists.
"No psychiatrist or anyone in the association can talk about the fact that this president has a serious problem," Biden said, per the pool report.
"Narcissism is a mental deficiency. And it means you cannot tolerate any criticism at all… Now, whether he's a narcissist or not, some people think he's a narcissist."
Newsweek asked the Trump 2020 campaign for comment by email and will update this article if one is provided.
On Saturday, Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, told CNN that Trump's Senate trial "will die quickly, and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly. I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind. I'm not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here."
McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, told Fox News host Sean Hannity last week that he is coordinating with Trump's lawyers on how to handle the trial.
"There won't be any difference between us on how to do this… The case is so darn weak coming over from the House," McConnell said. "We all know how that's gonna end. There's no chance the president's going to be removed from office."
