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Lara Trump appears to mock Biden for his stutter: ‘Joe, can you get the words out?’

‘Joe, can you get it out? Let’s get the words out, Joe'

Chris Riotta
New York
Friday 17 January 2020 12:14 EST
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Lara Trump mocks Joe Biden for stutter

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Lara Trump, who serves as the face of Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, has seemingly mocked Joe Biden for stuttering after the former vice president opened up along the campaign trail about overcoming his speech impediment.

The 37-year-old senior adviser to the president’s re-election campaign and wife of his youngest son Eric, made the controversial comments during a “Women for Trump” event in Iowa on Thursday, telling a crowd of supporters: “I feel kind of sad for Joe Biden, and you know that’s when it’s not going well for him, right?”

“I’m supposed to want him to fail at every turn,” she added, “but every time he’s on stage and they turn to him I’m like, ‘Joe, can you get it out? Let’s get the words out, Joe.’”

Mr Biden, a 2020 Democratic hopeful who has led most national polls in recent months, revealed in an interview with The Atlantic that he dealt with stuttering ever since he was a child, when he used to feel “shame” in high school and experienced bullying.

Ms Trump was not the first person within the president’s orbit to mock the leading Democratic candidate for his stutter: former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also appeared to make fun of Mr Biden over a moment at the December debates last year.

Ms Sanders seemingly imitated a stuttering child in a tweet during the debate, writing: “I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I hhhave absolutely no idea what Biden is talking about.” The former White House official was later forced to apologise, claiming she was unaware Mr Biden dealt with stuttering.

“I've worked my whole life to overcome a stutter”, he replied in a tweet of his own. “And it's my great honour to mentor kids who have experienced the same. It's called empathy. Look it up."

Ms Sanders later said she should have made her point “respectfully”.

Mr Biden said stuttering “gave me an insight I don’t think I ever would have had into other people’s pain” in his interview with The Atlantic, adding that he was not concerned if Mr Trump mocked him for stuttering if he became the eventual Democratic nominee.

“If you ask the polls, 'Does Biden stutter? Has he ever stuttered?,' you'd have 80 to 95% of people say no," he said, adding that the president would be exposed “for what he is” if he made fun of his stutter.

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