Joe Biden says Trump Jr ‘sick’ for calling him a paedophile
‘What he’s trying to do is get something going on the Internet’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Joe Biden has criticised Donald Trump Jr for posting a meme on Instagram that insinuated the former vice president is a paedophile.
Over the weekend, the president’s eldest son posted a meme to his Instagram page, which showed a crocodile saying to Mr Biden: “In a while pedophile.”
Mr Trump Jr posted several memes of Mr Biden on Instagram over the weekend, and attempted to downplay the crocodile post as a joke.
In right wing forums, unsubstantiated accusations that Mr Biden is a paedophile have been circulating for years, often accompanied by “creepy Joe” memes, which suggest the President is inappropriate around children.
Mr Biden has been accused of sexual assault by his former staffer Tara Reade, but has never been accused of misconduct with a child.
Speaking at a Yahoo virtual town hall on Tuesday, Mr Biden said that Mr Trump Jr spreading lies on the Internet, is a tactic he would expect of his father, president Donald Trump.
“It’s sick. But he is his father’s son,” the presumptive Democratic nominee for president said.
“What he’s trying to do is get something going on the Internet. Just try to get it going,” Mr Biden said. “Say it enough like his father says. If you say it enough people believe it.”
When asked if he would combat accusations similar to Mr Trump Jr’s during the 2020 election campaign, Mr Biden replied: “No, I don’t want to get down in the mud with these guys.
“I mean, look, people know who I am. The good news is the bad news. They know me. They know my faults, talents,” he said.
The former vice president added: “They know me. So it’s hard to lay on me some of the things that are just out of sync with anything in my whole life that anyone has ever said in their life. But this is bizarre.”
Mr Trump Jr responded to Mr Biden in a tweet on Tuesday, where he claimed he never accused the former vice president of being a paedophile, but still suggested that he is inappropriate around children.
“I didn’t actually accuse you of that,” he tweeted. “I simply posted a joke meme, but based on all the touching and hair sniffing in the below video, I am 100% accusing you of being creepy as hell.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments