It’s been nearly two weeks to the day since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, and former Vice President Joe Biden just endorsed the cause.
As a 2020 presidential candidate widely considered the frontrunner, calling for the impeachment of the sitting president for the first time is notable. But given the circumstances surrounding the impeachment probe — which is centered on Trump’s efforts to get a foreign power to investigate Biden’s son — it took Biden a while to come around to it.
During an event Wednesday in New Hampshire, Biden said that Trump had committed “impeachable offenses” and elevated the validity of Democrats’ probe before offering a full-throated embrace of the effort.
“To preserve our Constitution, our democracy, our basic integrity, he should be impeached,” Biden said. “That’s not only because of what he’s done. To answer whether he’s committed acts sufficient to warrant impeachment is obvious. We see it in Trump’s own words. We see it in the texts from State Department officials that have been made public. We see it in his pulling much of the United States government into his corrupt schemes, individuals within the government, his appointees. But we have to remember that impeachment isn’t only about what the President’s done, it’s about the threat the President poses to the nation if they allowed to remain in office.”
Biden says Trump should be impeached pic.twitter.com/gMbFo0DCoo
— TPM Livewire (@TPMLiveWire) October 9, 2019
Trump responded within minutes.
So pathetic to see Sleepy Joe Biden, who with his son, Hunter, and to the detriment of the American Taxpayer, has ripped off at least two countries for millions of dollars, calling for my impeachment – and I did nothing wrong. Joe’s Failing Campaign gave him no other choice!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2019