Trump Unexpectedly Defends Biden After North Korea Attacks Top Dem Rival

President Donald Trump as he departs the White House on June 2, 2019, and former Vice President Joe Biden during the kickoff of his presidential election campaign in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 18, 2019. (Photo... President Donald Trump as he departs the White House on June 2, 2019, and former Vice President Joe Biden during the kickoff of his presidential election campaign in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 18, 2019. (Photo credit: JIM WATSON,DOMINICK REUTER/AFP via Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

President Donald Trump defended 2020 Democratic candidate Joe Biden on Sunday morning after North Korea’s state-run news agency called Biden a “rabid dog” who “must be beaten to death with a stick.”

“Mr. Chairman, Joe Biden may be Sleepy and Very Slow, but he is not a ‘rabid dog,'” Trump tweeted. “He is actually somewhat better than that, but I am the only one who can get you where you have to be.”

Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a media outlet controlled by North Korea’s autocratic regime, attacked Biden last week after the Democratic candidate called out the country’s leader Kim Jong Un for being a “murderous dictator.”

“Rabid dogs like Baiden [sic] can hurt lots of people if they are allowed to run about,” KCNA commentators said. “They must be beaten to death with a stick, before it is too late.”

Trump’s surprising defense of Biden comes amid both the Trump administration’s collapsing denuclearization negotiations with North Korea and the House impeachment investigation into Trump’s efforts to coerce Ukraine into investigating Biden.

Latest News
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: