On Wednesday, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said that President Donald Trump should be impeached, The Hill reports.
“Donald Trump has violated his oath of office, betrayed this nation and committed impeachable acts,” the former vice president said during a campaign event in Rochester, New Hampshire.
“To preserve our Constitution, our democracy, our basic integrity, he should be impeached.”
Biden has long called for an investigation, but now he is openly calling for impeachment.
Last week, the former vice president dodged reporters’ questions about impeachment, refusing to say whether he supports it or not, and refusing to answer whether he would vote to convict Trump if he were still a member of the United States Senate.
Minutes after Biden called for impeachment, Trump hit back.
In a Twitter message, the president described his rival as “pathetic,” accusing both Biden and his son, Hunter, of corruption. Unlike the Bidens, Trump claims, he has done nothing wrong, and he should not be impeached.
“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!” he wrote.
Biden was quick to tweet back at the president, sarcastically thanking him for listening to his speech. The Democrat also urged the commander-in-chief to quit “stonewalling” Congressional investigations, and called on him to release tax returns.
In response to Biden’s calls for impeachment, Trump also posted a 30-second video to his official Twitter page. The video echoes many of his previous claims about the former vice president’s alleged corruption, accusing the Democratic Party of wanting to overturn the 2016 presidential election.
Sleepy Joe Biden! pic.twitter.com/oZtytImXqq
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 9, 2019
According to a complaint filed by an anonymous intelligence community whistleblower, and as a transcript of Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggests, the president pressured Ukraine to investigate the Bidens in order to damage the Democrat’s 2020 presidential campaign.
According to the whistleblower, Trump threatened to cut military aid unless Ukraine does as he says. In response to these alleged threats, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives launched a formal impeachment inquiry . Since the launching of the inquiry, the commander-in-chief has only doubled down on his allegations, publicly calling on Ukraine — and China — to investigate Biden and his son.
Biden entered the crowded Democratic primary field with a tremendous advantage over the rest of his opponents, but his lead has completely melted away. As Mediaite reported, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren is now the frontrunner, according to polls.