Joe Biden’s Team Defends Unearthed Clip Showing Him Jokingly Calling American Troops ‘Stupid Bastards’
A clip of former Vice President Joe Biden emerged from 2016 showing him jokingly referring to the American troops assembled in the crowd as “stupid bastards” and chiding them for being “dull.” After facing criticism for the video, Biden’s campaign defended the clip, saying it was done in jest and that troops laughed at his teasing, as The Daily Beast reported.
Biden was speaking with U.S. soldiers in Abu Dhabi while acting as vice president in 2016 when he joked that he had good judgment for marrying his wife, Jill Biden, and for appointing the academy’s leader. He then urged the crowd to “clap for that, you stupid bastards.”
Newly resurfaced video shows Joe Biden calling our service-members “stupid bastards.”
Where is the media’s outrage?
— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) September 25, 2020
A short while later, he joked “man, you are a dull bunch. Must be slow here, man. I don’t know.”
The clip has been met with outrage from those who feel that the comments were disrespectful or inappropriate.
Biden campaign spokesperson Andrew Bates added context to the clip that has been circulating around the internet since 2017, but has gained more attention in recent days after several pro-Trump groups and Trump supporters have been sharing it on social media.
“Vice President Biden was jokingly encouraging the audience to clap for an airwoman on the stage, and a number of service members can be seen laughing and smiling at the comment. Seconds before, he praised them for ‘the incredible sacrifices [they] make for our country,'” he said.
“He thanked them for their patriotism and courage throughout, and closed his remarks by saying, ‘you’re the finest generation of warriors the world has ever, ever known’—receiving an enthusiastic ovation,” Bates said.
Biden also told the assembled troops that he regretted that the people back home in the U. S. couldn’t see them in action to better understand the sacrifices that they were making.
The controversy comes after Biden has been expressing strong support for America’s servicemen and women in the wake of the reports that Trump has made disparaging comments about them. Reportedly, Trump said soldiers who went missing in action got what they deserved and that the country should spend fewer resources trying to recover them.
Trump is also said to have expressed confusion about why he should be forced to visit a cemetery where troops killed during World War I were laid to rest, calling them “losers,” as The Inquisitr previously reported.
Biden has previously called Trump’s alleged comments “disgusting” and said that he forcefully disagreed with them, as Politico reported at the time.
