Donald Trump is planning to launch a vicious attack on Hunter Biden , the son of Democratic candidate Joe Biden , at the first presidential debate.
The president has not been shy in taking aim at the only surviving son of the former vice president, claiming, without evidence, that Hunter Biden was engaged in corruption in Ukraine and had improper financial dealings with China. This even led to Trump’s impeachment last year after his efforts to press Ukraine into launching an investigation of the Bidens.
As The Daily Mail reported, via the Washington Post , he plans to continue the attack on the debate stage in Cleveland when the candidates meet for the first time next Tuesday.
The report noted that some of Biden’s allies are worried that he may not be prepared if Trump launches into a sharp and personal attack against his family, noting that Biden has worked mostly on debate prep that includes laying out plans for how he would respond to the coronavirus pandemic and calling out Trump on his handling of the economy.
“It’s like training for a knife fight and somebody is getting an Uzi,” a Democratic congressional aide said.
Trump and some of his allies have claimed that Hunter Biden improperly used his father’s ties to score a business position with a Ukrainian energy firm, and that the elder Biden used his power to squash an investigation of the company. Critics say there is no evidence to back those claims.
Others in the president’s orbit have taken aim at Hunter Biden during the campaign. As The Inquisitr reported, Donald Trump Jr. had publicly challenged him to a debate about which one of them had benefited more from their father’s status. Critics have said that Trump Jr. has no standing to launch such attacks, noting that he owes his professional career and his fortune directly to his father.
Joe Biden has fiercely defended his family against criticism in the past, but some close to the Democratic candidate expressed concern that he may lose his cool on the stage in Cleveland if Trump were to bring this up.
Trump has also gained a reputation for an unconventional approach to debates that often include personal attacks. In 2016, he invited Bill Clinton’s accusers to sit in the debate audience in what was seen as a move meant to fluster Hillary Clinton, and during Republican primary debates he used biting statements and coined derisive nicknames for his opponents.