President Donald Trump, 71, and former Vice President Joe Biden, 75, are currently openly fantasising about who of them would come on top during a fistfight.
No, this not an Onion story.
During a speech at an anti-sexual assault rally at the University of Miami Wednesday, Biden addressed Trump's "grab them by the pussy" comments on the infamous Access Hollywood tape.
"A guy who ended up becoming our national leader said, ‘I can grab a woman anywhere, and she likes it,'" Biden told students. "They asked me if I’d like to debate this gentleman, and I said 'no.' I said, 'If we were in high school, I’d take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him.'"
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
He went on, "I’ve been in a lot of locker rooms my whole life. I’m a pretty [darn] good athlete. Any guy that talked that way was usually the fattest, ugliest S.O.B. in the room."
Not one to remain silent, the president responded to Biden via his favourite medium: Twitter.
"Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault," Trump tweeted. "He doesn’t know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don’t threaten people Joe!"
Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault. He doesn’t know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don’t threaten people Joe!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 22, 2018
As both men said, this is not the first time Biden has talked about fighting Trump. At a rally for then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in October 2016, Biden told the crowd he would "take Trump behind the gym" and beat him.
What the president didn't mention in his tweet is that both times Biden has talked about a fistfight has been in the context of mentioning Trump's remarks about being able to sexual assault women because he is famous. (Nearly 20 women to date have accused the president of sexual misconduct. He denies the allegations.)
In any case, we would expect adult men in the public sphere to conduct themselves better and set an example for others that don't involve toxic ways to express the idea of masculinity, but alas, here we are. It's also worth mentioning, as CNN's Jake Tapper pointed out, that these "tough guys" never served in the military — one deferred because of asthma and the other because of bone spurs.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
So, to summarise: Two men who are over 70 years old and who are likely to run for president in the next election are currently engaged in schoolboy taunts and threats of physical violence. Make of that what you will.
Read these stories next: