The attacks between President Biden and former President Trump turned personal at Thursday night’s debate.
Biden started the name-calling, recounting what a military general reportedly told him: that Trump called veterans “a bunch of losers and suckers.”
“My son was not a loser. He’s not a sucker,” Biden said, referring to his late son, Beau, who served in the military in Iraq. Then, jabbing his finger in the air at his opponent, Biden added, “You’re the sucker. You’re the loser.”
Trump said the quote was a lie: “To think that I would, in front of generals and others, say, ‘Suckers and losers,’” Trump said. “He made up the suckers and losers. So he should apologize to me right now.”
Biden and Trump then sparred over the criminal cases that have embroiled the former president and Biden’s other son, Hunter. A jury recently found Hunter Biden guilty of three counts: lying on a federal background check form, giving a false statement and possessing a gun while using drugs.
“When he talks about a convicted felon, his son is a convicted felon. At a very high level. His son is convicted, going to be convicted probably numerous other times, should have been convicted before but his Justice Department let the statute of limitations lapse,” the Republican candidate said, before adding that Biden could be convicted once he leaves office. “This man is a criminal. This man, you’re lucky. You’re lucky. I did nothing wrong. We have a system that was rigged and disgusting. I did nothing wrong.”
“Only person on this stage [who] is a convicted felon, is the man I’m looking at right now,” Biden said at another point, speaking of Trump, who was recently convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
A jury found that Trump authorized hush money payments to his personal lawyer to prevent the publication of a story alleging that Trump had sex with Stormy Daniels, an adult film actor.
“And think of all the civil penalties you have … for doing a whole range of things, of having sex with a porn star … while your wife was pregnant,” Biden said. “What are you talking about? You have the morals of an alley cat.”
Trump reiterated his argument that he did not have sex with Daniels and that the case, which he is appealing, was politically motivated. He noted that he raised a record-breaking amount of money after the verdict came down.
“Because the public knows it’s a scam. And it’s a guy that’s after his political opponent because he can’t win fair and square,” Trump said.
Trump told moderator Dana Bash that he would accept the 2024 results if they were “fair.”
“You’re a whiner,” Biden said to Trump, of his refusal to accept the 2020 election results. “I doubt you’ll accept it because you’re such a whiner. … Something snapped in you when you lost last time.”