Washington: US President Joe Biden on Friday (local time) took a dig at his predecessor and presidential rival Donald Trump, referring to his head-scratching comments about "injecting bleach" as a means of COVID-19 prevention in the early days of the pandemic. Biden jokingly remarked at a fundraiser that he wished Trump had injected himself with a little bleach.
Speaking at a fundraiser event south of San Francisco for his re-election campaign, Biden said the presidency of his Republican opponent was chaotic and that voters should keep that in mind. Biden and Trump are locked in a close contest ahead of the November election, as the latter grapples with several criminal charges and a high-profile hush money trial.
"Remember him saying the best thing to do is just inject a little bleach in your arm? That’s what he said. And he meant it. I wish he had done a little bit himself," Biden said, referring to Trump's remarks during the pandemic, when he said an "injection inside" the body with a disinfectant like bleach or isopropyl alcohol could help protect against the virus.
Biden on Trump's 'love letters' to Kim Jong Un
Biden also made light of what he called Trump's "love letters" from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, although Biden made another gaffe by referring to Kim as the president of South Korea. Trump had met with Kim and exchanged a number of letters with him, copies of which he kept in a loose-leaf binder in the Oval Office.
The 81-year-old President made light of Trump's bleach comment before, saying on April 24 in Washington that Trump had injected himself and "it all went to his hair." "We’ll never forget about the pandemic. He knew (it) was serious, and he acknowledged it ... but wanted to not — just keep everybody from responding to it," Biden said during the fundraiser on Friday.
He joked further and said, “Not everyone is feeling the enthusiasm these days. The other day this guy walked up, and said 'I’m in real trouble, short on cash, I don’t know what to do'. I said 'Donald I can’t help you'.” Biden also asserted that the former president "is in trouble, and he knows it".
Biden calls Trump 'Sleepy Don'
Two weeks ago, Biden used the annual black-tie event to chide his Republican rival, poke fun at his own advanced age and take on the Washington press corps. Biden opened his roast with a direct but joking focus on Trump, calling him “sleepy Don,” in reference to a nickname Trump had given the president previously. "Yes, age is an issue. I'm a grown man, running against a 6-year-old," Biden joked.
Trump reacted to the event by calling it "really bad" in a post on his Truth Social platform. "Crooked Joe was an absolute disaster! Doesn’t get much worse than this!" he said. Demonstrators holding banners outside the gathering at the Washington Hilton chanted about journalists' deaths in Gaza. Hundreds of protesters encouraged journalists to boycott the annual event and shouted down administration officials as they entered.
(with inputs from agencies)
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