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In a rare public address, former President Joe Biden has taken repeated swipes at President Donald Trump — including over his State of the Union address, the Epstein controversy and the war in Ukraine. At one point, he declared, “There’s something wrong with this guy.”
The remarks were made during a 20-minute speech in Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday, where Democratic leaders gathered to commemorate Biden’s decades of public service.
“My friends, I can’t sugarcoat this,” the 83-year-old former president told a crowd of supporters. “These are dark days. The threats we face today are not anything new but they’ve been amplified in the ways we have never seen before. Our future is literally on the line.”
Biden stated that Trump is attempting to “steal the election,” claiming he is putting up barriers to dissuade Americans from voting.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent.
The former president — who dropped out of the 2024 race amid concerns about his mental and physical fitness — went on to criticize Trump over his handling of a host of issues.
“Did you see Trump give the State of the Union? Is he still talking?” Biden said, referencing the president’s record-breaking address to Congress this week.
“It’s unbelievable, the guy talks almost two hours but never mentions the anniversary of Putin invading Ukraine. Never once,” he said.
He noted that, during his prime-time address, Trump did not offer “support or even recognition” to the victims of Jeffrey Epstein seated in the House chamber. Nor, Biden said, did he mention Renee Good or Alex Pretti — the two Americans killed by federal immigration agents in Minnesota.
Biden, who is being treated for an aggressive form of prostate cancer, also appeared to address a video posted to Trump’s Truth Social account which depicted the Obamas as primates.
“He has not said a word, he meaning Trump, about the racist comments he wrote about Barack and Michelle,” the former president said.
The White House has said that a staffer “erroneously” made the post. It was taken down several hours after condemnation by politicians on both sides of the aisle.
Biden’s speech was peppered with references to his White House accomplishments — juxtaposed against Trump’s. He stated that his jobs numbers outstripped those of his successor and that he worked to strengthen the health care system, while Trump has attempted to weaken it.
Trump, for his part, has repeatedly derided Biden as “incompetent,” blamed him for unchecked illegal immigration and for “weaponizing” the Department of Justice against him.
