Speaking to donors at the New York law firm where former Attorney General Loretta Lynch works, Joe Biden said he believed he was the Democrat who could defeat President Trump 2020.
The Tuesday morning event at the prestigious midtown Manhattan law firm was attended by about 100 donors and boasted a contribution level of $2,800, according to a pool report by a New York Times correspondent. The 76-year-old Biden told the crowd he had some thoughts on defeating Trump.
“I think I can be the guy that maybe can turn some of this around, we’ll see,” Biden said, according to the pool report. “I think, I think, I think that we have a clear chance of beating Donald Trump. And I think it’s absolutely an obligation we have to our kids and our grandkids, to make sure he’s not there four more years.”
Videoing of the event was not permitted. Biden, who suffered from a stutter as a child, has long had a habit of stumbling over his words and slurring his speech. He struggled with a number of words and phrases when he announced his presidential run.
At the fundraiser, Biden said the president engaged in politics that are “all about dividing us” in ways that are “dangerous — truly, truly dangerous.”
“The president not only goes after folks that are, don’t look like him, but he goes after folks who in fact have, they’re his allies,” Biden said. “Look what happens. Whether it’s a Republican Congress or Democratic Congress, he attacks them. Why? To bring down those barriers that are all about the notion of abuse of power.”
Biden said, “If you want someone with a clenched fist and a hard heart … we already have one of those guys. I’m not that guy. I’m not that guy. I’m able to use my fist, I’m able to play brass knuckle politics in terms of what we have to do to get things done. But I’m not that guy and we can’t be that country.”
After the Tuesday morning fundraiser, Biden set off to a second law firm to solicit donations.
