Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Lara Trump appears to mock Biden for his stutter: ‘Joe, can you get the words out?’

‘Joe, can you get it out? Let’s get the words out, Joe'

Chris Riotta
New York
Friday 17 January 2020 17:14 GMT
Comments
Lara Trump mocks Joe Biden for stutter

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Lara Trump, who serves as the face of Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign, has seemingly mocked Joe Biden for stuttering after the former vice president opened up along the campaign trail about overcoming his speech impediment.

The 37-year-old senior adviser to the president’s re-election campaign and wife of his youngest son Eric, made the controversial comments during a “Women for Trump” event in Iowa on Thursday, telling a crowd of supporters: “I feel kind of sad for Joe Biden, and you know that’s when it’s not going well for him, right?”

“I’m supposed to want him to fail at every turn,” she added, “but every time he’s on stage and they turn to him I’m like, ‘Joe, can you get it out? Let’s get the words out, Joe.’”

Mr Biden, a 2020 Democratic hopeful who has led most national polls in recent months, revealed in an interview with The Atlantic that he dealt with stuttering ever since he was a child, when he used to feel “shame” in high school and experienced bullying.

Ms Trump was not the first person within the president’s orbit to mock the leading Democratic candidate for his stutter: former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also appeared to make fun of Mr Biden over a moment at the December debates last year.

Ms Sanders seemingly imitated a stuttering child in a tweet during the debate, writing: “I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I hhhave absolutely no idea what Biden is talking about.” The former White House official was later forced to apologise, claiming she was unaware Mr Biden dealt with stuttering.

“I've worked my whole life to overcome a stutter”, he replied in a tweet of his own. “And it's my great honour to mentor kids who have experienced the same. It's called empathy. Look it up."

Ms Sanders later said she should have made her point “respectfully”.

Mr Biden said stuttering “gave me an insight I don’t think I ever would have had into other people’s pain” in his interview with The Atlantic, adding that he was not concerned if Mr Trump mocked him for stuttering if he became the eventual Democratic nominee.

“If you ask the polls, 'Does Biden stutter? Has he ever stuttered?,' you'd have 80 to 95% of people say no," he said, adding that the president would be exposed “for what he is” if he made fun of his stutter.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in