'Gaffe Machine' Joe Biden Calls Trump a 'Loose Cannon'
Former Vice President Joe Biden has never shied away from blasting President Donald Trump, but some of his recent criticism seems hypocritical in light of Biden’s own history of frequent political gaffes.
Speaking last week with MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell, Biden called Trump a “loose cannon.”
His comment came in the context of a discussion about the possibility of Trump allowing himself to be interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Biden indicated that if he were Trump’s lawyer, he would not recommend that the president speak with Mueller, because it would be impossible to predict what Trump might say.
“Were I his lawyer, would I let him go before the counsel and answer questions?” Biden said. “I would be very, very concerned. And you can tell the whole — his whole team is concerned about what he says.”
The former vice president used this topic as a springboard to attack Trump’s communication style.
“I mean, you have the chief of staff a long time ago allegedly trying to stop his tweeting. And — and it’s not just his tweeting, it’s inaccurate tweeting. I mean, so, it’s — he’s like a loose cannon,” he said.
In calling Trump a “loose cannon,” Biden seemed to be forgetting that he is famous for his own frequent political gaffes. Indeed, he “has earned a reputation for often saying the wrong thing at the wrong time,” according to Time magazine.
For example, in 2006, he tried to imply that only Indian people frequent 7-Eleven convenience stores and Dunkin’ Donuts coffee shops in his home state of Delaware.
“You cannot go to a 7-Eleven or a Dunkin’ Donuts unless you have a slight Indian accent. I’m not joking,” Biden said, according to Politico.
Less than three years later, in 2009, Biden seemed to directly contradict then-President Barack Obama’s message of calm in the midst of the swine flu epidemic.
“I would tell members of my family, and I have, I wouldn’t go anywhere in confined places now. It’s not that it’s going to Mexico, it’s you’re in a confined aircraft when one person sneezes it goes all the way through the aircraft,” Biden said. “That’s me. I would not be, at this point, if they had another way of transportation suggesting they ride the subway. “
Moreover, in 2010, Biden was caught on a hot mic telling Obama, “This is a big f—ing deal.” Biden was referring to the Affordable Care Act, which was being signed into law that day.
Biden’s gaffes even led one ABC News reporter to call him “gaffemaking machine” in 2015. As NewsBusters pointed out at the time, though, the reporter was actually praising Biden’s “political charm.”
Despite Biden’s warning, Trump has indicated that he would be more than happy to sit down with Mueller. However, The New York Times reported last week that Trump’s lawyers have advised him against doing so.
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