Joe Biden delivers a sharp rebuke against Donald Trump: 'He has no clue, period'

Vice President Joe Biden.
(Image credit: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

Vice President Joe Biden is confident that the United States is on the right path, but the "threats are too great" and the "times are too uncertain" for Donald Trump to ever come close to the Oval Office.

"His cynicism is unbounded and his lack of empathy and compassion can be summed up in a phrase I suspect he is most proud of making famous: 'You're fired,'" Biden said. "He's trying to tell us he cares about the middle class? Give me a break, that's a bunch of malarky!" Trump "doesn't have a clue about the middle class," Biden continued. "He has no clue about what makes America great. Actually, he has no clue, period." The audience, thrilled by Biden's words, began to chant, "Not a clue! Not a clue!"

Biden was just getting warmed up. "No major party nominee in the history of this nation has ever known less or has been less prepared to deal with our national security," he said. "We cannot elect a man who exploits our fears of ISIS and other terrorists, who has no plan whatsoever to make us safer. A man who embraces the tactics of our enemies: Torture, religious intolerance."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

It wasn't all doom and gloom. Biden began his speech by calling Obama "one of the finest presidents we've ever had," and received a standing ovation when he mentioned his late son, Beau Biden, who died from cancer in 2015. He shared details about his personal relationship with Hillary Clinton, and what having a woman president would mean for his daughter and granddaughters. Biden ended his speech on a rah-rah note, saying that it's "never been a good bet to bet against America" and the country can get through anything. "We endure, we overcome, and we always move forward. That why I can say with absolute conviction I am more optimistic about our chances today than when I was a 29-year-old kid in the Senate. The 21st century is going to be the American century, because we lead not only by example of our power but by the power of our example. … God willing, Hillary will write the next chapter of our journey." Catherine Garcia

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.