Joe Biden coolly shoots down a Trump tweet about the Ukraine scandal: 'Release the transcript of the call then'

(Image credit: AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

published 23 September 2019

Former Vice President Joe Biden has a suggestion for President Trump.

It took Biden a little while to respond to an angry tweet Trump fired off Sunday, in which he criticized the media for reporting on the story about his July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. But the Democratic presidential candidate took to the social media platform himself Monday and seemingly remained cool, calm, and collected as he called for the president to "release the transcript" if he was so sure he did nothing wrong.

Trump confirmed Sunday that he and Zelensky talked about investigating Biden's son, but he's continued to defend his right do so. Trump dismissed the accusations that he was pressuring Zelensky as a "witch hunt," and said he was not taking threats of impeachment seriously. But he did say that "If we're supporting a country," referring to Ukraine, "we want to make sure that country is honest" and that it's "very important" to talk about corruption.

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Later on Monday, though, Trump tried to shift the focus back to Biden, telling reporters that if a Republican "ever did what Joe Biden did...they'd be getting the electric chair right now." Biden's primary victory is far from a sure thing, but in the scenario his early lead in the polls does hold, we may have received a brief glimpse at what to expect if these two face off for the Oval Office next year.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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