Biden says Trump is an 'idiot' for calling Russian election interference a hoax

Joe Biden.
(Image credit: Sean Rayford/Getty images)

Former Vice President Joe Biden had a lot to say during a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday night.

The 2020 Democratic presidential candidate first explained why former President Barack Obama has not endorsed him, telling interviewer Norah O'Donnell that he wants to "earn this on my own," but has "no doubt when I'm the nominee he'll be out on the campaign trail for me." Biden also discussed how he will fund health care and education by repealing tax cuts for people who make more than $400,000 a year and increasing tax rates on those who earn between $250,000 and $400,000. "The fact is that what we should be doing is making sure that the wealthy pay their fare share," he said.

Last week, Facebook announced that Russian trolls were using fake profiles to target Biden, and Biden was asked about this and Trump's insistence that the intelligence is wrong and Russian election interference is a hoax. "He's an idiot in terms of saying that," Biden said. "Everybody knows this. Everybody knows it. Nobody doubts it." He also reiterated that there was nothing wrong with his son, Hunter Biden, being on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while he was vice president, something that has been fuel for Trump and other Republicans who have accused the Bidens of corruption.

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"He did not do a single thing wrong, as everybody's investigated," Biden said. Trump needs to focus on himself, he added, and release his tax returns. "Let's see how straight you are, okay old buddy?" he said. "I put out 21 years of mine. So show us your tax returns...what are you hiding? You wanna deal with corruption? Start to act like it. Release your tax returns or shut up." Catherine Garcia

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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.