A new video from President Trump’s re-election campaign takes a big swipe at former Vice President Joe Biden’s fitness for office, spotlighting clips of his recent gaffes and other verbal fumbles coupled with copious clips of pundits questioning his readiness.
The web video, tweeted Tuesday morning by campaign manager Brad Parscale and shared first with Fox News, stitches together everything from his recent debate-stage musing about “record players” to his statement that “poor kids” are just as talented as “white kids.” Interspersed with the clips of the 76-year-old Biden’s comments are those of pundits wondering about his stumbles, shakiness, mental and physical stamina, whether he’s “lost a step” and whether he’s “equipped for a very grueling campaign.”
BIDEN’S AGE, MEMORY COME UNDER ATTACK AT DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
The former vice president’s age and mental acuity have been questioned ever since he launched his 2020 presidential campaign in late April. Last week, the front-runner in the Democratic nomination race faced repeated attacks from rivals over his memory.
Former Housing Secretary Julian Castro, who served in the Obama administration with Biden, landed arguably the lowest blow when he swiped at Biden’s memory — accusing him of contradicting himself on whether Americans would have to buy into his health care plan.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
“You just said two minutes ago they would have to buy in. Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago?” Castro asked, in what appeared to be a reference to past senior moments by Biden.
In that case, as the Biden campaign later noted, Castro was wrong. Biden did not say during the debate that individuals would have to buy in. Instead, he said that individuals would automatically be enrolled if they lost their jobs.
But Biden has drawn criticism for other stumbles. And another rival, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, backed Castro after the debate and raised further questions about Biden’s ability to carry the banner for the Democrats into 2020.
“I think we are at a tough point right now, because there’s a lot of people concerned about Joe Biden’s ability to carry the ball all the way across the end line without fumbling,” Booker told CNN in an interview. “And I think that Castro had really legitimate concerns about can he be someone in a long grueling campaign… and has every right to call out.”
A clip of that Booker interview appears in the Trump campaign video.
The jabs from some of his mid- and lower-tier rivals are raising concerns that Biden – if he wins the nomination — would be weakened for the general election showdown against Trump.
Biden is far from the only candidate where age is an issue. The president is 72 and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont – another top tier Democratic presidential candidate – is 77. Another top Democratic White House rival, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, is 70. But concerns about their ages have been less of a factor.
There is no digital ad buy associated with the video yet, but the campaign has not ruled one out.
Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.