Recently, the panelists on ABC’s “The View” discussed the upcoming debate between former President Donald Trump and incumbent Joe Biden. The co-hosts suggested that Trump could attack the president with comments about Hunter Biden, who was recently convicted in his federal trial.
“What if Trump says something about his son, about Biden’s son — that’s a trigger point?” Behar asked. The panel of ladies stated that if Trump composed himself and was “not crazy” while debating policy instead of personal attacks, he would have a successful debate.
On the other hand, the predominantly liberal co-hosts opined that President Biden must show up and demonstrate his cognitive function to succeed at the debate. Over the past several years, Biden has drawn substantial concern around his mental and physical health.
“I think the Republicans and Trump and his minions have done themselves such a disservice with all of these edited cut and splice videos spreading around of Biden seeming lost and decrepit,” said Ana Navarro. “They’ve lowered the bar so that if Joe Biden shows up and doesn’t keel over on his way to the podium, he’s had a good night.”
Navarro continued, asserting that Biden should look for ways to attack Trump. “I think he needs to mock him, get under his skin. He needs to cure Trump amnesia that this country has and remind us of the horror of the four years,” she said.
Sarah Haines weighed in, claiming that it could be an effective strategy to get Trump worked up, but simultaneously cautioned against resorting to mockery. She said, “You could stay the more, like, regular person and be the contrast to his crazy, just by talking about some of the things that enrage him. Talk about who won the election. He is a highly emotional reactive human being.”
Haines continued, adding that Biden shouldn’t attempt to play Trump at his game of mockery. “I would prefer he doesn’t mock him because mocking is Donald Trump’s weapon. He does it well. Let him do that. Beat him on calm topics that will just make him lose his mind.” Watch a clip from the segment below:
Behar then worried that Trump would call out the recent Hunter Biden conviction. However, co-host Sunny Hostin opined that President Biden would handle the situation appropriately if Trump employed such tactics. “I think Biden is a real statesman, and I think he will rise to that occasion,” she said. “And we know who Trump is. He’s a convicted felon,” she said.
Navarro claimed that it would be a poor decision for Trump to attack Biden on the grounds of his son’s federal trial. “You know something? If Donald Trump goes after Hunter Biden, he does it at his own peril,” she said. “It’s few American families that haven’t been touched by the scour [sic] of addiction, including the Trump family. He has a brother who died of addiction.”
However, former President Trump recently expressed empathy for President Biden following Hunter’s guilty verdict in the federal trial. “It’s a very tough situation for a father. It’s a very tough situation for a brother or sister, and it goes on, and it’s not stopping, whether it’s alcohol or drugs or whatever it may be,” he said.
Featured image credit: Hunter image By Center for Strategic & International Studies – Panel 3: Our Shared Opportunity: A Vision for Global Prosperity, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93062660
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