In a truly bizarro world moment on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, Joe Biden (D-DE) told a woman who asked about his electability following his failure in Iowa that she is a “lying dog-faced pony soldier.”
I kid you not.
I’m not sure he “snapped” at her, as there seems to be some levity here, starting when she said her question was “mean” and Biden took off his jacket. But . . . the optics are not good.
The woman, who said she is an economics major, asked the Democratic presidential candidate how he explains his standing after Iowa, where the former vice president emerged in fourth place.”Good question. Number one Iowa is a Democratic caucus. Ever been to a caucus?” Biden asked the woman.She reportedly responded that she had.”No you haven’t, you’re a lying, dog-faced pony solider. You gotta be honest,” Biden responded to laughter, using a joke his campaign said he has made before.As the clip of the interaction began making the rounds, Biden’s campaign rushed to point out the line was a joke he had made multiple times and was met with laughter.
The internet, of course, has to internet, so it’s lit up like crazy with Biden defenders stressing the levity leading up to the comment (levity that, to me at least, is clearly present), but it’s hard not to notice that the same people who a moment earlier were laughing loudly when Biden took off his jacket had switched to a subdued nervous laughter following the “you’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier” line.
Apparently, this is a line from a John Wayne movie. Or something.
[UPDATE: Slate has located a 2018 video of Biden using this line:
. . . back to original post.]
Even if Biden was using the line in a joking manner (presumably to avoid answering the very reasonable question posed), the optics here are not good.
He’s lashed out at voters before, infamously telling one man that he was “a damn liar.” While this time doesn’t have the same “feel” to it, the optics are not good.
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