Biden has Democratic debate audience give a standing ovation to Vindman

Former Vice President Joe Biden asked the audience of the Democratic debate in New Hampshire Friday night to give a standing ovation to the fired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman.  

‘And by the way, Colonel Vindman got thrown out of the White House today, walked out,’ Biden told the crowd at St. Anselm College. ‘He should be pinning a medal on Vindman and not on Rush Limbaugh.’ 

Biden then asked for some audience participation. 

Audience members starting popping out of their chairs at the urging of former Vice President Joe Biden who asked them to give a standing ovation to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman 

Cameras panned to the Democratic debate audience on their feet applauding for Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified against President Trump during the House’s impeachment investigation

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was fired by President Trump Friday as part of a post-impeachment purge of officials who testified against him. Vindman testified about Trump’s Ukraine plot in November before the House Intelligence Committee 

‘I think we should all stand and give Colonel Vindman a show of how much we support him,’ the former vice president and 2020 hopeful said. ‘Stand up and clap for Vindman,’ he instructed those taking in the eighth Democratic debate.’ 

‘Get up there,’ he ordered. 

‘That’s who we are, we are not what Trump is,’ Biden said.  

Vindman was escorted from White House grounds Friday as President Trump started a post-impeachment purge of those who testified against him during House proceedings. 

Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland met the same fate several hours later. 

Biden had segued to Vindman after the topic had once again turned to his son, Hunter Biden.

Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg had been asked whether the party should be concerned about nominating a candidate who was still ‘under the threat of investigation.’  

‘No. And we’re not going to let them change the subject. This is not about Hunter Biden or Vice President Biden or any Biden – this is about an abuse of power of the president,’ Buttigieg said. 

‘The vice president and I and all of us are competing but we’ve got to draw a line here,’ the ex-mayor added.  

Trump’s impeachment revolved around a scheme to hold up nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the country’s president to announce invesigations into Joe and Hunter Biden, as Hunter Biden had sat on the board of a Ukrainian gas company. 

During the weeks of impeachment hearings, Trump tried to paint Hunter Biden’s board position as corrupt, of which there’s no evidence. 

Republicans wanted to call Hunter Biden to testify, even though his business dealings in Ukraine were peripheral to Trump’s plot that got the president impeached by House Democrats. 

Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg slapped President Trump for ‘seek[ing] to turn someone against his own son’ and ‘seek[ing] to weaponize a son against his own father’ in refeence to Joe Biden (left) and Hunter Biden (right) 

Despite there being fireworks between Biden and Buttigieg, especially in light of the 38-year-old beating the ex-vice president soundly in Iowa, the former mayor expressed compassion in that moment. 

‘To be the kind of president – to be the kind of human being who would seek to turn someone against his own son, who would seek to weaponize a son against his own father, is an unbelievably dishonorable thing,’ Buttigieg said. 

‘That is just one more example of why we as a party have to be completely united in doing whatever it takes at the end of the day to make sure that this president does not get a second term,’ Buttigieg added. 

When it was Biden’s turn to speak he said, ‘I thank my colleague for saying that.’ 

‘It is a diversion,’ he said. ‘But here’s the deal, whomever Whomever the nominee is the president is going to make up lies about.’  

‘He thinks he has free rein right now,’ Biden pointed out, using Vindman’s firing as an example.