‘It’s called empathy. Look it up.’ Joe Biden slams Sarah Sanders after ex-Trump press secretary mocks his stutter when he tells of a child with their shared problem asking him for help
Former Vice President Joe Biden slammed ex-White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for mocking the stutter he used to share an anecdote about a young man asking him for help with the problem they share.
‘I’ve worked my whole life to overcome a stutter. And it’s my great honor to mentor kids who have experienced the same. It’s called empathy. Look it up,’ the 2020 presidential contender tweeted minutes after the conclusion of Thursday night’s Democratic debate.
Sanders had tweeted, ‘I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I hhhave absolutely no idea what Biden is talking about,’ directly after the ex-veep talked at the debate about a little kid coming up to him and saying ‘I I I I I I I can’t talk, what do I do?’
Vice President Joe Biden went after former Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders after she mocked the stutter he had used to talk about a young kid coming up and talking to him about how to overcome their shared problem
Joe Biden went after Sarah Sanders directly after leaving the debate stage, saying ‘it’s called empathy. Look it up’
Biden was talking about Americans who had touched him, including people on the trail who have experienced grief. Biden has lost a wife, baby daughter and adult son, to a car accident and then brain cancer.
He’s also talked openly about struggling with a stutter.
‘I have scores of these young women and men who I keep in contact with,’ he said onstage of fellow stutterers who he’s encountered in his decades-long political career.
On Twitter, some people thought Biden was mocking the kid.
Biden’s senior adviser, Symone Sanders, was quick to react.
‘He was a kid who stuttered terribly and was demonstrating what he used to deal with as a child while talking about the way he connects with people about it on the trail. He definitely wasn’t mocking!’ she wrote, responding to a tweet that said the vice president was ‘so f***ing stupid’ and an ‘old man.’
Sanders, the Biden surrogate, then went after Sanders, the Trump spokeswoman.
‘Is this truly the example you want to set for your children Sarah?’ Symone Sanders tweeted. ‘It’s sad you missed VP Biden talking about how he connects with people on the trail whether they struggle with a stutter or losing a loved one.’
Shortly thereafter, Biden himself knocked the former press secretary using Twitter.
She defended herself by saying she didn’t mean it that way.
‘To be clear was not trying to make fun of anyone with a speech impediment. Simply pointing out I can’t follow much of anything Biden is talking about,’ the former press secretary said.
As their tweets went viral, Sanders apologized.
‘I actually didn’t know that about you and that is commendable. I apologize and should have made my point respectfully,’ she said.