President Trump says a ‘big secret’ is the reason why Joe Biden hasn’t received an endorsement from his old boss Barack Obama.
‘How [Biden] doesn’t get President Obama to endorse him – there has to be some reason why he’s not endorsing him,’ Trump told The Hill on Monday.
The president also called Biden a liar for claiming that the Democratic front runner asked Obama not to endorse him.
‘He was the vice president,’ Trump said of Biden.
‘They seem to have gotten along. And how President Obama’s not endorsing him is rather a big secret.
President Trump (left) said on Monday that a ‘big secret’ may explain why Joe Biden (right) has yet to receive an endorsement from Barack Obama
After entering the race, Obama praised Biden, but stopped short of endorsing him. Obama is seen center alongside NBA Commissioner Adam Silver (left) and TV personality Ahmad Rashad (right) at the NBA Finals in Toronto on June 2
‘Then he goes and lies and said, “I asked the president not to endorse me.”
‘Give me a break.’
Trump continued: ‘[Biden is] embarrassed by the fact that Obama’s not endorsing him, so he goes out and says, “I asked President Obama not to endorse me.”
‘So it could be that President Obama knows something, but there is something going on in that brain of his.’
When asked specifically what he thought was going on in Biden’s brain, Trump replied: ‘I think he’s off. He’s different.
‘We’ve all known him a long time. I’ve seen him for a long time.
‘Frankly, he looks different, he sounds different, and he thinks different.
‘Other than that, I hope he does very well.’
After Biden announced his candidacy in April, Obama praised him, but stopped short of offering a full-throated endorsement.
A spokesperson for the 44th president said picking Biden as his running mate was ‘one of the best decisions’ he made.
‘He relied on the vice president’s knowledge, insight, and judgment throughout both campaigns and the entire presidency,’ Obama’s spokesperson Katie Hill said in a statement in late April.
‘The two forged a special bond over the last 10 years and remain close today.’
When asked why Obama has yet to endorse him, Biden said in April: ‘I asked President Obama not to endorse.
‘Whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits.’
When asked why Obama has yet to endorse him, Biden said in April: ‘I asked President Obama not to endorse. Whoever wins this nomination should win it on their own merits.’ Obama and Biden are seen above at the White House in November 2016
A few days after Biden launched his campaign, he released a video which showed a clip of a speech by Obama praising his vice president as ‘resilient, loyal, and a patriot.’
The campaign ad, titled ‘America: Anything Is Possible,’ shows Obama speaking at the ceremony in which he honored Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House in 2017.
‘He revitalized American manufacturing as the head of our middle-class task force,’ Obama says in the speech.
‘He fought to make college more affordable. He suited up for our cancer moonshot, giving hope to millions of Americans. Joe’s candid counsel has made me a better president.
‘He led our “It’s On Us” campaign against campus sexual assault.
‘He championed landmark legislation to protect women from violence.
‘He led our efforts to combat gun violence.
‘He could not have been a more effective partner in the progress that we’ve made.’
Biden, who has consistently been the front-runner in the Democratic presidential primary, drew sharp criticism from his Democratic rivals this week when he pointed to the ‘civility’ during his early time in the U.S. Senate in the 1970s when he worked with segregationists.
Biden has refused to apologize, pointing out that he opposed segregationists.