April 16, 2020 | 3: 02pm
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said that he likely will not be able to reach President Trump’s base, saying that some of the most committed of his supporters “support the notion” of creating division.
Asked at a virtual fundraiser Wednesday evening if he was hopeful he could reach the commander in chief’s staunchest backers, the former vice president remarked with a laugh, “His base? Probably not.”
“There are people who support the president because they like the fact that he is engaged in the politics of division. They really support the notion that, you know, all Mexicans are rapists and all Muslims are bad and…dividing this nation based on ethnicity, race,” the 2020 hopeful continued, “This is the one of the few presidents who succeeded by deliberately trying to divide the country not unite the country.”
Biden described the Trump base as individuals being “among the people I grew up with, white working-class, high-school educated people,” citing data his team collected.
He went on to say that those in his base were “going through a really difficult transition” in 2016, which is a reason some chose to vote for Trump, adding that the then-candidate blamed Democrats for the problems they were facing.
Biden later accused the president of forgetting about those who got him elected, saying that Trump had “decimated” this group’s “ability to have health insurance” and for this reason, the ex-VP did not believe he would secure a 2020 reelection victory.
Remaining confident, Biden went on to say that he believes the biggest concern “of the people we lost” in 2016 is having adequate healthcare.
“It’s about dignity…He doesn’t seem to give a damn about it, he doesn’t talk about it at all, he has no sense of empathy,” he said of President Trump, adding, “That’s why I think the Democratic party will be able to win those folks back.”
“The people who voted Republican last time…who don’t want to vote for Trump — whether they want to vote for me or not is a different story — but they don’t want to vote for Trump, they’re looking for an alternative and I think, I hope to God, I can provide that alternative…I really mean it. I think there’s a chance.”
