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Biden Warns About Disinformation After Misleading Video | Biden Warns About Disinformation After Misleading Video |
(14 days later) | |
ANAMOSA, Iowa — As the Democratic presidential candidates fanned out across Iowa and New Hampshire on Thursday to address voters still scarred by President Trump’s victory in the 2016 election, Joseph R. Biden Jr. argued that any Democratic nominee would be vulnerable to baseless criticism and disinformation in the general election. | ANAMOSA, Iowa — As the Democratic presidential candidates fanned out across Iowa and New Hampshire on Thursday to address voters still scarred by President Trump’s victory in the 2016 election, Joseph R. Biden Jr. argued that any Democratic nominee would be vulnerable to baseless criticism and disinformation in the general election. |
Mr. Biden’s remarks in Iowa, at his first political event of the 2020 election year, came a day after a deceptive video of him circulated online, highlighting how campaigns are still struggling to combat false information on the internet. | Mr. Biden’s remarks in Iowa, at his first political event of the 2020 election year, came a day after a deceptive video of him circulated online, highlighting how campaigns are still struggling to combat false information on the internet. |
“You’re going to see a lot more of not only my statements being taken out of context and lied about or altered, you’re going to see whomever the Democratic nominee is, because that’s how this guy operates,” Mr. Biden said, adding that Democratic candidates would face unfair attacks from Mr. Trump “if I were to drop out of the race tomorrow” or “if I were to drop dead tomorrow.” (There was no evidence that the video was connected to the president.) | “You’re going to see a lot more of not only my statements being taken out of context and lied about or altered, you’re going to see whomever the Democratic nominee is, because that’s how this guy operates,” Mr. Biden said, adding that Democratic candidates would face unfair attacks from Mr. Trump “if I were to drop out of the race tomorrow” or “if I were to drop dead tomorrow.” (There was no evidence that the video was connected to the president.) |
Mr. Biden’s comment came in response to an event attendee who asked him about his ability to beat Mr. Trump, and also to clarify his remarks in the video, which had been misleadingly edited to wrongly suggest that Mr. Biden was making racist remarks. In fact he was emphasizing the need to change “our culture” around violence toward women. | Mr. Biden’s comment came in response to an event attendee who asked him about his ability to beat Mr. Trump, and also to clarify his remarks in the video, which had been misleadingly edited to wrongly suggest that Mr. Biden was making racist remarks. In fact he was emphasizing the need to change “our culture” around violence toward women. |
Still, the video spread rapidly on social media, amplified by many right-wing verified users on Twitter, including reporters at conservative news outlets, the former speaker of the Missouri House and Republican strategists, according to data compiled by Vinesight, a company that detects disinformation on social media. It is an online environment that alarms many Democratic voters who are gripped by anxiety over how best to defeat Mr. Trump. | Still, the video spread rapidly on social media, amplified by many right-wing verified users on Twitter, including reporters at conservative news outlets, the former speaker of the Missouri House and Republican strategists, according to data compiled by Vinesight, a company that detects disinformation on social media. It is an online environment that alarms many Democratic voters who are gripped by anxiety over how best to defeat Mr. Trump. |
The president, who was impeached in the House of Representatives in connection with asking Ukraine to investigate Mr. Biden, is comfortable only in a “mosh pit,” said Mr. Biden, who has faced months of false or exaggerated attacks from Mr. Trump and other Republicans. | The president, who was impeached in the House of Representatives in connection with asking Ukraine to investigate Mr. Biden, is comfortable only in a “mosh pit,” said Mr. Biden, who has faced months of false or exaggerated attacks from Mr. Trump and other Republicans. |
Still, he argued that the Democratic Party was in a far stronger position today to confront Mr. Trump than it was in 2016, noting support for the president’s impeachment among some voters — “Hillary didn’t have that advantage” — and saying that in the previous campaign, not everyone took Mr. Trump seriously. | |
In response to the questioner, who also asked whether he was running a better campaign than Hillary Clinton had, Mr. Biden offered a wide-ranging answer and relitigated how Mrs. Clinton had handled a debate after Mr. Trump was caught on tape bragging about making unsolicited sexual advances. | |
He suggested that Mrs. Clinton could have changed the subject, pivoting to how she hoped to change voters’ lives. Instead, Mr. Biden said, “she did what every other candidate probably would have done” by lacing into his character, yielding an ugly debate, and “it all went down the drain.” Yet before that debate even started, Mr. Trump had invited several women who had made allegations against former President Bill Clinton to join him for a photo opportunity. | He suggested that Mrs. Clinton could have changed the subject, pivoting to how she hoped to change voters’ lives. Instead, Mr. Biden said, “she did what every other candidate probably would have done” by lacing into his character, yielding an ugly debate, and “it all went down the drain.” Yet before that debate even started, Mr. Trump had invited several women who had made allegations against former President Bill Clinton to join him for a photo opportunity. |
Mr. Biden also noted sexism as he discussed the last campaign, which he called “unfair,” but added, “That’s not going to happen with me.” | Mr. Biden also noted sexism as he discussed the last campaign, which he called “unfair,” but added, “That’s not going to happen with me.” |
It was not just Mr. Biden who was ruminating on the 2016 election on Thursday; Mrs. Clinton’s loss in the Electoral College was on the minds of other candidates as well as voters. | It was not just Mr. Biden who was ruminating on the 2016 election on Thursday; Mrs. Clinton’s loss in the Electoral College was on the minds of other candidates as well as voters. |
At a campaign office opening in Plymouth, N.H., the entrepreneur Andrew Yang told voters: “Donald Trump is our president today because he had a very simple message — he said he was going to ‘make America great again.’ What did Hillary Clinton say in response? ‘America is already great.’” | At a campaign office opening in Plymouth, N.H., the entrepreneur Andrew Yang told voters: “Donald Trump is our president today because he had a very simple message — he said he was going to ‘make America great again.’ What did Hillary Clinton say in response? ‘America is already great.’” |
“That did not quite work,” Mr. Yang said. “The problems are real. The struggles are real. Many Americans are being left behind. But Donald Trump’s solutions were not what we need.” | “That did not quite work,” Mr. Yang said. “The problems are real. The struggles are real. Many Americans are being left behind. But Donald Trump’s solutions were not what we need.” |
And Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, campaigning at a town-hall-style event in Concord, N.H., was asked by a voter whether she would work to unite the party around the Democratic nominee if it was not her. The voter noted how some supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont did not rally behind Mrs. Clinton in the general election against Mr. Trump. | And Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, campaigning at a town-hall-style event in Concord, N.H., was asked by a voter whether she would work to unite the party around the Democratic nominee if it was not her. The voter noted how some supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont did not rally behind Mrs. Clinton in the general election against Mr. Trump. |
Ms. Warren began a lengthy answer by first committing to party unity: “Every single person who is in the race for the Democratic nomination for president would make a far better president than Donald Trump,” she said to applause. | Ms. Warren began a lengthy answer by first committing to party unity: “Every single person who is in the race for the Democratic nomination for president would make a far better president than Donald Trump,” she said to applause. |
“I’m in all the way,” she added, and started making the case for differences between the 2020 race and the 2016 campaign — chiefly, in her telling, the palpably greater determination and intensity among Democrats to beat Mr. Trump. | “I’m in all the way,” she added, and started making the case for differences between the 2020 race and the 2016 campaign — chiefly, in her telling, the palpably greater determination and intensity among Democrats to beat Mr. Trump. |
“What we have to remind ourselves is, 2020 is not 2016. The world has changed,” she said, recalling the protest marches after Mr. Trump’s inauguration and the Democratic victories in 2018 in the House of Representatives and key governorships, and in 2019 in Kentucky, Louisiana and Virginia. | “What we have to remind ourselves is, 2020 is not 2016. The world has changed,” she said, recalling the protest marches after Mr. Trump’s inauguration and the Democratic victories in 2018 in the House of Representatives and key governorships, and in 2019 in Kentucky, Louisiana and Virginia. |
“We are getting stronger and we are in this fight,” she said. “2020 gives us this remarkable moment that is very different from ’16 or ’12 or ’08 or however far you want to go back. This moment where Americans are off the sidelines.” | “We are getting stronger and we are in this fight,” she said. “2020 gives us this remarkable moment that is very different from ’16 or ’12 or ’08 or however far you want to go back. This moment where Americans are off the sidelines.” |
Saying that “the door is open a crack” to an era of major reforms and the end of “business as usual,” she added: “Think about it — a nation that elects someone like Donald Trump is a nation that has got serious problems. Going back is not where we want to be. Our chance in 2020 is to look at that crack, drop our shoulder, run hard at it and build the America we want to be.” | Saying that “the door is open a crack” to an era of major reforms and the end of “business as usual,” she added: “Think about it — a nation that elects someone like Donald Trump is a nation that has got serious problems. Going back is not where we want to be. Our chance in 2020 is to look at that crack, drop our shoulder, run hard at it and build the America we want to be.” |
Asked for comment, a Republican National Committee spokesman, Steve Guest, said, “Insulting half the country didn’t work for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and it won’t work for the Democrats in 2020, either.” | Asked for comment, a Republican National Committee spokesman, Steve Guest, said, “Insulting half the country didn’t work for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and it won’t work for the Democrats in 2020, either.” |
Mr. Sanders, another leading progressive in the race, also waded into the debate over how to defeat Mr. Trump as he uncorked some of his fiercest criticism of Mr. Biden to date in an interview with The Washington Post. | Mr. Sanders, another leading progressive in the race, also waded into the debate over how to defeat Mr. Trump as he uncorked some of his fiercest criticism of Mr. Biden to date in an interview with The Washington Post. |
“It’s just a lot of baggage that Joe takes into a campaign, which isn’t going to create energy and excitement,” Mr. Sanders said. “He brings into this campaign a record which is so weak that it just cannot create the kind of excitement and energy that is going to be needed to defeat Donald Trump.” | “It’s just a lot of baggage that Joe takes into a campaign, which isn’t going to create energy and excitement,” Mr. Sanders said. “He brings into this campaign a record which is so weak that it just cannot create the kind of excitement and energy that is going to be needed to defeat Donald Trump.” |
Mr. Sanders on Thursday reported an eye-popping fund-raising haul of more than $34.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to his campaign, ahead of Mr. Biden at $22.7 million — Mr. Biden’s strongest quarter to date — as well as former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., whose campaign reported more than $24.7 million. | Mr. Sanders on Thursday reported an eye-popping fund-raising haul of more than $34.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, according to his campaign, ahead of Mr. Biden at $22.7 million — Mr. Biden’s strongest quarter to date — as well as former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., whose campaign reported more than $24.7 million. |
Even as Mr. Sanders sharpened his attacks on Mr. Biden in the interview, he largely stuck to his familiar message on the trail in Iowa on Thursday, denouncing income inequality and championing his signature policy proposal, “Medicare for all.” At a canvass kickoff in Grinnell, he jokingly named a young girl as his running mate. | Even as Mr. Sanders sharpened his attacks on Mr. Biden in the interview, he largely stuck to his familiar message on the trail in Iowa on Thursday, denouncing income inequality and championing his signature policy proposal, “Medicare for all.” At a canvass kickoff in Grinnell, he jokingly named a young girl as his running mate. |
As he boarded his new campaign bus after that event, he briefly answered a question about his fourth-quarter fund-raising, calling attention specifically to the more than five million contributions his campaign had received since he entered the race. “That tells me the kind of grass-roots support that we have and tells me why we’re going to win the nomination and why we’re going to defeat Donald Trump,” he said. | As he boarded his new campaign bus after that event, he briefly answered a question about his fourth-quarter fund-raising, calling attention specifically to the more than five million contributions his campaign had received since he entered the race. “That tells me the kind of grass-roots support that we have and tells me why we’re going to win the nomination and why we’re going to defeat Donald Trump,” he said. |
Reporting was contributed by Patrick Healy and Matt Stevens from Concord, N.H.; Sydney Ember from Muscatine, Iowa; and Nick Corasaniti from New York. | Reporting was contributed by Patrick Healy and Matt Stevens from Concord, N.H.; Sydney Ember from Muscatine, Iowa; and Nick Corasaniti from New York. |