Former US Vice-President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a campaign kickoff rally, May 18, 2019 in PhiladelphiaImage copyright
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Former US Vice-President and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks during a campaign kickoff rally, May 18, 2019 in Philadelphia

Democratic White House hopeful Joe Biden’s campaign has hit back at President Donald Trump’s attacks on him while he was in Japan over the weekend.

During a press conference in Tokyo on Monday, Mr Trump said he agreed with North Korea when it called Mr Biden a “low IQ individual”.

The Biden campaign responded that the president’s comments were “beneath the dignity of the office”.

Mr Biden is the current front-runner to face Mr Trump in next year’s election.

While in Japan, Mr Trump disregarded the old Cold War axiom that US politics stop at the water’s edge.

The Republican president said on Twitter that he had “smiled” when North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un called Mr Biden “a low IQ individual, & worse”.

Throughout the trip, Mr Trump continued to direct gibes at the former US vice-president, whom he calls “Sleepy Joe”.

Biden campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement on Tuesday: “To be on foreign soil, on Memorial Day, and to side repeatedly with a murderous dictator against a fellow American and former vice president speaks for itself.”

Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders defended the president, saying that Mr Trump and Mr Kim “agree in their assessment of” Mr Biden.

She added: “Again, the president’s focus in this process is the relationship he has and making sure we continue on the path towards denuclearisation.”

Mr Trump has frequently criticised Mr Biden since the former vice-president announced his candidacy, predicting that he may become the eventual Democratic White House nominee.

Mr Biden’s public schedule has been relatively light over the past two weeks following its launch last month.

The candidate has focused on fundraisers rather than open campaign events, notes the Washington Post.

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