Former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign on Tuesday slammed President Trump for endorsing a low blow from North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, calling Trump’s response “beneath the dignity of the office.”
The campaign’s response came after Trump, who spent Memorial Day weekend in Japan, said he “smiled” when Kim called Biden a “low IQ individual,” among other insults.
“The President’s comments are beneath the dignity of the office,” deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement to Fox News 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. And it’s part of a pattern of embracing autocrats at the expense of our institutions — whether taking Putin’s word at face value in Helsinki or exchanging ‘love letters’ with Kim Jong Un.”
A Biden campaign official also told Fox News that their response was delivered Tuesday due to Biden’s commitment to respecting the purpose of Memorial Day and remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation.
The response from the campaign came just days after Trump tweeted about his confidence in the leader of the rogue regime, while doubling down on his criticisms of Biden.
“North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me. I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Biden a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that’s sending me a signal?” Trump tweeted on Saturday.
Trump’s tweet came after a Korean Central News Agency editorial lobbed a series of insults at Biden. The editorial called Biden “self-praising” and said it was laughable for the former vice president to consider himself the most popular presidential candidate.
“He is self-praising himself as being the most popular presidential candidate. This is enough to make a cat laugh,” the piece read.
Trump’s tweet came at a time when National Security Adviser John Bolton has been unequivocal in saying that recent North Korean missile launches violated U.N. Security Council resolutions. “U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibit North Korea from firing any ballistic missiles,” he said. “In terms of violating U.N. Security Council resolutions, there is no doubt about that.”
Kim and Trump met during a historic summit in 2018, following an aggressive pressure campaign at the beginning of Trump’s presidency. Another summit in February ended with Trump walking away after North Korea demanded the U.S. lift all of its sanctions on it.
Meanwhile, the latest RealClear Politics national polling average shows Biden leading by double-digits in the crowded Democratic primary field. The latest Monmouth University poll showed Biden leading with 33 percent, with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., trailing behind at 15 percent, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., with 10 percent.
Fox News’ Sam Dorman, Adam Shaw, and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.