Trump mocks Biden's record, says ex-VP has spent career on 'wrong side of history'
President uses Republican Convention speech as indictment of Democratic Party nominee
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President Trump spent a large portion of his Republican-nomination acceptance speech Thursday night slamming Democratic opponent Joe Biden’s record in the Senate and as vice president.
“Biden’s record is a shameful roll call of the most catastrophic betrayals and blunders in our lifetime,” Trump said outside the White House, during the final night of this week's four-night Republican Convention. “He has spent his entire career on the wrong side of history.”
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Trump highlighted that Biden supported the much-maligned NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) in the 1990s as well as China’s entry into the World Trade Organization.
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“After those Biden calamities, the United States lost 1 in 4 manufacturing jobs,” the president claimed.
Trump also addressed Biden’s past support for granting former President George W. Bush the authority to use force in Iraq after the White House claimed the Middle Eastern nation had the potential to develop weapons of mass destruction.
He further accused Biden of being against the takedowns of both Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden and Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guard -- a branch of the Iranian armed forces that the U.S. has deemed a terrorist organization.
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Though Biden has repeatedly denied advising former President Barack Obama not to go after bin Laden, the former vice president reportedly has insisted he told Obama to “follow his instincts” regarding the 9/11 mastermind in a closed-door meeting between them.
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Trump additionally went after Biden’s proposed response to the coronavirus, in which the Delaware Democrat has said he would order new shutdowns if scientists advised him to, in order to help stop the spread.
“The cost of the Biden shutdown would be measured in increased drug overdoses, depression, alcohol addiction, suicides, heart attacks, economic devastation and more,” Trump claimed Thursday night. “Joe Biden's plan is not a solution to the virus, but rather a surrender.”
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Additionally Trump attacked Biden’s push for clean energy initiatives.
“Biden has promised to abolish the production of American oil, coal, shale, and natural gas – laying waste to the economies of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico,” Trump said. “Millions of jobs will be lost, and energy prices will soar.”
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“These same policies led to crippling power outages in California just last week. How can Joe Biden claim to be an 'ally of the Light' when his own party can't even keep the lights on?” Trump continued, suggesting California's power woes were linked to steering away from oil, shale or natural gas.
California utility company Pacific Gas and Electric says 270,000 state residents experienced rolling blackouts due to an increase in energy consumption during a triple-digit-temperature heat wave last week.