Trump says he had 'very friendly' call with political rival Biden

[webfact]

Trump says he had 'very friendly' call with political rival Biden

By Trevor Hunnicutt

 

FILE PHOTO: Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about responses to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic at an event in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - President Donald Trump said he had a "very friendly" conversation with Joe Biden on Monday after the Democratic presidential front-runner called to discuss the government's handling of the coronavirus crisis.

 

Trump said their conversation lasted about 15 minutes.

 

"We had a really wonderful, warm conversation," Trump said during his news briefing on the outbreak. "He gave me his point of view, and I fully understood that, and we just had a very friendly conversation."

 

Biden, who is seeking his party's nomination to face Trump in the Nov. 3 election, "shared several suggestions for actions the Administration can take now to address the ongoing coronavirus pandemic," Biden's deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, said in a statement about the unusual direct talks between the White House rivals.

 

She added it was "a good call."

 

Biden has been delivering near-daily criticism of the president's handling of the coronavirus crisis in interviews and campaign appearances.

 

The former vice president has said Trump should act with more urgency to marshal federal resources to help state governors respond to the highly contagious respiratory disease, including using presidential authority to boost domestic manufacturing of medical equipment in short supply.

 

The nationwide death toll from the virus reached 10,674 and the number of known U.S. infections surpassed 360,000 on Monday even as the governors of New York and New Jersey pointed to tentative signs that the coronavirus outbreak was starting to plateau.

 

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason in Washington; Editing by Tom Brown and Peter Cooney)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-04-07

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[kevin612]

There are two sides, they both say nice things to the media. However, they will attack each other as political rivals. Especially big November is going to come. The fight would be the way he attacked Hillary Clinton.

[Tug]

Joe is reaching out offering his ideas for the good of the country good for him that beeing said I expect the presidential campaign will be very very ugly be safe all good health and luck to all

[Isaan sailor]

I'm glad to hear Joe could manage a phone conversation.  His senior moments worry me.

[Chomper Higgot]

Laying the ground work to call again later and beg for a pardon, I wouldn't wonder.  

[PattayaJames]

Trump: "Hello Joe, this is Donald."

 

Joe: "Donald who?"

 

Media: "So Joe, how did the call go with President Trump."

 

Joe: "What call?"

Edited April 7, 2020 by PattayaJames

[Tropposurfer]

What a broken system of government, and selection (not that this is unique to the great US of A!)

The candidate team fielded by the Dem's was so frigin' lame even for a non-Yank like me to watch and listen to.

Joe looks way past the job of Pres to me, they say a personable and kind man. Maybe a bit too much like Jimmy Carter to be in the company of so many pirates?

I'm not swallowing the rights rhetoric about him being senile when I say this either, but ... I wonder if he's speaking a tad to altruistically and existentially for most to grasp what he is actually saying. 'Sound bite reporting' doesn't help much with anything like 'comprehensive communication processes either (I wonder?).

 

Edited April 7, 2020 by Tropposurfer

[Crazy Alex]

2 hours ago, Tropposurfer said:

What a broken system of government, and selection (not that this is unique to the great US of A!)

The candidate team fielded by the Dem's was so frigin' lame even for a non-Yank like me to watch and listen to.

Joe looks way past the job of Pres to me, they say a personable and kind man. Maybe a bit too much like Jimmy Carter to be in the company of so many pirates?

I'm not swallowing the rights rhetoric about him being senile when I say this either, but ... I wonder if he's speaking a tad to altruistically and existentially for most to grasp what he is actually saying. 'Sound bite reporting' doesn't help much with anything like 'comprehensive communication processes either (I wonder?).

 

Sir, you are spot on. I despise Joe Biden's family for letting this go on. The poor old guy lost his son about five years ago. That is the most unnatural thing a parent can go through. And at 73? I'm sorry, one will never be the same after that. That is what pisses me off about his family. But OK, let's set that aside. He is obviously not all there. I can't imagine the DNC is going to let this nomination move forward. That begs the question, why put him through all this at all?

 

 

[natway09]

In most countries this would not even make the news,

but Donald,,, it is erection year

[Crazy Alex]

Joe Biden can't even remember how many grandkids he has. How will he possibly remember a short phone call on any given day?

 

This is flat out elder abuse. Shame on Democrats for letting this go on.

[natway09]

Trumps moments worry me

[Eric Loh]

Progress for Trump listening to a more intelligent man. May also picked up some tips on acting Presidential. 

[tlandtday]

1 minute ago, Eric Loh said:

Progress for Trump listening to a more intelligent man. May also picked up some tips on acting Presidential. 

hahaha... Biden is senile don't you watch the news?  And even if he had a complete state of mind he is nothing more than a long time political hack who would have made a good used car salesman or a lawyer (oh I guess he already is one)

[Crazy Alex]

4 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Progress for Trump listening to a more intelligent man. May also picked up some tips on acting Presidential. 

Yes, because telling voters they're full of <deleted>, threatening to beat up the president, not knowing it's time to leave the podium, lying about being arrested in a foreign country are all very presidential.

 

 

[Jingthing]

6 hours ago, Isaan sailor said:

I'm glad to hear Joe could manage a phone conversation.  His senior moments worry me.

The current president's toddler moments worry me much much more. The tens or hundreds of thousands of Americans destined to die needlessly because of his negligence in preparing for this virus for TWO MONTHS, happy talking about it as it progressed to the point where the "exceptional" USA is now the world epicenter of Covid deaths, is completely unforgiveable.

 

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/trump-toddler-coronavirus-pandemic/2020/04/02/163f5c04-7435-11ea-85cb-8670579b863d_story.html

 

Quote

Trump has handled the coronavirus the way he handles everything: Like a toddler

 

Edited April 7, 2020 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

7 minutes ago, tlandtday said:

hahaha... Biden is senile don't you watch the news?  And even if he had a complete state of mind he is nothing more than a long time political hack who would have made a good used car salesman or a lawyer (oh I guess he already is one)

He's a million percent better than the current occupier of the white house.

[Jingthing]

12 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

Progress for Trump listening to a more intelligent man. May also picked up some tips on acting Presidential. 

False hope of growth for this president. He will NEVER improve!

[tlandtday]

4 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

He's a million percent better than the current occupier of the white house.

If this senile decades old corrupt political hack is the answer what could possibly be the question lol.

 

 

[Jingthing]

The man currently there is simply unacceptable. It doesn't matter who the democrats put up, don't people get that? This election is all about a referendum on 45 and particularly how his incompetence has made the USA the epicenter of Covid deaths.

[Cryingdick]

18 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

He's a million percent better than the current occupier of the white house.

 

You just quote an article saying Trump behaves like a toddler and then use a line like this? In that case Trump is a gajillion times better plus infinity. As long as we aren't being childish.

[Eric Loh]

27 minutes ago, tlandtday said:

hahaha... Biden is senile don't you watch the news?  And even if he had a complete state of mind he is nothing more than a long time political hack who would have made a good used car salesman or a lawyer (oh I guess he already is one)

What I am alluding is that Trump is a total wreck of a man in morality, honesty, intelligence, ethics, worldly affairs, trust and humility that it will immensely benefit him even when he get back to civilian life this year. Just decent thoughts for him to change. 

[ChouDoufu]

i imagine trump just called to brag about the high ceilings in the white house.

[sirineou]

One definition of politics is:

"The art of telling someone to go <deleted> themselves in such a way that they say thank you"

[jimmybcool]

Kinda funny that some expected the call to go bad.  People forget - despite both of them wearing a party insignia in opposition they are both in the elite level of US society.   Behind the scenes they pal around.  They only cut each other for the camera.

 

[Jingthing]

28 minutes ago, jimmybcool said:

Kinda funny that some expected the call to go bad.  People forget - despite both of them wearing a party insignia in opposition they are both in the elite level of US society.   Behind the scenes they pal around.  They only cut each other for the camera.

 

I get what you're saying but I see it differently. 

Biden really wanted to give his input.

He's not as "sleepy" as 45 makes him out to be. 

They wouldn't have done the talk if both didn't see political benefit.

For Biden in addition to trying to have influence on 45 at the time of crisis (fat chance that) elevates himself as a former VP to have a conversation with any president, even one as horrifically bad as this one. 

From 45's POV he's on the defensive. He's well aware that he's going to be running as a blood on his hands candidate so acting (and I do mean acting) reasonable to his obvious opponent is a way for him to try to mitigate that stain and damage.

Do I believe 45 actually will change anything based on Biden's input? No I do not. 

[Crazy Alex]

10 hours ago, sirineou said:

One definition of politics is:

"The art of telling someone to go <deleted> themselves in such a way that they say thank you"

Superb. You just reminded me of a Christimas card we used in a family years back. We reserved it for customers we didn't like. It said something like, "may your holiday season be as wonderful as the business relationship we've shared".  ????????????????

[Crazy Alex]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I get what you're saying but I see it differently. 

Biden really wanted to give his input.

He's not as "sleepy" as 45 makes him out to be. 

They wouldn't have done the talk if both didn't see political benefit.

For Biden in addition to trying to have influence on 45 at the time of crisis (fat chance that) elevates himself as a former VP to have a conversation with any president, even one as horrifically bad as this one. 

From 45's POV he's on the defensive. He's well aware that he's going to be running as a blood on his hands candidate so acting (and I do mean acting) reasonable to his obvious opponent is a way for him to try to mitigate that stain and damage.

Do I believe 45 actually will change anything based on Biden's input? No I do not. 

Oh cool, a post by Jingthing I agree with. Clearly both saw political benefit. I say Biden needed it more. It's hard to look presidential when you're stuck with daily briefings from his house. Talking to the president helps people remember he's a presidential candidate. That was very gracious of Trump to talk to Biden.

 

Now, about Trump changing what he's doing as a result of talking to Biden. Not likely. Biden's never been right about anything in his life. Who on Earth would take his advice about anything?

Edited April 7, 2020 by Crazy Alex

[Jingthing]

The timeline for the case to be prosecuted against blood on his hands 45 is becoming more and more damning. He knows it too. No wonder he is now in steroid deflection mode. He is now blaming the WHO. The one to blame for the disaster happening in the USA can be seen by him in his white house bubble mirrors.

 

Again this matters to the 2020 election because the election is a referendum on 45.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/04/07/timeline-trumps-coronavirus-response-is-increasingly-damning/

Quote

The timeline of Trump’s coronavirus response is increasingly damning

 

[donnacha]

10 hours ago, Jingthing said:

This election is all about a referendum on 45

If the election is a referendum about Trump, yes, he will probably lose.

He won 2016 because he made it a referendum on Hillary. In retrospect, the Democrats made a mistake in picking a candidate with so much baggage because some of that baggage flared up right before the vote. So, it wasn't so much that Trump won, it was that Hillary lost.
 

 

10 hours ago, Jingthing said:

It doesn't matter who the democrats put up, don't people get that?

This is where we disagree. I think it really, really matters who the Democrats put up. If a candidate is flawed, Trump with ruthlessly zero in on that flaw, especially during the debates.

Biden has roughly the same amount of baggage as any other US politician. The Hunter Biden stuff is unfortunate but manageable under most circumstances. Biden's weakness is the unevenness of his performance.

Everyone makes mistakes, especially when tired. Biden makes noticeably more than average and, like Hillary, gets tired too quickly. When tired, he can be goaded into going off script, and that is not something that goes well for him.

Trump knows this. He also understands that if he can get Biden to say or do something unusual, in response to a taut about Hunter, both the taut and the off-kilter response will be repeated endlessly on TV. That shifts the entire focus, again and again, to that relatively mild instance of corruption. 

We know that Biden has been misfiring for a while. We know that it has been getting worse over time. We have no reason to believe that problem will improve by the time campaigning gets serious later this year. It will probably be significantly worse.

The Democrat Party knows this.

My guess is that they will find some pretext to introduce and select an entirely new candidate at the convention. A really smart move, under the current circumstances, would be to put forward a Democratic heavy hitter for President, accompanied by a well-known and respected Republican.

Clinton/Romney for 2020?

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by donnacha

[Cryingdick]

2 minutes ago, donnacha said:

If the election is a referendum about Trump, yes, he will probably lose.

He won 2016 because it became a referendum about Hillary. In retrospect, the Democrats made a mistake in picking a candidate with so much baggage because some of that baggage flared up right before the vote. So, it wasn't so much that Trump won, it was that Hillary lost.
 

 

This is where we disagree. I think it really, really matters who the Democrats put up. If a candidate is flawed, Trump with ruthlessly zero in on that, especially during the debates.

Biden has roughly the same amount of baggage as any other US politician. The Hunter Biden stuff is unfortunate but manageable under most circumstances. Biden's weakness is the unevenness of his performance.

Everyone makes mistakes, especially when tired. Biden makes noticeably more than average and, like Hillary, gets tired too quickly. When tired, he can be goaded into going off script, and that is not something that goes well for him.

Trump knows this. He also understands that if he can get Biden to say or do something unusual, in response to a taut about Hunter, both the taut and the off-kilter response will be repeated endlessly on TV. That shifts the entire focus, again and again, to that relatively mild instance of corruption. 

We know that Biden has been misfiring for a while. We know that it has been getting worse over time. We have no reason to believe that problem will improve by the time campaigning gets serious later this year. It will probably be significantly worse.

The Democrat Party knows this.

My guess is that there is at least some chance that they will find some pretext to introduce and select an entirely new candidate at the convention. A really smart move, under the current circumstances, would be to put forward a Democratic heavy hitter for President, accompanied by a well-known and respected Republican.

Clinton/Romney for 2020?

 

The dems don't have any heavy hitters. That's why Biden is left. Remember when Bloomberg came into play and was going to be the heavy hitter? How did that work out? One of the most embarrassing political failures in all of the history of American politics.

 

Any real contender will sit it out until 2024.

Edited April 8, 2020 by Cryingdick