President Trump may have been in Japan negotiating trade deals this weekend with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, but the 2020 election - and one opponent in particular - was on his mind. Former Vice President Joe Biden is enjoying frontrunner status among the 2020 Democrats, and with the territory comes the fiercest attack lines. Trump joined Biden's liberal opponents in criticizing the latter's 1994 crime bill and charging that it led to "mass incarceration" in minority communities. It was, Trump said, a "dark period" in American history.
....Super Predator was the term associated with the 1994 Crime Bill that Sleepy Joe Biden was so heavily involved in passing. That was a dark period in American History, but has Sleepy Joe apologized? No!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2019
Anyone associated with the 1994 Crime Bill will not have a chance of being elected. In particular, African Americans will not be able to vote for you. I, on the other hand, was responsible for Criminal Justice Reform, which had tremendous support, & helped fix the bad 1994 Bill!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2019
Trump can claim some justification for the attack because he's not just complaining about the need for prison reform - he's providing alternatives. His administration recently passed the First Step Act in a sweeping effort to reduce recidivism rates. He also gave 63-year-old great grandmother Alice Johnson a second chance in life after commuting her life sentence for a first time drug offense.
While abroad, Trump also questioned Biden's coherence and intelligence. Biden, he tweeted, "is probably a low-IQ individual."
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?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 26, 2019