CONCORD, N.H. — President Joe Biden suggested that former President Donald Trump should be “locked up” during a campaign rally at a Democratic Party field office in Concord, New Hampshire, on Tuesday. The comment, called “profoundly stupid” by a CNN legal analyst, came as Biden addressed supporters in the swing state, emphasizing the stakes of the upcoming election.
“If I said this five years ago, you’d lock me up: We gotta lock him up,” Biden, 81, told the crowd, drawing a mix of surprise and enthusiastic applause after a brief pause. Following the initial reaction, Biden attempted to clarify his statement, adding, “politically, lock him up—lock him out, that’s what we’ve got to do,” indicating that he was possibly speaking in a figurative sense.
President Joe Biden says the quiet part out loud for Democrats about former President Donald Trump: "We gotta lock him up"
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 22, 2024
He said this just now on the campaign trail in New Hampshire pic.twitter.com/63sdel3eyr
The remark marks another instance where Biden has referenced Trump’s legal battles during his campaign appearances. Earlier this month in Pennsylvania, he remarked that Trump might be “running to stay out of jail.” Trump faces multiple legal challenges, with a Manhattan sentencing date set for Nov. 26. The case, brought by District Attorney Alvin Bragg, has faced criticism even from some who typically oppose Trump.
As the New York Post reports:
A person close to Biden, who often misspeaks in public, told The Post that the president’s follow-up comment meant that he hadn’t intended to call for Trump to be incarcerated.
However, the president and his aides typically refrain from commenting at all on the four pending criminal cases against Trump, who contends that a quartet of local and federal indictments last year were politically motivated to aid Biden’s then-re-election campaign.
Trump, 78, was convicted in May by a Manhattan jury of 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 campaign.
Trump also faces pending federal and state charges in Georgia related to challenging his 2020 election defeat by Biden. And federal prosecutors are attempting to revive another case out of South Florida accusing Trump of mishandling classified records, which a judge dismissed in July.
The latest polls suggest a competitive race between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump. According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, Trump holds a slight lead in key swing states, though the margins remain narrow.
Reactions and Responses
Trump’s supporters swiftly condemned Biden’s remarks, accusing the president of making a politically motivated attack. As of Wednesday morning, the White House had not issued an official statement to clarify the president’s comments.
REPORTER: "Any reaction to what the president said about 'lock him up'?"
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 23, 2024
KAMALA: *ignores* pic.twitter.com/yXNn5dJcgv
Biden’s comments and Trump’s legal saga have become focal points of the 2024 campaign, underscoring the heated atmosphere as both parties vie for control of the White House.
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Biden has completely lost it. He is talking like it is something that Trump would do, when it is exactly what the Democrats want to do to us, the citizens of America. Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and their entire administration needs to be locked up for committing ‘espionage’ against Israel.
If anyone should be locked up it’s Joe and many of his admin.
How about locking Biden up for taking Chinese money through the son he’s so proud of. And for leaving classfied documents in the open?
This coming from a brain dead traitor commie, that should have been locked up years ago when he was selling our classified information to china.