Former Vice President Joe Biden warned supporters on Tuesday that he would be the target of many future political attacks as he leads the pack of Democrat 2020 presidential candidates.
“This is a marathon. It is true we’re ahead. It is true we feel good about where we’re going,” he said, according to pooled news coverage of the event. “That means two things: One, there’s a target on my back. And Two, things are gonna change. It always does.”
Biden added that he meant the word “target” “figuratively,” not literally.
Biden commented on his position in the race during his third big dollar New York City fundraiser in less than 24 hours. The former vice president is scooping up cash ahead of a key 2020 deadline, as he teased on Monday night a final number of nearly $20 million raised for his campaign.
Earlier Tuesday, Biden complained that President Donald Trump’s politics was based on dividing Americans in ways that were “truly, truly dangerous” by attacking both Republicans and Democrats.
“The president not only goes after folks that are, don’t look like him, but he goes after folks who in fact have, they’re his allies,” Biden said. “Look what happens. Whether it’s a Republican Congress or Democratic Congress, he attacks them. Why? To bring down those barriers that are all about the notion of abuse of power.”
Biden also criticized Trump for cozying up to North Korea Dictator Kim Jong-un as he continued working on a nuclear peace deal.
“I think the highest compliment I ever got in a campaign was, he said, ‘both Kim Jong-Un and I believe that Biden shouldn’t be president,'” Biden said sarcastically, as the crowd laughed.