Joe Biden Is Urging Americans To Reject The GOP's “Fake Nationalism” Right Now

While he's never been much of a fan of the current administration, former vice president Joe Biden has a had a lot to say about it, and his latest comments about Republicans in general are piercing. While speaking at the Democratic Party's New York convention, Biden accused the GOP of pushing "phony populism" and "fake nationalism." According to Yahoo, he encouraged the party to "stand for tolerance and efforts to expand education and economic opportunity" instead.

"This is not your father's Republican Party. They are not who we are. They are not who America is," Biden said to the audience. "What they are doing is sending a vision of America around the world that is distorted. That is damaging. This is hurting us. This phony populism, this fake nationalism... It's time to say 'no more.'"

Biden's sentiments at the conference were part of a speech endorsing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo as he prepares to run for a third term. Though he won the party's nomination on Wednesday, May 24, he will be facing off against Cynthia Nixon, a liberal activist, and most notably known from her role in Sex and the City.

Both Biden and Cuomo are thought to be strong contenders for the White House, and Cuomo followed up Biden's speech with his own thoughts on the Trump administration, saying that voters want a leader who can "deliver progress for people in need" instead of "pontification from an ivory tower."

"We have to take a long look in the mirror and face some hard truths," Cuomo said at the event. "We lost the connection with who we are. ... It's a national problem and the Democratic Party all across the country is still searching for its way forward."

The Democratic New York convention wasn't the first time that Biden made bold statements against the GOP or the president. In March, the former vice president made headlines when he said that he would "beat the hell out of" President Trump for his comments about women if they were in high school, according to CNN Politics.

"When a guy who ended up becoming our national leader said, 'I can grab a woman anywhere and she likes it' and then said, 'I made a mistake, they asked me would I like to debate this gentleman, and I said no," Biden said during a speaking engagement with the University of Miami College Democrats, according to CNN Politics. "I said, 'If we were in high school, I'd take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him."

These statements were in reference to the Access Hollywood video discovered in 2016 where Trump can be heard making sexually inappropriate comments about women. Trump would later issue an apology, defending his comments as "locker room talk."

Trump specifically responded to Biden's threat at a dinner in Washington, D.C., CNN Politics reported. "You know when he said," I'm going to take you behind the barn'? Oh, just trust me, I would kick his ass. He'd be easy," Trump said. "But, Joe, gimme a break. A guy who keeps making outrageous statements thinks he has a shot of being president?"

His history of criticizing both Trump and the GOP aside, Biden's endorsement of Cuomo carefully cloaked the question that is on some Democrats' minds: Will Biden be running for president in 2020?

"It's about time we pick our heads up, remember who the hell we are as Americans," Biden said as he concluded his speech at the convention. "We can do anything! It's time to get these guys out of our way. It's time to lead. It's time to say no more! We are moving on! We are changing the politics of this country! We are taking back control!"