In a shocking development, President Joe Biden came to the defense of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s husband Michael, who is currently serving overseas with the National Guard. This came after Donald Trump publicly questioned why Michael Haley has been absent from the campaign trail.
President Biden called Trump’s comments “shameful” and said military families should be off limits in political attacks. “I have nothing but the utmost respect for Major Haley’s service to our country,” Biden said during a press conference on Monday. “While he is abroad defending America, his wife is back home defending our democracy from Trump’s dangerous lies.”
Haley’s husband Michael is a major in the South Carolina National Guard and was deployed overseas late last year. Trump has repeatedly suggested that Haley is hiding something by not having her husband join her on the campaign trail.
“What’s going on with her husband? He’s always gone. I’ve never seen him,” Trump said at a rally in New Hampshire last week. “Is he real? Does she even have a husband? I want to see proof that she has a husband.”
President Biden forcefully rejected Trump’s innuendos. “Military spouses and their families already sacrifice so much for all of us,” Biden said. “They should never be used as political punching bags.”
The President went on to denounce what he called Trump’s pattern of insulting the families of service members. “This is a man who insulted Gold Star families and made a widow cry at her husband’s grave,” Biden said. “A man who called our fallen heroes ‘suckers’ and ‘losers.’ His attacks on Major Haley are just the latest example of his contempt for those who sacrifice for our nation.”
Political analysts say Biden’s defense of Haley is a bid to draw moderate Republicans and independents to his side. “Biden is seizing the chance to look bipartisan and presidential,” said Dr. Claire Thomas of Georgetown University. “While Trump thrives on chaos and division, Biden is trying to portray himself as a leader who can unify the country.”
With the 2024 election just around the corner, all eyes will be on whether this war of words between Biden and Trump escalates further. But for now, it appears the President has scored some political points by rising above the mudslinging and defending a military spouse under attack.