Biden says of Trump: 'We gotta lock him up. Politically, lock him up'
President Joe Biden said former President Donald Trump poses a "genuine threat" to American democracy, during a visit to New Hampshire Democratic Party headquarters, saying, "We gotta lock him. Politically lock him up."
The remarks came after Biden listed Trump's proposals such as doing away with the Department of Education, taking on the federal civil service and the Supreme Court's recent decision granting presidents broad immunity. Biden said: "I mean, so I know this sounds bizarre. It sounds like - if I said this five years ago, you'd lock me up."
Then Biden said, referring to Trump, "We gotta lock him up. Politically lock him up. Lock him out, that's what we have to do."
"Lock her up" was an oft-repeated line by Trump and his supporters in 2016, a reference to Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information on her private email server.
Trump's campaign quickly seized on Biden's comments, calling on Vice President Kamala Harris to condemn the remarks and pushing claim that it shows Trump's legal battles are purely political -- charges prosecutors have repeatedly denied.
"Joe Biden just admitted the truth: he and Kamala's plan all along has been to politically persecute their opponent President Trump because they can't beat him fair and square," Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary of the Trump campaign, said in a statement. "The Harris-Biden Admin is the real threat to democracy. We call on Kamala Harris to condemn Joe Biden's disgraceful remark."
- ABC News' Justin Gomez, Lalee Ibssa, Soorin Kim, Kelsey Walsh