“My Son Was Not a Sucker”: Joe Biden Told Florida Military Veterans

The former vice president didn’t hold back when talking about Trump and how he has spoken ill of the military.

Former Vice President Joe Biden was upset when he addressed veterans in Florida today. The presidential candidate spoke at a veterans roundtable event in Tampa, Florida, and addressed the offensive language that President Donald Trump said about the military in 2018 during a Paris trip in which he referred to the military as “losers” and “suckers.” 

“My son Beau, who volunteered to go to Iraq and came home with the Bronze Star, was not a sucker,” Biden said at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa.

RELATED: Report Says President Trump Called Military Members ‘Losers’ and ‘Suckers’ 

“The men and women who served with him are not suckers. And the service men and women he served with—who did not come home—are not losers,” Biden said. “They’re heroes.”

“It’s a disgrace,” he added. “Donald Trump has no idea about the ideas that animate the women and men who sign up to serve: Duty. Honor. Country. That’s what service and patriotism is all about.”

But Biden wasn’t done giving Trump a piece of his mind. 

“It makes my blood boil—the way he gets in front of a camera and crows about how much he’s done for our vets and then turns around and insults our service members and fallen heroes when the cameras are off,” Biden said. 

Trump’s words are factoring into the minds of the military. A poll conducted by Military Times and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University showed that the majority favored Biden. According to the survey, 37% said they plan to vote for Trump in November, while 41% said they plan to vote for Biden. 

RELATED: Biden Outranks Trump in Military Service Members Poll

During the roundtable, Biden also discussed the VA Access, Choice, and Accountability Act—a law that President Barack Obama signed in 2014. 

“President Trump likes to say he passed VA Choice—but it’s just a flat lie,” Biden said. 

Biden said he wants to expand military benefits for those in active duty and veterans, along with making sure female veterans and LGBTQ+ veterans get the services and the “respect they deserve from culturally competent providers.”

“Part of it is also making sure our veterans feel a sense of security and connection and mission in the civilian world—as they did on active duty,” Biden said. “Better employment opportunities. Meaningful career trajectories. Education, like the one our student vets get here at Hillsborough Community College, which translate into greater opportunities for our vets—not just put money in the pockets of for-profit fraudsters. It all matters.”