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Men may be 'insulted' by Biden's female vice president pledge, says Trump

WION Web Team
Washington, United StatesUpdated: Aug 11, 2020, 07:42 PM IST
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File photo: Biden and Trump Photograph:(Reuters)

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Declaring that he wants a government as diverse as the country itself, Biden committed early in his campaign, in March, that he would name a woman on the ticket.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that some men may feel "insulted" by his Democratic rival Joe Biden's committment to choose a woman as his vice presidential candidate.

"He roped himself into a certain group of people. Some people would say men are insulted by that and some people would say it is fine," Trump said.

Declaring that he wants a government as diverse as the country itself, Biden committed early in his campaign, in March, that he would name a woman on the ticket. He is expected to announce his choice this week.

Only two other women have been nominated vice presidential candidates, Sarah Palin by the Republican party in 2008 and Geraldine Ferraro by the Democrats in 1984, and neither made it into the White House. No woman has won the presidency either.

Trump, who is seeking re-election in the November 3 US election, also said his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping has frayed in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic and that he has not spoken to his Chinese counterpart in a long time.

"I used to have a very good relationship with him," Trump said in an interview, citing their Phase One trade deal last year. "I had a great relationship with President Xi. I like him, but I don't feel the same way now."

Trump made challenging China a key part of his 2016 presidential campaign and touted his friendly ties with Xi during much of his first term in office as he sought to make good on his trade deal promises.

But he said on Tuesday that the fallout from the outbreak was worse than the conflict over trade. "This is a thousand times the trade deal what happened with all of the death and ... the world had to shutdown. It's a disgrace," he told Fox.

First reports of the virus emerged from China in late 2019 and it has now infected more than 20 million people and killed at least 735,369 worldwide, including at least 5.1 million cases and at least 163,160 deaths in the United States.