Liz Truss called Joe Biden a “weak president” when she attended the Republican National Convention in support of Donald Trump.
Speaking to Sky News’ James Matthews, the former British Prime Minister criticized the current US president for his “rhetoric” around Trump, who is expected to speak at the meeting in Milwaukee days after an assassination attempt on him.
But unlike some right-wing politicians and commentators, she said she was “not prepared to draw the line” between Biden’s language and the shooter’s motivation.
Follow the latest news on Trump’s nomination
Trump suffered minor injuries in the shooting at one of his rallies on Saturday, but an audience member was killed and two others remain in critical condition in hospital.
Truss said it was “absolutely terrible” and that the presidential candidate was “incredibly lucky, frankly, not to be killed.”
She said “there appears to have been a failure to adequately protect” Trump as she called for a “full investigation into what happened.”
And she said this “makes everyone involved in politics afraid of what might happen.”
But Truss said the man hoping to return to the White House after November’s US election “has demonstrated his strength and courage”, adding that he is “reminiscent” of another former prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, who also gave the speech at his party conference after the IRA bombed his hotel in Brighton in 1984.
Margaret Thatcher gave her speech to the Conservative conference hours after an attempt on her life in Brighton. Photo: PA
Asked if Biden had any blame for the attempt on Trump’s life, the former conservative deputy – who lost his seat in the last general election – said: “I do not support Joe Biden.
“I think he’s been a weak president of the United States and I want Donald Trump to win.
“But it is clearly the responsibility of the alleged killer and the security services for what happened.”
Keep up with the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
She added: “I don’t like the rhetoric [from Mr Biden]…but I’m not prepared to draw the line between one and the other.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
