In the days leading up to the New Hampshire primary, 2020 candidate Joe Biden hosted a town hall in Hampton where he insulted a supporter for asking him a tough question. A New Hampshire woman in the audience asked Biden how he planned to turn his campaign around after a poor performance in the Iowa Caucuses.
“You’re arguably the candidate with the greatest advantage in this race. You’ve been the vice president, you weren’t burdened down by the impeachment trials, so how do you explain the performance in Iowa? And why should the voters believe that you can win the national election?” the woman asked.
Biden asked the woman if she’s ever been to a caucus before. When she replied yes, Biden insulted her and called her a liar.
“No you haven’t. You’re a lying dog-face pony solider,” Biden said.
Biden used this line in previous speeches. He claims “lying dog-face pony solider” is a line from a John Wayne movie. The line is from a movie titled “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon,” but the actual quote is “the dog faced soldiers.” It is also said by the narrator, not by Wayne.
After a New Hampshire voter asks @JoeBiden why they should trust he can turn his campaign around, he asks if she’s ever been to a caucus before; when she says yes, Biden snaps: "No you haven’t. You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier." pic.twitter.com/3uxOAu0Ues
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 9, 2020
Biden performed poorly in Iowa given his initial frontrunner status. He came in fourth place behind former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Biden received 15.8 percent of the vote in Iowa and received only six delegates. Meanwhile, the relatively unknown Buttigieg swept Biden with 13 delegates.
The New Hampshire primary takes place on Tuesday, February 11. Biden is poised to take fourth or fifth place. According to RealClear Politics’ latest aggregation, Biden is polling in fifth place behind Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Biden is polling at 11 percent, meanwhile Buttigieg and Sanders are sweeping past him at 28 and 21 percent respectively.
As implied by the New Hampshire resident’s question, early state primaries are calling Biden’s viability for the national election into question.
