Biden says kid gave him middle finger, recounting political rhetoric

President Biden said in an interview Monday that a kid once gave him the middle finger while speaking about heated political rhetoric in light of a recent assassination attempt against former President Trump.

“I've never seen a circumstance where you ride through certain rural areas of the country, and people have signs there ... big Trump signs ... saying ‘F Biden’ and a little kid standing there putting up his middle finger,” Biden recounted during an interview with NBC News’s Lester Holt. 

“I mean, that's the kind of stuff that is just inflammatory and a kind of viciousness,” he continued. 

Biden spoke with Holt just two days after Trump was shot while campaigning in Pennsylvania, injuring his ear. The former president was hit less than 10 minutes into the start of the rally, which left one victim and the shooter dead and two others injured. 

Lawmakers have called for political rhetoric to be toned down in light of the shooting.

Biden sat for the NBC News interview as the latest show to Democrats that he’s still up for the job after fending off questions and concerns about his candidacy since a June 27 debate underscored concerns over his age and mental fitness. Some Democratic lawmakers have called on him to drop out, though the president has remained defiant and has not withdrawn. 

The politics of the Democratic presidential nomination have slowed to a standstill as the attention has turned to Trump and the Republican National Convention, which began on Monday. 

Asked by Holt if Biden felt he had weathered the storm on the issue of whether he should be on the ticket or not, Biden replied, “Look, 14 million people voted for me to be the nominee in the Democratic Party, okay? I listen to them.”