What Prompted Trump to Say He Can Now Be 'Really Vicious' Against Biden

With less than two months until Election Day, the gloves are off for President Trump. During a rally in Nevada over the weekend, he explained why he was ready to “be really vicious” toward Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

“Pathetic Joe. He’s a pathetic human being to allow that to happen,” Trump said of the ad the Biden campaign released last week that used The Atlantic’s story alleging he disparaged America’s fallen soldiers in France. 

“But you know the good part?” Trump continued. “Now I can be really vicious. Once I saw that ad, I don’t have to be nice anymore.”

The president pointed to the more than 20 witnesses who have gone on record saying The Atlantic story, which alleges Trump called dead soldiers “suckers” and “losers,” is false. 

“There’s nobody who loves our military, respects them more than me,” Trump said. “They’re a disgrace.”

Last week, the Trump campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Biden campaign over the ad for it being “false and misleading.”

"The Atlantic article and the False and Misleading Ad both rely upon statements allegedly made by anonymous sources who were directly contradicted on the record by twenty-one individuals present with President Trump that day," Trump campaign senior legal adviser Jenna Ellis wrote. "Additionally, the contemporary facts in the Secret Service record totally debunk this fake story."

The Trump campaign, therefore, "demand[s] that Joe Biden and the Biden Campaign immediately cease and desist using the False and Misleading Ad,” the letter states.

"We also ask Twitter and Facebook to review and apply their community standards equally and fairly and remove entirely the False and Misleading Ad from their platforms," Ellis continued.