President Biden on Tuesday joked about presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump being “crushed by debt” a day after the former president’s net worth reportedly ballooned by billions of dollars.
“The other day, a defeated guy came up to me and said, ‘Mr. President, I’m being crushed by debt — completely wiped out,’” Biden told the crowd at a campaign fundraiser in Raleigh, NC.
“I had to look at him and say, ‘Sorry Donald, I can’t help you,’” the 81-year-old president quipped.
It’s a joke Biden has deployed in the past.
But the first time he ribbed Trump over his struggles to come up with the $454 billion bond to fight his civil fraud judgment — during a campaign reception in Houston last week — the former president wasn’t among the 500 richest people in the world.
Trump’s net worth skyrocketed to $6.4 billion this week after the successful merger between his Trump Media and Entertainment Group and Digital World Acquisition Corp.
The merger between the Truth Social parent company and the blank-check acquisition company raised the real estate mogul’s wealth by $4 billion.
For the first time, Trump, 77, will be listed on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index of the world’s wealthiest 500 people, according to the outlet.
Trump Media’s first day on the Nasdaq exchange — trading under the ticker “DJT,” a nod to his monogram — saw the company’s stock price rise as much as 50% before ending the day at $57.99.
Biden’s most recent swipe at Trump’s “debt” also comes the day after the former president snagged a last-minute legal victory when a New York appeals court ruled he could post a drastically reduced bond of $175 million to fight the massive judgment in his civil fraud case.
Trump’s lawyers previously told the court that the former president failed to secure the initial $464 million bond amount despite approaching more than 30 underwriting firms.
The appellate court has given Trump another 10 days to post the bond before the state, led by Attorney General Letitia James, can begin to seize his assets.
“I have a lot of cash,” Trump said during a press conference Monday.
“We’ll put up cash or bond very quickly, securities, cash, or bond, whatever it is,” he added. “We’ll put it up very quickly, and we’ll win the case.”
