President Joe Biden suggested that former President Donald Trump should be “locked up” during a Tuesday campaign appearance in New Hampshire for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, quickly sparking backlash from the Trump campaign.

In a video shared on X, formerly Twitter, the 81-year-old president, who dropped out of the 2024 presidential race this summer after a disastrous debate against the former president and amid concerns regarding his mental capabilities, can be heard taking a shot at Trump. Making an appearance at the Democratic Party’s campaign office in Concord, New Hampshire, Biden said, “If I said this five years ago, you’d lock me up: We gotta lock him up.”

Biden’s comment was met with laughter and cheering. However, Biden quickly appeared to backtrack on his statement as he added, “Politically lock him up.”

In response to Biden’s comments at the Democratic Party’s campaign office in New Hampshire, Trump Campaign National Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt released a statement, tweeting, “Joe Biden just admitted the truth: he and Kamala’s plan all along has been to politically persecute their opponent President Trump because they can’t beat him fair and square. The Harris-Biden Admin is the real threat to democracy. We call on Kamala Harris to condemn Joe Biden’s disgraceful remark!”

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Steve Guest, a Republican communications professional, also responded to Biden’s comments, stating, “After years and years of lawfare against Donald Trump, there is no cleanup that is possible for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the Democrats in the wake of this comment.”

Biden’s claim that Trump should be locked up comes as the former president and many other Republican leaders have repeatedly accused the Biden-Harris administration of weaponizing the U.S. Department of Justice and other agencies to target him and prevent him from winning a second term as president.