Former Vice President Joe Biden got very upset Thursday morning with an Iowa man who asked him about his son, Hunter, and his questionable appointment to the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

Biden was at an event in New Hampton taking questions from attendees when a man got on the microphone and raised concerns about Biden's age, and about Biden's role in getting his son the lucrative position in Ukraine.

After prefacing his comments by expressing a belief that President Donald Trump has done wrong in Ukraine, the man turned the focus onto Biden.

The man accused Biden of sending his son to Ukraine to sit on the board of Burisma, where he was paid at least $50,000 per month despite having no relevant experience, and said Biden was just as guilty of "selling access to the president" as Trump is.

Biden cut the man off there, saying "You're a damn liar, man." The man said he heard those claims on television, specifically citing MSNBC.

The tense exchange then took a bizarre turn, during which Biden claimed "I'm not sedentary" and challenged the man to physical contests.

"You want to check my shape man, let's do push-ups together here, man. Let's run," Biden said. "Let's do whatever you want to do. Let's take an IQ test. Ok?"

Biden later strangely accused the man of being "too old to vote for me." And at the 1:54 mark in the above video, it also sounds like Biden calls the man "fat."



It is simultaneously surprising and not surprising that Biden responded so poorly to the topic of Hunter and Burisma. Surprising because it is the most significant question for which he and his staff should have a prepared response, considering that Biden's Ukraine dealings are an important part of the ongoing impeachment inquiry and will certainly be used against him by Trump in the general election, should Biden advance that far.

Unsurprising because at various points throughout his campaign, Biden has seemed at times hostile, confused, and incoherent, and reports are that he is notoriously resistant to coaching from his staff.

Questions about the potential conflict of interest represented by his son being appointed to the Burisma board while Biden was vice president and point man on Ukraine are not likely to go anywhere. It is perhaps better to come up with a good answer for them rather than to attack voters for bringing it up.