Former Vice President Joe Biden moved some audience members to tears at a CNN town hall where he talked about how he overcame his stutter.

He said he was embarrassed by his speech impediment while growing up but eventually came to accept that it wasn't his fault that he couldn't control it.

He capitalized on the importance of empathy and how people should "reach out a little more" to those in need.

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Former Vice President Joe Biden moved some audience members to tears at a CNN town hall Wednesday night where he talked about dealing with a stutter.

The 2020 Democratic presidential contender said he overcame the stutter by practicing speeches to himself in the mirror and imitating the "torture face" he would get when he couldn't make out a whole sentence because of his stutter.

He said he was embarrassed by his stutter growing up but no longer felt that shame.

"Things that people cannot control, it's not their fault," Biden said. "No one has a right, no one has a right to mock it and make fun of it, no matter who they are."

The former vice president went on to emphasize the power of empathy and how a simple phrase like "I know how you feel" can reinforce someone enough to think: "I guess there's a way through. I guess I can make it."

Biden said he empathized with the conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, who announced this week that he had late-stage lung cancer. Limbaugh was a controversial recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the State of the Union address on Tuesday night.

"I probably got in trouble for saying empathize with Rush Limbaugh dying of cancer," Biden said. "I don't like him at all, but he's going through hell right now. He's a human being."

Biden said this type of consideration was lacking in the US, both in and out of politics. The government remains bitterly divided following a high-tension impeachment inquiry and trial, pitting Democrats and Republicans — both lawmakers and civilians — against each other.

"We just have to reach out a little more for people — we don't do it enough," Biden said. "We got to heal this country. As a nation, we didn't use to be like this."

Watch Biden's response at the CNN town hall here: