In a sharp, uncharacteristically blunt rebuke of current President Donald Trump, former U.S. President Joe Biden launched a sweeping attack at a weekend Democratic Party fundraising gala in Hanover, Maryland, calling his successor “a loser” over a series of controversial self-focused projects in Washington D.C.
Biden’s 10-minute speech marked one of the harshest public critiques Trump has received from his predecessor since taking office in 2025, with Biden calling out multiple high-profile, polarizing initiatives Trump has advanced in the nation’s capital. Among the targets of Biden’s criticism were Trump’s plan to build a presidential ballroom by demolishing part of the White House East Wing, the failed attempt to add Trump’s name to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a self-named honorary arch project, and Trump’s appointment of a personal associate to oversee renovations to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
“Woah! What a loser,” Biden added after listing out the projects, leaning into a fiery tone that resonated with the Democratic donor audience.
Biden’s jabs about the Kennedy Center name change reference a 2024 Trump administration order that was later blocked by federal courts, which ruled the unauthorized addition violated historic preservation rules. For the proposed $400 million ballroom project, Trump has repeatedly defended the construction, framing it as a critical upgrade for national security protocols and to accommodate high-profile state visits and international events. The Reflecting Pool renovation, which cost taxpayers $14.7 million, also sparked public controversy after the project was completed: the iconic landmark quickly suffered from persistent algae blooms and infrastructure failures. Trump and the U.S. National Parks Service have pinned the blame for the ongoing issues on widespread vandalism, rather than flaws in the renovation work.
Beyond the vanity projects, Biden also targeted Trump’s handling of the 2021 U.S. Capitol insurrection, specifically criticizing the administration’s recent push to provide taxpayer compensation to rioters who claim they were wrongfully investigated or charged by federal authorities. “What makes me angry is that Trump wants to give taxpayers’ money, your money, to the January 6th insurrectionists,” Biden said. That compensation plan was ultimately withdrawn and blocked by a federal judge earlier this year.
As of Sunday, the White House had not issued an official response to Biden’s remarks, and the BBC’s request for comment remained unanswered. Trump has not directly addressed the latest critique, though he has a long history of attacking Biden on his Truth Social platform. Last month, he labeled Biden a “crooked politician,” and on Monday, he revived his well-known “sleepy Joe Biden” nickname in a post about an unrelated political issue.
The Saturday fundraiser speech came with a notable historical footnote: it fell exactly two years after Biden’s widely panned 2024 presidential debate performance against Trump. That poor showing triggered a wave of pressure from senior Democratic Party leaders for Biden to drop out of the race, leading then-Vice President Kamala Harris to step in as the party’s nominee. Harris ultimately lost the general election to Trump, clearing the way for his return to the White House.
The back-and-forth between the two former and current presidents underscores the deepening partisan divide in U.S. politics, as both sides continue to trade jabs ahead of upcoming congressional elections and future presidential contests.