Biden's Response To Questions About His Son Is As Damaging As Charges Raised By Trump

President Donald Trump’s questionable request to the Ukrainian government to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son has pushed him into the path of a likely impeachment trial, but the potshots have nevertheless found their target in Biden, a frontrunner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Many voters, including Democrats, are as concerned about the way Biden has handled the allegations as Trump's charges that Hunter Biden profited from his father’s position as vice president during his time as a board member of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian energy company.

Democrats in the House, who Tuesday announced their intent to move forward on impeachment, believe Trump was politically motivated.

Joe Biden, who is still leading the polls as a Democratic challenger to Trump, has only alienated his supporters by refusing to address the charges.

In a recent interview with National Public Radio, Biden was questioned about whether he would comply with a request to testify about his son and Burisma during the impeachment hearings against President Trump. “No, I'm not going to let you take the eye off the ball here. Everybody knows what this is about,” Biden said.

The former vice president went on to say that he was not aware that his son’s position with Burisma would be viewed as a possible conflict of interest, seemingly attributing the bad optics to his staffers. Biden also reaffirmed his assertion that nothing untoward resulted from his son’s business dealings in Ukraine.

Biden made headlines last week after a heated exchange with an Iowa voter who accused the former vice president of “selling access to the presidency” during the Obama administration. Those in attendance were stunned when Biden, clearly frustrated, called the attendee a “damn liar” for seemingly making a comparison to Trump’s nepotism.

Regardless of whether Biden and his son engaged in questionable business dealings in Ukraine, many Democrat voters – 40 percent, according to one poll – believe it is an issue worth addressing. Biden appears to be struggling with the heightened scrutiny.

Although Biden is still firmly leading in nationwide polling, his main competition – Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) – have been gaining ground, especially among certain important voting groups. A recent poll showed Sanders greatly outpacing his fellow nominee candidates among college students, a group largely credited to President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 election wins.