--- title: Joe Biden: Donald Trump 'Does Not Understand Governance' description: Former vice president Joe Biden believes that President Donald Trump does not understand how the government works canonical: https://time.com/4986720/joe-biden-president-donald-trump/ author: Aric Jenkins article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-17T22:18:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:54:08.444Z article:section: Politics og:title: Joe Biden: Trump 'Doesn't Understand How the Government Functions' og:description: He also slammed the President's penchant for Twitter og:url: https://time.com/4986720/joe-biden-president-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6e314a84dd35047/6988c2ef0b72e392d86ed598/joe-biden-sexual-assault.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: 21st Annual Research! America Advocacy Awards Dinner og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joe Biden: Trump 'Doesn't Understand How the Government Functions' twitter:description: He also slammed the President's penchant for Twitter twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6e314a84dd35047/6988c2ef0b72e392d86ed598/joe-biden-sexual-assault.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Joe Biden: Donald Trump 'Doesn't Understand How the Government Functions' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Oct 17, 2017 10:18 PM UTC  WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 15: Former U.S. VP Joe Biden speaks after receiving the Gordon and Llura Gund Leadership Award for his commitment to accelerating cancer research through the White House Cancer Moonshot initiative at 21st Annual Research!America Advocacy Awards Dinner at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 15: Former U.S. VP Joe Biden speaks after receiving the Gordon and Llura Gund Leadership Award for his commitment to accelerating cancer research through the White House Cancer Moonshot initiative at 21st Annual Research!America Advocacy Awards Dinner at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium Paul Morigi—Getty Images by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Oct 17, 2017 10:18 PM UTC Former Vice President [Joe Biden](http://time.com/4979052/joe-biden-harvey-weinstein-allegations/) believes that [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4986301/donald-trump-travel-ban-blocked-hawaii/) does not understand how the U.S. government works. “\[W\]hat has really happened here is that, we have a president who does not understand governance. Forget his policies for a minute. He doesn’t understand how the government functions,” Biden said Tuesday alongside Ohio governor and former Republican presidential candidate John Kasich at a forum at the University of Delaware. Biden said that there was a reason why the government has established certain “political norms,” despite Trump’s pledge to [“drain the swamp”](http://time.com/4616679/donald-trump-drain-the-swamp/) and rid Washington of political insiders and bureaucracy within the federal government. He then touched on Trump’s social media habits. “And secondly, this penchant for self-aggrandizement, and this penchant for tweeting, this penchant to focus so specifically and internally on what he does and doesn’t do — even if he was right about everything — is sending a message to all of you and sending a message to your younger siblings that is just totally inappropriate,” Biden said. “Violating the norms of personal conduct generates more anxiety and fear than any policy prescription that this president has enunciated,” Biden added. “Sending his Secretary of State \[Rex Tillerson\] to talk with North Korea and saying he’s on a fool’s errand… it is absolutely bizarre. It’s bizarre conduct.” Trump himself met with a foreign leader earlier Tuesday. Greece Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras [told reporters](http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/17/politics/president-donald-trump-alexis-tsipras-greece-evil/index.html) at a press conference that his country and the U.S. “share common values.” Trump in turn hailed the Greece’s economic revival in the wake of an extended financial recession. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4986720/joe-biden-president-donald-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4986720/joe-biden-president-donald-trump/"},"headline":"Joe Biden: Donald Trump 'Doesn't Understand How the Government Functions'","datePublished":"2017-10-17T22:18:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:54:08.444Z","description":"He also criticized the President's social media habits","url":"https://time.com/4986720/joe-biden-president-donald-trump/","keywords":["White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6e314a84dd35047/6988c2ef0b72e392d86ed598/joe-biden-sexual-assault.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6e314a84dd35047/6988c2ef0b72e392d86ed598/joe-biden-sexual-assault.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"21st Annual Research! 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