--- title: Joe Biden: I Wish I Could Take Donald Trump Behind the Gym description: Vice President Joe Biden wants to take on Donald Trump—and not on a debate stage. canonical: https://time.com/4541405/joe-biden-take-donald-trump-behind-gym/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-21T21:01:13.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:45:26.091Z article:section: Politics og:title: Joe Biden Wishes He Could Take Donald Trump 'Behind the Gym' og:description: The Vice President had a strong reaction to Trump's remarks on women og:url: https://time.com/4541405/joe-biden-take-donald-trump-behind-gym/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbd98fbf9539efc4/6988ab2597cdff22be6ae47a/joe-biden-donald-trump-behind-the-gym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2457 og:image:height: 1382 og:image:alt: joe biden donald trump behind the gym og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Joe Biden Wishes He Could Take Donald Trump 'Behind the Gym' twitter:description: The Vice President had a strong reaction to Trump's remarks on women twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbd98fbf9539efc4/6988ab2597cdff22be6ae47a/joe-biden-donald-trump-behind-the-gym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Joe Biden Wishes He Could Take Donald Trump 'Behind the Gym' > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=43c0b20a-3982-4fba-bfdc-86214c65fd1a&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Oct 21, 2016 9:01 PM UTC  Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016, in Nashua, N.H. Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016, in Nashua, N.H.Jim Cole—AP  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Oct 21, 2016 9:01 PM UTC Vice President Joe Biden [wants to take on](http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/10/21/biden-i-d-take-trump-behind-the-gym.html?via=desktop&source=copyurl) Donald Trump—and not on a debate stage. During [a speech](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/joe-biden-wishes-he-was-in-high-school-so-he-could-take-out-donald-trump-behind-a-gym-a7374651.html) at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania on Friday while campaigning for Hillary Clinton, Biden addressed Trump’s [aggressive and lewd remarks](http://time.com/4523755/donald-trump-leaked-tape-impact/) about women from a recently leaked 2005 video. He said Trump’s “disgusting assertion” that he could grope and kiss women because he was famous was the “textbook definition of sexual assault”—and Biden had an idea for conveying his disapproval. “The press always asks me: don’t I wish I were debating him,” Biden said. “No, I wish we were in high school—I could take him behind the gym. That’s what I wish.” > [](https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/789553337712664576) The crowd approved: there was collective cheer of “yeaaah” after Biden delivered the line. \[[_The Daily Beast_](http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2016/10/21/biden-i-d-take-trump-behind-the-gym.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4541405/joe-biden-take-donald-trump-behind-gym/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4541405/joe-biden-take-donald-trump-behind-gym/"},"headline":"Joe Biden Wishes He Could Take Donald Trump 'Behind the Gym'","datePublished":"2016-10-21T21:01:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:45:26.091Z","description":"The Vice President had a strong reaction to Trump's remarks on women","url":"https://time.com/4541405/joe-biden-take-donald-trump-behind-gym/","keywords":["2016 Election","Hillary Clinton","2016 Election","Donald Trump"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbd98fbf9539efc4/6988ab2597cdff22be6ae47a/joe-biden-donald-trump-behind-the-gym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Zorthian","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbd98fbf9539efc4/6988ab2597cdff22be6ae47a/joe-biden-donald-trump-behind-the-gym.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"joe biden donald trump behind the gym","caption":"joe biden donald trump behind the gym","creditText":"Jim Cole—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4541405/joe-biden-take-donald-trump-behind-gym/","name":"Joe Biden Wishes He Could Take Donald Trump 'Behind the Gym'"}}]}] ```