Donald Trump Jr is being mocked over a bizarre video of him deriding President Joe Biden for providing Russia with a list of “off limits” cyber targets went viral on Twitter, attracting more than two million views.
In the video, initially published to Rumble, an online platform frequented by Trump supporters, a few days after Mr Biden met with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Geneva, Mr Trump Jr takes aim at the man who defeated his father in the 2020 election for handing the list over to the Kremlin.
“I don’t think Joe is smart enough to be like, ‘Hey, let’s send them off the trail — uh, don’t hack the McDonald’s on DC’,” Mr Trump Jr says.
“I mean, why doesn’t he just give Putin like, I don’t know, the keys to the nuclear football?
“What’s the list? Don’t hack, one — Joe’s basement. Two — Hunter’s businesses. Three—Hunter’s laptop,” he says in a reference to the president’s son, Hunter Biden.
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While the video was published earlier this month, it is only in recent days that it has gone viral, with a 29-second clip shared on Twitter attracting more than 2.3 million views.
Hundreds of people have also shared the video, with many mocking Mr Trump Jr.
“This is an addled brain,” one social media user claimed.
Another urged Mr Trump Jr to “seek professional help”.
Others said the video was a reason to avoid voting Republicans into office, writing: “THIS is the individual conservatives think should be the next President. For the sake of our country, DO NOT VOTE GOP.”
Mr Biden has faced criticism from conservatives after providing Russia with a list of 16 entities identified as “critical infrastructure”, including energy and water systems, that he has said should be “off limits” to cyber attacks.
Some have suggested that the list sends the message that anything off that list could now be considered a fair target.
It comes after Washington imposed sanctions on Moscow following the SolarWinds attack that was linked to Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service and after the US accused Russia of interfering in the 2020 election. Moscow has denied both accusations.
During his meeting with Mr Putin, Mr Biden warned his Russian counterpart against attacking key infrastructure.
He promised that the US would respond with its own cyber capabilities if the Kremlin were to ignore the demand.
