# I pit the people giving the widow crap for NOT taking call from President Biden **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [July 16, 2024, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321 "2024-07-16T13:41:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/21 "2024-07-16T18:37:09Z")
Nonetheless I am glad that the attempted call is in the news moreso than if it weren’t controversial. If it were more low-key then there would be more MAGAs who claim that Biden never offered them sympathy. There still will be, but not as many. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/22 "2024-07-16T18:42:03Z")
Who here would take a call from Trump? ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/23 "2024-07-16T18:51:29Z")
Oh, absolutely I would. Out of curiosity if nothing else. And I would refrain from telling him off as well. At least in my present state of mind. I don’t pretend to predict what I would do in the midst of fresh grief. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/24 "2024-07-16T18:55:47Z")
I would, but if he was rambling on, or got too angry, or demanded money or something, I’d try to find a way to end the call nicely and if that was impossible I’d just hang up on him. I mean, he’s a person, I don’t have a problem having a conversation. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/25 "2024-07-16T18:56:29Z")
I wouldn’t talk to Trump. He’s a complete sociopath. Particularly not if I had just experienced a horrible tragedy. And double that if it was over a loved one who died who hated him. I would have talked to W. The man is capable of empathy. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/26 "2024-07-16T18:57:03Z")
I wouldn’t take a call from Trump or George W. And even if the call is from a politician I like it’s grandstanding to phone a high-profile widow/widower. Presidents aren’t phoning everyone whose spouse is murdered. (And if they are they should stop. They’ve got more important things to deal with.) ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/27 "2024-07-16T18:59:08Z")
You couldn’t pay me to go to a Trump rally and “fer God’s sake” sit behind him in those bleachers with a sign they give you. Those people look like idiots and are taking stupid risks with their lives. I thought this before the attempted assassination. Moreso now. That guy rolled the dice and lost. Widow and daughter know this. It’s sad, I’m sorry, they swam with the sharks and got bit. She should’ve took the call, been a grown up and said “Thank you for calling” And went about her grieving. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/28 "2024-07-16T19:32:52Z")
Interestingly enough, Trump actually took a call from Biden and [even complimented him](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-tells-abc-news-assassination-attempt-impact-biden/story?id=111973031) later. > In the hours that followed the assassination attempt at Trump’s Pennsylvania rally, President Joe Biden reached out to his political opponent. Asked about their phone call, Trump described the conversation as “very nice,” adding of the man he’s vying against for the presidency, “He couldn’t have been nicer.” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/29 "2024-07-16T19:35:01Z")
I can’t imagine the reverse; Trump calling Biden had he been the target. But perhaps I’m being unfair to him? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/30 "2024-07-16T19:35:14Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Fine; pit me, then. But at least Biden had the decency to attempt to call. Trump couldn’t be arsed. FUCK that guy. Well, fuck him anyway, just on general principle (also anyone who’d cast a vote for a Republican for anything). OP’s point is well-taken. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/31 "2024-07-16T19:37:32Z")
Trump left a letter in the Resolute desk for Biden, a tradition started by Reagan, which Biden described as gracious. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/32 "2024-07-16T19:40:26Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > That guy rolled the dice and lost. What an exceptionally callous statement. You could say this about anyone doing anything in public anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/33 "2024-07-16T19:44:15Z")
Perhaps in her view Biden doesn’t stop being an enemy of the state and illegally placed President just because her husband was shot. Try to remember the mindset of a lot of Trump followers. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/34 "2024-07-16T19:45:24Z")
It was classy for Biden to make the call, and it would have been classy for her to take it. But I will not, ever, say that anyone who’s mourning is doing it wrong. Mourning is a private, personal thing, and everyone does, and has the right to do, it differently. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/35 "2024-07-16T19:47:30Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Trump left a letter in the Resolute desk for Biden, a tradition started by Reagan, which Biden described as gracious. Perhaps Biden was being a diplomat and didn’t think any good would come from talking about the actual contents during a time of great turmoil, or perhaps an aide wrote it because Trump didn’t see any profit in doing so. Who knows? ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/36 "2024-07-16T19:51:48Z")
What I’ve seen on social media doesn’t even mention her refusing Biden’ s call. Just this part, which the newspaper articles included along with her statement that she hadn’t heard from Trump and that she doesn’t want to speak to Biden. > “I don’t have any ill will towards Joe Biden,” “I’m not one of those people that gets involved in politics.” > “I support Trump. That’s who I’m voting for, but I don’t have ill will towards Biden,” “He didn’t do anything bad to my husband. A 20-year-old despicable kid did.” I was actually somewhat surprised that someone who attended that rally would say they didn’t have any ill will towards Biden. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/37 "2024-07-16T20:06:44Z")
I asked my wife, “If I died under circumstances like this, and Donald Trump were President, would you take a call from him?” She said “Yes. I would tell him to f–k himself!” And that’s one of the reasons I married her, 50 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/38 "2024-07-16T20:07:24Z")
Well, yeah. I guess it was a bit mean. But, really? Would you put yourself and family in what might be a tinderbox at any time? I wouldn’t. Someone said in another thread this guy had to resign his oh so helpful to humanity career as firefighter for posting racist inflammatory remarks. He wasn’t the bastion of society we’ve are led to believe. He shouldn’t have died for his beliefs or where he sat or just a bad draw of the cards. Still, the widow should’ve took the call from “her” president, or not. She didn’t have to tell it to the press, either way. She chose to. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/39 "2024-07-16T20:15:01Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > I asked my wife, “If I died under circumstances like this, and Donald Trump were President, would you take a call from him?” She said “Yes. I would tell him to f–k himself!” > > And that’s one of the reasons I married her, 50 years ago. Yep, she’s a keeper. > [@Beckdawrek](#): > > But, really? Would you put yourself and family in what might be a tinderbox at any time? Hell, I go door-to-door in unfamiliar neighborhoods canvassing for the Dems. Any one of those doors might open to reveal a gun-wielding MAGAt “standing his ground.” I wouldn’t consider attending a rally to be “rolling the dice” any more than attending an outdoor concert – which have also been the scenes of mass shootings and are not generally patrolled by the Secret Service. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2024, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321/40 "2024-07-16T20:34:59Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > I agree she should be left alone to grieve if she wishes and doesn’t have to talk to the president if she doesn’t want to. But somebody made this a non-private decision. How did that happen? > [@Leaper](#): > > Probably because a reporter asked and she answered. If the widow declined Biden’s call because she wanted to be left alone to grieve privately, then why would she have been talking to a reporter? One thing I’ve learned during the last eight years is that the old rules of politics are gone. Be quiet during the State of the Union Address, make a concession call to your opponent after losing, release your tax returns; all of those things are now optional. Showing respect to the office of the president, and taking his phone call, are now optional, too. She didn’t have to take the call, or give a reason for not taking it. But if she’s the one who made it public, then people will talk about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-people-giving-the-widow-crap-for-not-taking-call-from-president-biden/1004321.md?page=3)