If you’re casting your ballot for Donald Tump, the candidate who has repeatedly talked about how hot his daughter is, how she’s a “piece of as*”, and how he’d date her if they weren’t related, you should maybe think twice before calling into question Joe Biden‘s relationship with his son.
But that didn’t stop former cop turned right-wing Newsmax TV host John Cardillo, who posted a photo of Joe Biden kissing his son, Hunter, on the cheek, asking: “Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you?”
Does this look like an appropriate father/son interaction to you? pic.twitter.com/XDMIsgjUKI
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) October 22, 2020
He followed up that eye-roll inducing question with: “Good morning to everyone except the creepy Bidens and their creepy staged pics.”
Good morning to everyone except the creepy Bidens and their creepy staged pics.
— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) October 22, 2020
Well, Twitter was there to answer Cardillo’s question with a resounding….”yes, looks perfectly appropriate.”
Here’s some of the response it got:
Yes! And so needed. Sadly some parents believe they make their sons stronger by withholding affection. Those children will bear the scars. Being comfortable showing them love and affection at any age lets them build and model on true strength & not on the fear of appearing weak https://t.co/xA2O6er1pU
— Paul Stanley (@PaulStanleyLive) October 22, 2020
Attempts to stigmatize displays of affection by men and between men draw from the school of toxic masculinity, which frames noncompetitive emotions as weak and non aggressive physical touching as undesirable except in a heteronormative, primarily sexual context. https://t.co/FcaZm0nfws
— feminist next door (@emrazz) October 22, 2020
Yes, actually, it does — that is, if you’re not distracted by toxic masculinity, patriarchal insecurity, and a deadening indifference to the affection that should prevail between father and son. We could use more of this right now! https://t.co/wbqsszvSJq
— Michael Eric Dyson (@MichaelEDyson) October 22, 2020
The Trump/Ivanka issue was certainly not lost on other commenters:
— Meidas : #HereRightMatters #HereTruthMatters (@VoteBlue4Us) October 22, 2020
And at least one commenter was thankful for the post, but not for the reasons Cardillo hoped:
I want to thank @johncardillo for, even in his sad, disgusting ignorance, sparking an important and valuable conversation about fathers and sons. Mine was my hero. Died when I was 33. He hugged and kissed me like this thousands of times. I’d give anything for one more time. https://t.co/4lO10lmo8m
— Richard Marx (@richardmarx) October 22, 2020
We hope Cardillo learned something from the response he got, but we won’t hold our breath.
Liquid Silver
Yep, totally normal. My dad rubbed my shoulders when I was tired, used to put his chin on top of my head to see what I was doing, and so on. How is this not normal to people? I looked at that photo and thought, “How cute.”
What, exactly, did this sicko see?
DarkZephyr
I love my Dad dearly, and I know he loves us, but I would have loved it if we had a more nurturing relationship like this. My Dad was always very “army” and “ya gotta be a man, son” in how he handled things with us. Of course suddenly with his grand kids he’s Mary Poppins. Oh well. Better late than never.
Matthewnow
My Dad was NEVER affectionate with me growing up. Then everybody died except him and I. Suddenly the “I love you’s” were everywhere. That’s ok. He did what he could. I love you Dad.
hansniemeijer
Love thy children includes showing affection.
IndependentForever
Why are conservatives so damaged? Why are they such bitter people? Maybe because they didn’t have a dad like Joe Biden. A good, caring, and decent man.
GlobeTrotter
If he was bothered by that pic then he should do himself a favor and never set foot in Europe. Here fathers kiss and tightly hug their sons like it’s the end of the world. Parents here even bathe naked with their children and take them with them to the public saunas where everyone has to be naked.
My Swedish friend sent me pics of him and his 4 and 5 year old daughters bathing naked together and having a grand time in their bathtub. Sometimes his wife joins in, completely naked herself. This is PERFECTLY normal here and in my opinion is far more healthy than my upbringing where touching and showing affection was frowned upon.
nunya
I kissed my father hello and goodbye, but that pic is creepy. The way the son is looking at the camera as if to say, “Ok, are you through with your phony political stunt.” Biden must be whispering into his ear, “ Thanks for the Ukrainian, Russian, Chinese money, son. Good job. I should be kissing your ass.”
vinnieboiblue
You are one sick SOB!
Cam
You were defending anti-LGBTQ bigotry on the other thread. So you’re exposed Troll. Time to switch screenames again.
nathan
It is so sad that you choose to make such disgusting comments, but we all know you are doing so for political reasons. It is also likely that you come from an emotionless and undemonstrative family and have never known the feeling of security and warmth that comes from a hug and a kiss by people you love. There is no point in expecting that you will become a different person just by reading things on here – the change would have to come from the heart, which you seem to lack.
barryaksarben
Ignore this troll . he was on another thread lying about how he lived in WEHO and his “hairdresser” told him 90% of all gays were voting for trump. Proving just how stupid and bad their trolling is. 90% and from a hairdresser not a lawyer or a store owner? He must think we are all as brain dead as the typical deplorable inbred trump supporter. Begone before we throw some water on you. You probably wont melt but you also probably need to bathe
CarrieV
@Nunya — thanks for the hearty laugh. After reading all of the beautiful, heartwarming tweets and comments here, I had quite the wet eyes and cheeks. I just wanted to sink into my chair and miss my late father (a loving, kind, wonderful man).
But your sick post cracked me up and now I can just go ahead about my evening with a spring in my step from all the guffawing at your expense.
Onecaddy13
I have always liked Joe. While I do disagree with some of his politics, I really love this photo. I lost my father over 20 yrs. ago. We were extremely close, and like many, we said I love you’s but the last hug I got to give him was on his deathbed before cancer took him. To all children, you’re never too old to hug your parents. If able, do it today……
AZ71
Republicans are so vile. Their homophobia is so out of control they’re landing it on normal, everyday interactions in families now. I’ve always kissed my folks. Even as a younger kid i kissed both my mom and dad on the lips with a smack goodnight or whatever. Then as I aged it was more on the face like this. And now that my 80yo father is in his declining years I kiss him like this all the time on his cheek. GOP are just horrible people.
Joshooeerr
It tells you a lot about what emotionally constipated voids most Republicans are.
barryaksarben
Perfect example of what twisted non affection does to a male when his father withholds affection jsut look at TRUMP himself. HIs dad was a pig. Trump is the one who has basically goped his underage daughter in photos. ANd Biden has never said anything as creepy as trump has said about his daughter like how he would date her. The gop has the sick version of how fathers should act towards their children and their voters always need that strong twisted father figure in their lives like trump. They get so emotional and threaten violence when their daddy figure is not universally admired
terry751
I don’t think we should take anything the Right wing says too seriously. I mean, they defend Trump. Remember how he said he’d date Ivanka if she wasn’t his daughter? This photo is tame by comparison.
jayceecook
Is the photo slightly on the creepy side? Sort of. But not because of the affection between the two men. It’s that Hunter is giving off some Law & Order killer of the week vibes. As if his eyes are saying, “This is my next one.” However nobody should be policing how people show affection as long as it’s within the boundaries of the law. As much as I hate the phrase “toxic masculinity” because it’s so overused I do agree that the guy complaining is a prime example of such a thing. Sorry your father didn’t love you or give you the affection you deserved.
Creepy or not I would have absolutely preferred this to the abusive, alcoholic sperm donor I had. Thankfully he drowned when I was a kid so I didn’t have to deal with it for too long. Luckily I had a mother who routinely showed me affection like this. Sometimes she’d just place her hand on mine while we were in the car on our way to nowhere special. I asked her one time why she did that and she said she just wanted to me to know that she loved me. Being super close and affectionate with your parent, parents, guardians, etc should never be weaponized. It should be celebrated.
Kevan1
Let’s see Trump said he would have dated his daughter, the thing they probably had sex as the most common interest they share and how hot his daughter is. That is what is abnormal, not a father showing fatherly love. Trump shows sexual attraction and lust for his daughter not fatherly love.
Gadfeal
Seems perfectly normal to me – and to most cultures on earth. What prehistoric cave do these people inhabit? I’ve seen Jewish dads kiss their adult son’s asses playfully, French children do the “air kiss” to every household visitor when they go to bed, Italian men holding hands (straight) – even Chinese men in public.
What a lot of codswallop!
The US is not the property of one segment of people. Stop judging when it has nothing to do with oneself.
Man About Town
Joe Biden fathered three kids and this one is the only survivor. How could he not hug and kiss him every chance he gets?
joeboyle49
I DON’T UNDERSTAND THE RIGHT WING AT ALL! IF A LIBERAL MAN TOUCHES HIS DAUGHTER OR SON THERE HOLLERING PEDOPHILE BUT LET THEM DO IT THEN ITS ALL RIGHT BECAUSE THEY USE GOD AS TELLING THEM ITS OK??? I GREW UP WITH MY DAD IN THE ARMY AND EVERYTHING WAS DO DO IT BECAUSE I SAID SO AND ITS THE ARMY WAY. BUT THERE WAS NO AFFECTION HE DIDN’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT AND MOM WAS ALWAYS BUSY WITH HOUSE WORK AND TAKING CARE OF ALL OF US KIDS.
winemaker
Who cares? The old fool’s a creep and he wants to be president? The liberals lambast Trump and the conservatives lambast biden, so what. As the old adage ‘what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander’