Biden slams Trump for failing to condemn would-be kidnapping plot on Michigan governor: ‘Sort of behaviour you’d expect from Isis’

At a speech in Michigan billed as remarks about the Affordable Care Act, Joe Biden paid tribute to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, following the recent discovery of the plot to kidnap her.

“There is not a better governor in the United States of America than Gretchen Whitmer,” he said. "You've shown this whole nation just how tough and thoughtful you are. Tough just like Michigan."

The former vice president then referred to the plotters as “domestic terrorists”, adding: “It's the sort of behavior you might expect from ISIS. ... And the failure to condemn these folks is stunning from the outset.”

Mr Biden reiterated his rebuke of Donald Trump, that “Words matter. And the words of a president particularly matter.”

He then referenced the president’s infamous “dog whistle” tweet to “Liberate Michigan” and linked it back to Trump’s comments about “very fine people on both sides” in Charlottesville.

More to follow…