Joe Biden calls voter 'damn liar' and challenges him to push up contest during angry confrontation at campaign event

Presidential candidate Joe Biden called a voter a "damn liar" and challenged him to a push up contest during an angry confrontation at a campaign event.

Merle Gorman, an 84-year-old retired farmer, took the microphone at the event in New Hampton, Iowa, and pressed the Democratic 2020 hopeful about his son’s business activities in Ukraine and suggested he was too old to be president.

He said the former vice-president had “sent” his son Hunter to Ukraine to work with an energy company. Hunter used to be on the board of a private Ukrainian gas company, Burisma.

“You sent your son over there...In order to get access for the president, or you were selling access to the president just like[Mr Trump] is,” the man, who did not give his name, said.

Mr Biden turned on his accuser, telling him: “You’re a damn liar, man. That’s not true.”

He denied that he or his son engaged in any corrupt activity in Ukraine and told the voter to “get your words straight, jack."

Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Mr Biden and the 2016 election, while holding up US military aid for Ukraine’s defence against Russia, is at the heart of the congressional impeachment inquiry.

The voter also questioned Mr Biden’s fitness for office.

The 77-year-old former vice president responded by challenging the man to a push-up contest or an IQ test and at one point appeared to call him "fat."

“I’m not sedentary,” Mr Biden said.

To applause from the audience, he said: “You want to check my shape, man, let’s do pushups together here, man. Let’s run. Let’s do whatever you want to do. Let’s take an IQ test. OK?”

As the exchange went on, Mr Biden then appeared to say to the voter: “Look, fat.”

Mr Biden’s campaign claimed the presidential candidate was actually saying “look, fact” to correct the voter’s comments.

Later, Mr Gorman told the New York Post that Mr Biden had “a wet noodle for a backbone”, adding: “He didn’t have the guts to explain the situation.”

Mr Biden's comments came a week after Mr Trump, who Mr Biden is aiming to take on in the presidential race, posted a bizarre image of his head superimposed on the muscular body of iconic movie character Rocky Balboa.

Mr Trump did not include text in the post but some speculated that it was in reference to his ability to fight off controversy during the ongoing impeachment inquiry in Congress.

The exchange was quickly shared by rivals on social media, with Republican National Committee, Steve Guest, tweeting: “Joe Biden doesn’t know how to treat voters … Not only does Biden call the voter ‘a damn liar,’ he goes on to call the voter ‘fat’.”

In Washington, Speaker Nancy Pelosi confirmed the House of Representatives will file impeachment charges against Mr Trump for abuse of power in his dealings with Ukraine.