Biden shuts down conservative troll: 'There are at least three genders.. don't play games with me, kid'

As the long-awaited day of Joe Biden's inauguration fast approaches, a clip that got little attention during the Democratic presidential primary has resurfaced on the internet for all the right reasons. While the clip was initially posted online by right-wing activist Charlie Kirk as part of a propaganda video for the "alt-lite" organization, Turning Point USA, it has now gone viral for the President-elect's epic takedown of a conservative troll. In the video, Biden expertly sidesteps a bait laid out by a supposed member of the group who introduced herself as an Iowa college student and asks him how many genders there are.

"There are at least three," Biden responded without missing a beat, after which the woman asked him to name them. Recognizing the malicious intent behind the question, the 78-year-old immediately shut down the bad-faith discussion, telling her: "Don't play games with me, kid." Before the woman makes her way out of the crowd, Biden also made sure to remind her of his pioneering stance on LGBTQ issues in the Obama White House, saying: "By the way, the first one who came out for marriage [equality] was me."

Although Kirk attempted to turn the exchange into a smear campaign against Biden with the claim that the then-presidential candidate "forcefully grab[bed]" the woman — who he said was one of his field staffers — the video has since had the opposite effect. While the soon-to-be president didn't exactly say that gender is a spectrum, the fact that he was mindful enough to say that "there are at least three" gender identities possible is now earning him brownie points with LGBTQ netizens and allies. "Joe Biden answering 'at least 3' when Kaitlyn Bennett posing as a journalist asked him how many genders are there was unironically a better answer than most politicians would give to that question," tweeted @MushroomsOnMarz.

"Biden says dumb things a lot but in his heart, he's trying to be nice and accepting. Big grandpa vibes tbh," responded @nikicaga, to which @MushroomsOnMarz replied: "I don't even think it was that dumb! I don't expect Joe Biden to explain the nuances of gender identity to a far-right troll, but this was funny and sweet while technically true. If one of my parents gave me that answer if I asked them about gender identity I'd be ecstatic." Several other Twitter users shared similar sentiments, hailing Biden's answer as a perfectly acceptable answer to the question of gender identities.

"I'd argue that it's the best answer possible; people are creating new genders for themselves all the time & deserve to be called whatever gender they want to identify as. Male, Female & literally any other gender makes 'at least 3,'" tweeted @TRILLItweets. "If there's anything that's reassuring about Biden to me, as somebody more left than him, is how much he is visibly trying to learn and grow as the world around him changes. That is hard and most people his age get mad instead. People rightfully get mad at 1994 Biden, but I'm ecstatic because 2020 Biden bears little resemblance to him," wrote @politicsnredsox.

According to The Washington Post, Biden — whose views on the LGBTQ community have become clearer and louder over the years — is now poised to be the nation's most pro-LGBTQ president ever with an ambitious slate of actions that would go beyond reversing the anti-LGBTQ policies pushed by the Trump administration. He has credited his passion for LGBTQ issues to his late son Beau Biden’s close friendship with Delaware Sen. Sarah McBride (D), who recently became the country's first transgender state senator. "The president-elect has always been far out ahead on transgender issues. And I think all of us benefit from knowing people who are trans and organic agents of change in daily life," said McBride. "But I know Joe Biden also wants to honor and carry forward his son's work and legacy on this issue."