Biden Defends Comments About Working With Segregationists
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Joe Biden defended his comments on working with segregationists Wednesday night. The presidential candidate had received criticism for saying things were civil even when he had to work with segregationists during his time in Congress.
"At least there was some civility," Biden said of working with segregationist senators James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia. "We got things done. We didn’t agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished. But today you look at the other side and you’re the enemy. Not the opposition, the enemy. We don’t talk to each other anymore.”
Many fellow Democratic presidential candidates criticized Biden, with Cory Booker (D-NJ) saying Biden should apologize for "using his relationships with Eastland and Talmadge as examples of how to make our country better." Biden refused, defending his record on civil rights and saying, "There's not a racist bone in my body." In addition, MSNBC host Kasie Hunt wrongly stated that the two segregationist senators were Republican; they were Democrats. She later corrected herself on social media.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Biden not apologizing for remarks on segregationist senators
Joe Biden refused calls to apologize Wednesday for saying that the Senate “got things done” with “civility” even when the body included segregationists with whom he disagreed.
His rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, including the two major black candidates in the contest, roundly criticized Biden’s comments. But Biden didn’t back down and was particularly defiant in the face of criticism from New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who said the former vice president should apologize for his remarks.
Biden countered that it was Booker who should apologize because the senator...
From the Right
MSNBC host Kasie Hunt falsely claims Joe Biden's segregationist colleagues were Republicans
At MSNBC, if you’re a racist, that apparently means you’re a Republican.
Host Kasie Hunt teased an upcoming segment at the left-wing network Wednesday on the furor over Joe Biden saying he used to be able to work with senators who were segregationists and lamenting the partisanship of today.
He named Sens. James Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia.
“Still to come, Joe Biden references his relationships with two former Republican colleagues at an event in New York City. The only problem? They were both segregationists,” she said....
From the Left
Biden defends comments about segregationist senators: 'There's not a racist bone in my body' 
(CNN)An unapologetic Joe Biden defended his remarks about working with segregationist senators on Wednesday, telling reporters that "there's not a racist bone in my body."
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, one of the former vice president's rivals for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, had called on Biden to apologize for remarks he had made at a fundraiser Tuesday evening in New York.
"Apologize for what?" Biden told CNN when asked about Booker's call outside a fundraiser Wednesday evening in Rockville, Maryland.
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