House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed the Democratic split on Joe Biden boasting about his work with notorious segregationists in the Senate.
“I think that authenticity is the most important characteristic that candidates have to convey to the American people and Joe Biden is authentic … He considers certain things a resource, that he has worked across the aisle,” the California Democrat told reporters on Capitol Hill.
“That’s not what this election is about. This election is about how we connect with the American people, addressing their kitchen-table needs. For us to spend time on an issue like this — which is important, but it’s not central to what the election is about.”
Pelosi added it was for the candidates to debate among themselves who will be the best person to challenge President Trump in 2020.
“Biden seems to have tremendous support in the African American community, but it’s for them to decide. It’s not for to me to make a judgment as to how they’re going to react,” she said.
On Wednesday, the former vice president stood by his remarks after fellow 2020 presidential contender New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker called on the former longtime senator of Delaware to apologize for citing two notorious Democratic segregationists, former Sens. James O. Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia, as examples of politicians with whom he worked.
Eastland and Talmadge, who have both since died, were known for pushing racist policies and believing that black people are inferior. Biden made the statements during a New York fundraiser on Tuesday.
“Apologize for what?” Biden said angrily in response to Booker on Wednesday. “He knows better. There’s not a racist bone in my body. I’ve been involved in civil rights my whole career. Period. Period. Period.”
