If Joe Biden is fretting over his fond reminiscences about 1970s Senate work with segregation-era senators, he’s not showing it.
The former vice president on Wednesday came in for cascading criticism from 2020 Democratic primary rivals for his remarks the night before at a Manhattan fundraiser waxing nostalgically about his early Senate career’s legislative partnerships with the likes of Democratic Sens. James O. Eastland and Herman Talmadge. Both were staunch segregationists who opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and a swath of other measures aimed at easing the plight of African Americans and expanding rights.
Among 2020 Democratic rivals, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was the first to pounce, denouncing Biden in a pair of tweets accompanied by a photo of himself years back with his African American wife and mixed-race children.
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker predicted that in light of the former vice president’s comments he would not be his party’s presidential nominee.
“Vice President Biden’s relationships with proud segregationists are not the model for how we make America a safer and more inclusive place for black people, and for everyone,” Booker said in a statement, which followed a tweet blasting Biden.
The Democratic front-runner, however, remained silent on his segregationist remarks throughout Wednesday. Biden’s official campaign schedule listed him attending a fundraiser in the posh Washington, D.C., suburb of Potomac, Md.
It’s a calculation of sorts by Biden that his support is solid — he leads all current polls — and that voters already have a good sense about him from 36 years in the Senate, plus eight years as President Barack Obama’s understudy.
Whether he can maintain that stance is an open question. Biden is slated to speak at this weekend’s South Carolina Democratic Convention, where African American voters are likely to make up a majority of attendees. And on June 27 Biden is set to participate in the first round of Democratic debates, giving rivals a clear shot to question his long record.
Biden’s camp on Wednesday was not totally silent. In an interview on MSNBC Wednesday afternoon, Biden adviser Anita Dunn said his remarks about the segregationist senators were misconstrued.
Dunn noted him saying he never agreed with the pair of southerners, only tried to work with them on legislation.
“As he says in the story, that he didn’t agree with them, and he absolutely did not agree, but they were able to disagree and there was civility involved. He didn’t praise them, he didn’t praise their positions, he certainly didn’t endorse their positions,” Dunn said.
Biden also won support from the third-ranking Democratic leader in the House. Majority Whip James Clyburn, S.C., said Wednesday he worked effectively with the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., the infamous one-time segregationist senator.
“You don’t have to agree with people to work with them,” Clyburn told reporters on Capitol Hill. “We didn’t agree on much of anything. We got things done.”
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