2020 presidential front-runner Joe Biden and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand exchanged blows during a tense moment in Wednesday night’s presidential debate.
The conversation at the time of the attacks was about women joining the workforce and equal pay. When the moderator asked Gillibrand about the topic, she brought up Biden.
.@JoeBiden op-ed in 1981: Expanding the childcare tax credit and allowing more women to work would subsidize “the deterioration of the family.”
Those are his words. He should explain to America: How does a mom working lead to the deterioration of the family? pic.twitter.com/RADnzTbofx
— Meredith Kelly (@meredithk27) August 1, 2019
“I want to address Vice President Biden directly,” Gillibrand stated. “When the Senate was debating middle class affordability for child care, he wrote an op-ed. He voted against it, the only vote. He wrote an op-ed that he believed that women working outside the home would ‘create the deterioration of family.’ He also said that women who were working outside the home were ‘avoiding responsibility.'”
The opinion piece Gillibrand referenced was published in 1981, according to her campaign adviser.
“That was a long time ago and here’s what it’s about. It would have given people making today $100,000 a year a tax break for child care. I didn’t want that. I wanted the child care to go to people making less than $100,000. An that’s what it was about. As a single father who, in fact, raised three children for five years by myself, I have some idea of what it costs. I support making sure that every single solitary person needing child care get an $8,000 tax credit now.”
The New York senator then argued that Biden did not answer her question, adding that, “What did you mean when you said when a woman works outside the home it’s resulting in ‘the deterioration of family?'”
Biden responded by touting his record on equality and then attacked her.
“You came to Syracuse University with me and said it was wonderful. I’m passionate about the concern making sure women are treated equally. I don’t know what happened, except that you’re running for president.”
