The women vying to be Joe Biden’s running mate are in a tough position as they hope to flaunt their liberal bona fides while avoiding giving credence to Tara Reade’s allegations that the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee sexually harassed and assaulted her when she worked in his Senate office in 1993.
While Biden has not directly addressed Reade’s allegations, his campaign has vehemently denied all of her charges. For many of those rumored to be possible picks, silence is the preferred route.
The Washington Examiner could find no public statements on Reade’s allegations from five women Biden may be considering as his running mate: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Florida Rep. Val Demings, Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth, or Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The offices for the officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Six other potential Biden picks have addressed Reade’s allegations on the record. They largely follow the same talking points that Biden’s campaign is reportedly distributing to allies, saying that Reade has a right to be heard but that news outlets should vet her claims and that Biden has a history of helping women with legislation such as the Violence Against Women Act.
The potential running mates generally only answer questions about Reade’s allegations when asked in an interview. Former Georgia state legislator Stacey Abrams, who is running an unusually aggressive public relations campaign to become Biden’s vice presidential pick, is the only contender who responded to questions sent via email.
Many vice presidential contenders also have not spoken publicly about Reade’s allegation following the revelation of new evidence that could corroborate her story. On Monday, Reade’s former neighbor and a former colleague revealed that Reade told them in the ’90s that she was assaulted or harassed, potentially corroborating her story. On Friday, Reade identified her now-deceased mother’s voice in uncovered 1993 Larry King Live show footage, in which a woman caller told King about her daughter’s difficulty voicing “problems” with a “prominent senator.”
Reade has called on those who could be Biden’s running mate to address her allegations. “If you continue to engage in protecting a powerful man without giving my case a closer look, you are complicit in rape,” Reade said.
Here are the public comments on Reade’s allegations from possible Biden running mates:
Stacey Abrams, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate
Abrams responded to questions about Reade’s allegations both in an email to HuffPost and in an interview on CNN Tuesday evening.
“I believe that women deserve to be heard, and I believe that they need to be listened to,” Abrams said on CNN. “But I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources. The New York Times did a deep investigation. And they found that the accusation was not credible. I believe Joe Biden. I believe that he is a person who has demonstrated that his love of family, his love of our community, has been made perfectly clear through his work as a congressional leader and as an American leader.”
A New York Times spokesperson said Wednesday that it was inaccurate to say its report found Reade’s allegations were not credible.
Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported April 15 that Balwin said she was seeking more information about the allegation.
“The allegations are being aired publicly,” Baldwin said. “There’s a statement that Joe Biden and his team have put out and there is a report, I believe in the New York Times, indicating that there’s not corroboration. … I would feel more comfortable had I read every word of the article before commenting at greater length.”
Baldwin’s office did not respond to a request for comment about her thoughts after reading the full New York Times investigation or in light of the Larry King video and corroboration from a former neighbor and former colleague.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
Gillibrand was asked about the allegations in a press briefing on April 28.
“When we say believe women, it’s for this explicit intention of making sure there’s space for all women to come forward to speak their truth, to be heard. And in this allegation, that is what Tara Reade has done,” the former 2020 presidential candidate said. “She has come forward, she has spoken, and they have done an investigation in several outlets. Those investigations, Vice President Biden has called for himself. Vice President Biden has vehemently denied these allegations, and I support Vice President Biden.”
When a reporter asked if there was a “contradiction” between how Democrats have reacted to the allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 Senate confirmation hearings, versus those against Biden, Gillibrand responded: “No, and I stand by Vice President Biden. He has devoted his life to supporting women, and he has vehemently denied this allegation.”
California Sen. Kamala Harris
Harris was asked about Reade’s allegations in a San Francisco Chronicle podcast interview on April 17.
“Listen, this woman has a right to tell her story, and I believe that, and I believe Joe Biden believes that, too,” Harris said. “I’ve spent my whole career fighting like you said, Joe, to give women a voice, and this brings up I think a bigger structural issue frankly, which is that women must be able to speak without fear of retaliation.”
She stressed that she spent “the bulk” of her career fighting against abuse of women.
“On the issue of Joe, I mean, I can only speak to the Joe Biden I know. He’s been a lifelong fighter in terms of stopping violence against women,” Harris said. “She has a right to tell her story, and she shouldn’t face any repercussions for that, but the Joe Biden I know is somebody that really has fought for women and empowerment of women and women’s equality and rights.”
Harris’s office did not respond to a request for comment about her opinion on Reade’s allegation in light of the Larry King video and corroboration from a former neighbor and former colleague.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar
The former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate addressed Reade’s allegations in an NPR interview on April 14:
“I agree with Vice President Biden about this, that all women in these cases have the right to be hurt and have their claims thoroughly reviewed. And in this case — and your listeners should look at the story — there was a thorough review by the New York Times. And I think that’s very important to have, especially involving public figures.”
Klobuchar added that Biden was “a leader on domestic abuse” and led the Violence Against Women Act “before people were even willing to talk about those horrific crimes and has really been a champion of abuses of power against women and has used his voice on the domestic abuse front in such a big way.”
Klobuchar’s office did not respond to a request for comment about her opinion on Reade’s allegation in light of the Larry King video and corroboration from a former neighbor and former colleague.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Whitmer addressed Reade’s allegations in an April 14 NPR interview.
“Well, I think women should be able to tell their stories. I think that it is important that these allegations are vetted, from the media to beyond. And I think that, you know, it is something that no one takes lightly. But it is also something that is, you know, personal. And so it’s hard to give you greater insight than that, not knowing more about the situation,” Whitmer said.
The first-term governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment about her opinion on Reade’s allegation in light of the Larry King video and corroboration from a former neighbor and former colleague.
