Jesse Jackson criticized Joe Biden’s opposition to federally mandated school busing in the 1970s, hours before the two were scheduled to appear at an event together.
“My judgment is it was the wrong side of history,” Jackson, 77, an activist on racial issue for five decades, said Friday shortly before the hastily-arranged meeting.
Biden, 76, the early 2020 Democratic front-runner, claimed at Thursday night’s Democratic debate that he “did not oppose busing in America.”
“What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education. That’s what I opposed,” he said during a heated clash with California Sen. Kamala Harris, who asked the former vice president if he regretted his previous opposition to federally mandated school busing to force integration at public schools.
The confrontation was one of the most memorable moments of the debate and prompted Biden’s campaign to contact Jackson to arrange a joint appearance.
But Jackson’s pre-meeting verdict might not help Biden. “Kamala Harris, she was on point,” Jackson said.
Rev. Jesse Jackson on Joe Biden’s busing record: “My judgment is it was the wrong side of history … Kamala Harris, she was on point” pic.twitter.com/gNSzUQ51Ww
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 28, 2019
The issue has plagued Biden’s campaign and his record on civil rights has made him a target of those seeking to challenge his status as the front-runner.
Jackson told the Washington Examiner last week that Biden’s comments on working with segregationists could have been expressed in a better way.
“He didn’t say it well, he used a bad example. But you can’t compare what Joe said with Trump — birther movement, Charlottesville, calling Africa s-hole. You can’t compare that unartful expression with that ideological commitment by Trump,” he said.
