MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski was lauded on social media for her questioning of former Vice President Joe Biden about an allegation that he sexually assaulted a Senate aide in 1993.
Brzezinski questioned Biden for approximately 18 minutes on Friday, asking the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee if he assaulted former staffer Tara Reade, if he would give permission to the University of Delaware to release relevant records, and if he was guilty of hypocrisy given his statements during Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings.
“Did you sexually assault Tara Reade?” Brzezinski began the interview. “You were unequivocal, Mr. Vice President, back in 2018 during the Kavanaugh controversy and hearings. You said that women should be believed,” Brzezinski later pointed out, referencing Biden’s comments that allegations of sexual assault should be presumed as true. “To use your words, should we not start off with the presumption that the essence of what she’s talking about is real? She says you sexually assaulted her.”
Brzezinski also described Reade’s allegation, which is that Biden ran his hand underneath her skirt and penetrated her with his fingers at the time. Biden denied the claim.
Brzezinski received plaudits from media critics and political figures across the ideological spectrum, including Jennifer Palmieri, a former Hillary Clinton aide.
Friends, I don’t get this badgering I see of @morningmika for “harping” or being too hard on @JoeBiden. I love and respect @JoeBiden but he needed to answer every single question she put to him. It would be a disservice to all involved if she had not done so. Hats off to her.
— Jennifer Palmieri (@jmpalmieri) May 1, 2020
Give Mika credit: This wasn’t the T-ball session some expected. Biden finally answered questions (and was finally asked after dozens of interviewers failed to do so) and did not come across well. This doesn’t go away until the Delaware papers (the Blue Hen dossier) are released.
— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) May 1, 2020
Mika is eviscerating Biden over the believe-all-victims double standard, and Biden is misrepresenting his earlier position. #MorningJoe
— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) May 1, 2020
.@morningmika asks repeatedly: Why not push for the release of any documents related to Tara Reade in the University of Delaware records?
Biden: “There are no personnel documents. … I don’t understand the point you’re trying to make.”
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) May 1, 2020
Not sure you can fault Mika’s questioning. Those weren’t softballs. Sure, I’d like some more granular follow ups, but that was a grilling.
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) May 1, 2020
Damn…
Mika pressed Biden on this hard and Biden had no real response
He just short circuited, fumbled and fizzled
This is getting sad, Biden cannot handle this level of politics anymore https://t.co/l8yR3Lttia
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) May 1, 2020
Defensive body language from Mika Brzezinski as Biden rambles on and evades answering tough questions pic.twitter.com/lI3GjpOPBy
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) May 1, 2020
Mika did a good job on that interview despite her personal affinity for Biden. She pressed him several times on both the ‘believe women’ standard and the UD records. She should’ve brought up, however, all of the other people who say Reade told them about the incident.
— Amber Athey (@amber_athey) May 1, 2020
Watch as Mika Brzezinski actually gets Joe Biden flustered on whether he will call for a search of University of Delaware records on Tara Reade. This is the kind of interview journalists could have been doing for the last 36 days, but failed to. pic.twitter.com/bgoHoagyJC
— Scott Whitlock (@ScottJW) May 1, 2020
Mika was persistent and I want to give her credit but she also accepted the framing of the Biden camp that the veracity of this claim should rest on the production of this one document from 27 years ago. We already have contemporaneous evidence of Tara’s recollection at the time.
— Krystal Ball (@krystalball) May 1, 2020
Remarkable interview right now between Mika and Biden, but it would seem Tara Reade should have the opportunity to respond to these questions as well on @MSNBC.
— David Jolly (@DavidJollyFL) May 1, 2020
