Will Vice President Joe Biden’s off-hand comments force President Barack Obama’s hand again?
At the progressive conference Netroots Nation Thursday, Biden’s speech was interrupted by protesters chanting, “Stop Deporting our Families!”
When Biden couldn’t get them to stop, he responded to them, “I respect your view and I share your view.”
He then encouraged the crowd to clap for the protesters.
“We should clap for them. Can you imagine the pain, the anxiety, of coming home every day wondering whether your mother or father will still be there. Can you imagine, can you imagine what it must feel like?” Biden continued.
While Obama did issue an executive order that extended the time of deportation review for minors, he has still deported more people by this point in his second term than any other president — about 2 million deportees. He has stated that he wants a change in the deportation policy, but he has stopped way short of the type of amnesty that Biden advocated for.
Is anyone else getting a sense of déjà vu?
Think back to 2012 when Biden said he was “comfortable” with gay marriage during a TV interview well before Obama had expressed any public opinion on the subject. Obama then had to change his election year strategy and come forward with his own support for gay marriage. Reports at the time indicated that Biden’s decision to speak out of turn caused a big rift at the White House.
Biden’s immigration comments were tucked in the insane news cycle of Thursday, hidden behind plane crashes, fighting in Gaza, and Democratic fundraisers, and it’s too soon to tell if they will elicit a similar response from the president this time around.
Watch Biden’s comments here:
