Joe Biden came under fire for statements he made Tuesday at a fundraiser in New York about his time working civilly with segregationists.
"I was in a caucus with James O. Eastland. He never called me 'boy,' he always called me 'son,'" Biden said in a speech to donors, according to CNN. "Well guess what? At least there was some civility. We got things done," Biden said. "We didn't agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished."
Eastland, who joined many in denouncing the Brown v Board of Education decision and was an active member of the White Citizens' Council, was a known segregationist.
“The South will not abide by nor obey this legislative decision by a political body,” Eastland said shortly following the unanimous Brown decision in 1954 in speeches to his fellow Senators, according to NAACP records.
After Biden's comments about Eastland were made public, 2020 Democratic candidates were quick to condemn his statements, with the strongest rebuke coming from Sen. Cory Booker.
“You don’t joke about calling black men ‘boys,’ ” Booker said in a statement. “Vice President Biden’s relationships with proud segregationists are not the model for how we make America a safer and more inclusive place for black people, and for everyone.”
As backlash began pouring in, the Washington Post uncovered letters then Sen. Biden sent to Sen. Eastland, both letters attempting to get in his good graces and highlighting his support for anti-busing legislation, using language that would do his best to "measure up to [Eastland's] expectations."
After receiving criticism and a demand for an apology, Biden has refused to admit any guilt, instead offering an explanation that he’s not a racist and calling for Booker to apologize.
Responding to criticism over his remarks about friendships with segregationist colleagues, @JoeBiden cites his civil rights record and then says, “Apologize for what? Cory [Booker] should apologize. He knows better. I don’t have a racist bone in my body.” pic.twitter.com/igyyfUVy5l
— Jamil Smith (@JamilSmith) June 20, 2019
“Apologize for what? Cory [Booker] should apologize. He knows better," the former vice president said. "I don’t have a racist bone in my body.”
According to Politico, Biden called Booker in an attempt to end the conflict but still did not apologize for the original statement about Sen. Eastland or for his call for Sen. Booker to apologize. In an attempt to do a bit of damage control, Biden’s campaign sent talking points to surrogates about his work on civil rights and his opponent’s support of other unfavorable colleagues, like former Attorney General Jeff Sessions. This only added more fuel to the fire.
“I find it remarkable that the surrogate talking points they were sending around, as they were trying to contain this, include no mention of the language the vice president used and instead tried to spin that the vice president is being criticized for working with people he disagreed with,” a Booker aide said to Politico. “That’s nonsense and speaks volumes to what they know is true, which is, he should be apologizing for what he said.”
The statement and subsequent backlash to what had seemed to be the Democratic front-runner not only have prospective 2020 voters questioning their pick, but those in the race are now seeing an increased chance of victory.
No, you won't. https://t.co/x8E7Mlriue
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) June 19, 2019
