*In the wake of being scorched Thursday evening at the democratic debate by Senator Kamala Harris, former Vice President Joe Biden defended his civil rights record.
At Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition meeting in Chicago on Friday, Biden pledged to be a “president who stands against racism, the forces of intolerance.”
The former VP made his comments the day after his 2020 rival California Sen. Kamala Harris delivered a blistering attack at their first presidential debate in Miami. She blasted him for recently highlighting his work with segregationist senators and his past opposition to busing.
“I heard, and I listened to, and I respect Sen. Harris,” Biden said in an address to the Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a multicultural organization promoting social justice. “But we all know that 30 seconds to 60 seconds on a campaign debate exchange can’t do justice to a lifetime commitment to civil rights.”
You can watch his full comments starting at around the 40-minute mark via the video player above.
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During the debate, Biden responded that he never opposed the busing of students to desegregated schools in the 1970s, arguing it was a state’s rights issue. On Friday Biden said that for decades his understanding was that it was up to the federal government to impose measures designed to prevent racism on states that were often unwilling.
Biden and his supporters are hoping that his address on Friday will help the candidate shore up his support with African Americans, a key demographic that helped him build an early lead in Democratic primary polls. If it’s any comfort, the crowd at the even applauded parts of his defense of his record.
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