President Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign hit former Vice President Joe Biden for a “double standard” on Friday when the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee appeared on MSNBC to defend himself against sexual misconduct allegations.
The president’s campaign said Mr. Biden declared all women should be believed when Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh faced a decades-old accusation during his confirmation process, and while serving in the Obama administration, Mr. Biden and the former president lowered standards on campus to institute a presumption of guilt for sexual assault allegations.
“The only thing Joe Biden did today was dig himself a deeper hole. He once again demonstrated that he believes he should be held to a different standard than he has set for others,” said Erin Perrine, principal deputy communications director for the Trump campaign.
“In a dramatic shift, Biden now says ’believe women’ doesn’t actually mean ’believe women,” Ms. Perrine added.
Mr. Biden appeared on “Morning Joe” to defend himself against Ms. Reade’s allegation Friday.
She has said the former Delaware senator had sexually assaulted her in 1993 when she worked for him, and other individuals have told reporters they recall Ms. Reade discussing the attack.
Mr. Biden addressed the allegation for the first time on Friday, saying the incident never happened.
“While the details of these allegations of sexual harassment and sexual assault are complicated, two things are not complicated,” he said in a statement.
“One is that women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and when they step forward they should be heard, not silenced,” Mr. Biden said. “The second is that their stories should be subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny.”
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.