For weeks, allegations made by Tara Reade – a former Senate staffer who says she was sexually assaulted by the then-Delaware senator in the early 1990s – have been circulating in (mostly) conservative circles.
But, over the last few days, Reade’s claim appears to have jumped to a new level when a call to Larry King’s CNN show back in 1993 surfaced that purported to show Reade’s mother asking King for advice about how to handle “problems” her daughter had while working for a prominent US senator.
“I’m wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington?” the woman asks King. “My daughter has just left there after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him.”
The woman does not mention Reade’s name, her own name or that of Biden. Reade has told CNN that she is certain it is her mother’s voice – and some of the details of the call (it was from San Luis Obispo, California, where her mother lived at the time) seem to suggest it was indeed Reade’s mother, who died a few years ago.
Biden himself has not said anything publicly about these latest allegations, and his press team referred CNN back to a previous statement by deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield: “Such claims should also be diligently reviewed by an independent press. What is clear about this claim: it is untrue. This absolutely did not happen.”
It’s not clear whether or not Biden’s personal silence is being rethought amid the ongoing Reade controversy. But here’s what is clear: It should be. Here’s why.
We are living in a world rocked – and hopefully changed for the better – by the #MeToo movement in which a series of very prominent men have been forced to face the consequences of behavior that has run from the criminal to the simply boorish. Titans of media, entertainment and politics have all been brought low once society made a pledge to believe women when they make accusations of sexual harassment (or worse).
Yes, President Donald Trump appears – at least to date – to be an exception to that rule. While he has faced more than a dozen credible allegations of sexual harassment, he has denied them all – and has not been run out of office (or noticeably impacted politically). But that fact alone, which is often cited by Democrats resistant to Biden speaking directly to Reade’s allegations, is not enough to justify further silence from the de facto Democratic presidential nominee.
Remember these words from Biden himself following his sweeping victories in the March 10 primaries:
“This election is the one that has character on the ballot. The character of the candidates, the character of the nation is on the ballot…
“…We need presidential leadership that’s honest, trusted, truthful and steady. If I’m given the honor of becoming your president, I promise you I’ll strive to give the nation that leadership every day.”
Biden should heed those words. Because with them he wasn’t promising to live up to the standards set by Trump but rather to reach far beyond those standards. At the core of Biden’s messaging in this campaign is the need to bring respect and dignity back into the White House and the country, to rid America off the cynicism and hypocrisy of Trump’s presidency, to expunge the idea that the President doesn’t have to follow the rules.
So there’s that. But there is also history here when it comes to Biden.
Just more than a year ago, former Nevada lieutenant governor nominee Lucy Flores (D) said that at a campaign rally in 2014, Biden kissed her hair – an act that made her feel “uneasy, gross, and confused.” Biden issued a personal statement shortly after the allegations surfaced, which said this:
“In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort. And not once – never – did I believe I acted inappropriately. If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention.
“I may not recall these moments the same way, and I may be surprised at what I hear. But we have arrived at an important time when women feel they can and should relate their experiences, (and) men should pay attention. And I will.
“I will also remain the strongest advocate I can be for the rights of women. I will fight to build on the work I’ve done in my career to end violence against women and ensure women are treated with the equality they deserve. I will continue to surround myself with trusted women advisers who challenge me to see different perspectives than my own. And I will continue to speak out on these vitally-important issues where there is much more progress to be made and crucial fights that must be waged and won.”
Flores, in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, expressed her dissatisfaction with that answer from Biden. “If he is saying that he never believed that that was inappropriate, then frankly I think that’s a little bit of a disconnect,” she told Tapper. “I want him to change his behavior, and I want him to acknowledge that it was wrong.” She said that Biden did not reach out to her personally to talk about the allegation.
In the days following the back and forth between Biden and Flores, The New York Times did a deep dive into Biden’s past. The piece bore the headline “Biden’s Tactile Politics Threaten His Return in the #MeToo Era” and read (in part):
“Joseph R. Biden Jr. came up in politics as an old-school backslapper whose greatest strength was his ability to connect. He doled out handshakes and hugs to friends and strangers alike, and his tendency to lavish his affections on women and girls was so central to his persona that it became fodder for late-night television jokes.
“But the political ground has shifted under Mr. Biden, and his tactile style of retail politicking is no longer a laughing matter in the era of #MeToo. Now, as he considers a run for president, Mr. Biden is struggling to prevent a strength from turning into a crippling liability; on Tuesday alone, two more women told The New York Times that the former vice president’s touches made them uncomfortable.”
Biden’s campaign provided the Times with “quotations from about two dozen women — including former aides, current and former members of Congress, and news media personalities including Mika Brzezinski — vouching for the former vice president” as a way to push back against the story.
Given both his pledge to do better than Trump – in every aspect of being president – and accusations of improper touching that have surfaced in the past, the allegations by Reade are not the sort of thing Biden can or should be allowed to deny via a senior female campaign staffer. Reade’s allegation needs to be directly addressed by the candidate himself. And Biden needs to answer several questions including: a) Does he remember Reade at all? b) Did they ever interact? c) Had he ever heard of this allegation from her prior to a few weeks ago?
These are questions are fair to be asked of any candidate for president – given the allegation – and that Biden, if he is doing more than talking the talk about restoring a higher standard in the White House, needs to answer.