Joe Biden Defends Himself Against Other Democrats’ Attacks, Says Obama ‘Vetted’ Him


Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden defended himself on Saturday against attacks by fellow Democrats, Mediaite reports.

During a speech, the former vice president argued that other Democrats in the race are attacking him on issues that predate his time at the White House.

“If you look at the issues I’ve been attacked on, nearly every one of them somehow has something to do with before 2008. As if my opponents want you to believe I served from 1972 until 2008 and then took a hiatus the next eight years,” he said.

Touting Barack Obama’s support, Biden said that he had been “vetted” by the former president.

“I was vetted by [Obama] and 10 serious lawyers … who looked at every single thing in my background. And he selected me,” he said.

“I’ll take his judgment about my record and my ability to do my job over anyone else’s.”

As Mediaite notes, Biden also discussed serving in the Obama White House, reminding the crowd that he had helped the Obama administration work on criminal justice reform, and economic recovery.

He also discussed the upcoming presidential election, suggesting that the main objective should be beating Donald Trump.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Biden — who has been leading the Democratic field by a comfortable margin for months — is being attacked by fellow presidential candidates for his controversial voting record.

Biden’s friendly relationships with pro-segregationist senators came under intense scrutiny following the first primary debate, when California Senator Kamala Harris attacked him for opposing busing desegregation during the early days of his Congressional career.

Biden discussed his friendly relationships with pro-segregation senators during a June donor dinner. He has since apologized for doing so, however.

The former vice president has made a number of apologies since officially entering the race, including an apology to women who are accusing him of invading their personal space.

It is not only Democrats that are attacking Biden. President Donald Trump weighed in on Biden’s candidacy on Friday, via Twitter, describing the Delaware Democrat’s as a “reclamation project.”

On the campaign trail, Biden has celebrated his friendship with Obama, frequently casting himself as “the next best thing to an Obama third term,” as HuffPost put it.

Biden’s association with Obama — still a beloved figure among Democratic voters — has served him well, it seems, given that no Democrat has dared directly attack his legacy as vice president. Biden’s competitors have instead chosen to criticize his voting record, and not even Bernie Sanders — a persistent critic of the former president — has directly attacked the Obama-Biden legacy.

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