Democrat Cory Booker praised on Saturday fellow presidential candidate Joe Biden for apologizing about remarks he had made about pro-segregation senators, Mediaite reports.
“I’m frustrated that it took so long,” Booker said, proceeding to thank Biden for apologizing.
“I’m grateful for him doing it — I mean, we can’t have a culture where — we can’t have a leader that can’t stand up and say ‘I’ve been imperfect and made mistakes and I apologize,’” the New Jersey Democrat said.
“He took a step towards healing today,” he added.
“We need to extend grace to each other. I’m never going to not accept somebody I respect and admire that has come to terms with this and apologized.”
As Mediaite notes, Booker was one of the first Democrats to condemn Biden’s comments about pro-segregation senators.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr , former Vice President Joe Biden has come under scrutiny for touting his ability to work with segregationist Republicans during what he claims was an era of “civility.”
During a June donor dinner, Biden touted his friendships with segregationist senators James O. Eastland of Mississippi and Herman Talmadge of Georgia.
This is not out of the ordinary for the Delaware Democrat, it seems, given that a recently unearthed video shows him praising notorious segregationist Strom Thurmond as “one of my closest friends.”
Biden’s past opposition to desegregation busing and complimentary remarks about pro-segregation senators served as the basis of the attack California Senator Kamala Harris launched at him during the first Democratic primary debate. Harris’ attack not only caused her to surge in the polls, but prompted others to criticize the former vice president.
Biden apologized on Saturday for his remarks about pro-segregation senators.
“I’m sorry for the pain and misconception,” he said.
The Delaware Democrat has issued a slew of apologies since officially announcing his candidacy, including an attempted apology to Anita Hill.
Joe Biden apologizes for praising segregationist senators, invokes Obama in defending his civil rights record https://t.co/hvyICF9gSA
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) July 7, 2019
Although his lead has dropped, Biden is still the Democratic front-runner, leading in virtually every single poll.
According to The Washington Examiner , on the campaign trail, Biden is doing damage control and relying on his relationship with former President Barack Obama to counter the attacks from other Democrats in the race.
During a campaign stop in South Carolina, Biden argued that other presidential candidates are focusing on the early days of his political career in order to avoid talking about his time as Obama’s vice president.
As HuffPost notes, no Democrat has directly attacked the Obama-Biden legacy, which perhaps comes as no surprise given how popular Obama still is among Democratic voters.
