Joe Biden on sexual assault allegation: 'I wouldn't vote for me if I believed Tara Reade'
On The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell, Joe Biden once again faced questions about the sexual assault allegation made against him by former staffer Tara Reade. O’Donnell referenced a recent op-ed piece in the New York Times about believing Reade but still planning on voting for Biden. O’Donnell asked Biden what he would say to women who were excited to vote for him, but the allegations were made and they believe Reade, now they’re uncertain. And rather than dance around the question as many politicians would, Biden gave a surprising answer.
“Well I think they should vote their heart, and if they believe Tara Reade, they probably shouldn’t vote for me,” Biden said. “I wouldn’t vote for me if I believed Tara Reade.”
Biden went on to question the consistency of Reade’s story, something that even Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who is in no way a fan of Biden, found himself doing recently.
“The fact is, look at Tara Reade’s story, it changes considerably,” Biden said. “But I don’t want to question her motive, I don’t want to question anything other than to say, the truth matters. This is being vetted, it’s been vetted.”
As he’s done in the past, Biden stressed that when a woman makes a claim of being harassed or abused, she should be taken seriously and the claim be thoroughly vetted. And once again, he whole-heartedly denied Reade’s allegations.
“I promise you, it never happened,” Biden said. “It should be vetted, she should be thoroughly looked at, and whether or not this happened. Look at the story, follow the storyline, and determine if there’s any truth to it. And there is no truth to it.”
The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell airs weeknights at 10 p.m. on MSNBC.
Watch Tucker Carlson warn the media to keep its guard up about the timing of the Biden allegation:
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