Joe Biden: Kamala Harris 'Came At Me' Over Busing And 'I Wasn't Prepared'

Former Vice President Joe Biden , whose record on busing was challenged by Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) during last weeks Democratic primary debate , said he wasnt ready for the rebuke.

What I didnt want to do was get into that scrum, he told CNNs Chris Cuomo in an interview that aired Friday. I was prepared for them to come after me, but I wasnt prepared for the person coming at me the way she came at me.

\"I wasn't prepared for the person coming at me the way she came at [me],\" said Joe Biden on Kamala Harris criticizing him about busing policies during the Democratic debate last week. https://t.co/dAOUfHr1FN pic.twitter.com/aTt57zGKH9

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"I wasn't prepared for the person coming at me the way she came at [me]," said Joe Biden on Kamala Harris criticizing him about busing policies during the Democratic debate last week. https://t.co/dAOUfHr1FN pic.twitter.com/aTt57zGKH9
New Day (@NewDay) July 5, 2019

Harris made headlines at the debate when she zeroed in on Bidens past opposition to federally mandated busing to integrate schools, revealing in a powerful anecdote that she herself was bused as a child.

She also took aim at Bidens previous remarks about his work as a senator with segregationist lawmakers Herman Talmadge of Georgia and James O. Eastland of Mississippi.

Noting that he shared some civility with his colleagues, Biden said Eastland never called me boy, a comment which struck critics as racially tone-deaf .

Still, Biden told Cuomo he didnt see Harris condemnation as a real setback in his campaign, boasting that he has since received endorsements from members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

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People know who I am, he said.

Though he said he was unconcerned by a drop in the polls, a Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted in the days after the debate found that the number of black voters supporting Biden was cut in half, compared to a similar poll from earlier in June.

Despite having called out Bidens stance on busing, Harris appears to have backpedaled on the issue. On Wednesday, she characterized it as a decision for local school districts rather than the federal government.