Democrats Slam Joe Biden Over Comments Invoking Segregationist Senators

Former Vice President Joe Biden became the target of Democratic criticism on Wednesday after he invoked two Southern segregationist senators by name as he fondly recalled the civility of the Senate in the 1970s and 1980s.

Speaking at a fundraiser in New York City on Tuesday, Biden recalled his working relationships with the late Sens. James Eastland (D-Miss.) and Herman Talmadge (D-Ga.), both Dixiecrats who fiercely opposed desegregation.

Biden, who joined the Senate in 1973, told the crowd how Eastland used to call him son rather than boy, and labeled Talmadge one of the meanest guys I ever knew.

Well guess what? At least there was some civility, Biden continued. We got things done. We didnt agree on much of anything. We got things done. We got it finished. But today, you look at the other side and youre the enemy. Not the opposition, the enemy. We dont talk to each other anymore.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was the first of Bidens 2020 challengers for the Democratic presidential nomination to weigh in, calling the former vice president out of step with the values of the modern Democratic Party . The mayor also included a photo of his family:

Its 2019 & @JoeBiden is longing for the good old days of civility typified by James Eastland. Eastland thought my multiracial family should be illegal & that whites were entitled to the pursuit of dead n*ggers.\" (1/2) pic.twitter.com/yoOOkpaTX2

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Eastland thought my multiracial family should be illegal & that whites were entitled to the pursuit of dead n*ggers.\" (1/2) pic.twitter.com/yoOOkpaTX2 Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) June 19, 2019\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":1844,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D9b3uDKWwAAMk-G.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1242,"title":"Bill de Blasio on 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Its 2019 & @JoeBiden is longing for the good old days of civility typified by James Eastland. Eastland thought my multiracial family should be illegal & that whites were entitled to the pursuit of dead n*ggers." (1/2) pic.twitter.com/yoOOkpaTX2
Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) June 19, 2019

Its past time for apologies or evolution from @JoeBiden. He repeatedly demonstrates that he is out of step with the values of the modern Democratic Party. (2/2)

Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) June 19, 2019","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Bill de Blasio","author_url":"https://twitter.com/BilldeBlasio","cache_age":86400,"description":"Its past time for apologies or evolution from @JoeBiden. He repeatedly demonstrates that he is out of step with the values of the modern Democratic Party. 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Its past time for apologies or evolution from @JoeBiden . He repeatedly demonstrates that he is out of step with the values of the modern Democratic Party. (2/2)
Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) June 19, 2019

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), another 2020 candidate, issued a statement shortly afterward calling on Biden to apologize for his comments.

You dont joke about calling black men boys. Men like James O. Eastland used words like that, and the racist policies that accompanied them, to perpetuate white supremacy and strip black Americans of our very humanity, Bookers statement said. I have to tell Vice President Biden, as someone I respect, that he is wrong for using his relationships with Eastland and Talmadge as examples of how to bring our country together.

Frankly, Booker added, Im disappointed that he hasnt issued an immediate apology for the pain his words are dredging up for many Americans. He should.

Booker, the first African American senator from New Jersey, last month also called on Biden to apologize for his role in getting the 1994 crime bill passed in the Senate. Experts say the law contributed to both a decline in crime and an increase in mass incarceration that disproportionately affects African Americans.

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), who is running to become the first black female president, said Bidens comments concerned her deeply.

If those men had their way, I wouldnt be in the United States Senate and on this elevator right now, Harris told reporters about Eastland and Talmadge.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who briefly flirted with a 2020 run himself, also suggested he disagreed with Biden when asked about his comments on Wednesday.

Politicians should never speak positively of segregationists. Period, Brown told HuffPost on Capitol Hill.

But according to Politico , some Democratic lawmakers in the House rushed to Bidens defense on Wednesday, including members of the Congressional Black Caucus and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the highest-ranking black leader in Congress.

You dont have to agree with people to work with them, Clyburn told the outlet.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) also seemed to dismiss the controversy over Bidens comments. Scott, the only black Republican senator, said Biden committed an obvious gaffe and likely should have used a different group of senators when he made his case about working with people he disagreed with.

But Scott also criticized how incredibly sensitive everything has gotten in Democratic presidential politics over comments that he said are off by even a little bit.

This story has been updated with comments from Sens. Kamala Harris and Tim Scott.