House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is standing by Joe Biden as pressure grows for him to speak out about sexual assault and harassment allegations made against him.
Although the California Democrat said she was a supporter of the #MeToo movement, she said she believed the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee.
Recommended Stories
“I do support Joe Biden, I’m satisfied with how he’s responded,” Pelosi told CNN Thursday, adding she was proud to endorse him this week.
When pressed on how the two-term vice president and 36-year Delaware senator has not publicly and directly addressed the claims made by Tara Reade, 56, a former Biden Senate aide who has accused him of forcibly kissing her and penetrated her with his fingers in 1993, Pelosi conceded it was “a matter he has to deal with.”
“But I am impressed with the people who worked for him at the time, saying they absolutely never heard one iota of information about this, nobody ever brought forth a claim or had anybody else tell them about such a claim,” she said.
Biden’s campaign has walked a fine line by acknowledging the importance of “believing women” reporting sexual assault or harassment while denying Tara’s specific allegations, which surfaced last month. His team has circulated talking points among his most vocal supporters reiterating that her accusations “did not happen.”
“Violence against women is a huge problem, and especially right now, and Hillary and I have worked very hard on trying to end violence against women with that legislation, and it’s one of the leading causes of my life,” the candidate said this week during a virtual event with 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
