Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is anticipated on Friday to make his first public remarks about an allegation of sexual assault that has
Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. is anticipated on Friday to make his first public remarks about an allegation of sexual assault that has roiled his presidential marketing campaign, which has denied the accusation whilst Mr. Biden himself declined to handle it.
A number of prominent Democrats, however, have been pressed on the matter and have sided with Mr. Biden even as Republicans and some activists on the left have been sharply critical.
“I want to remove all doubt in anyone’s mind: I have a great comfort level with the situation as I see it, with all due respect in the world for any woman who comes forward, with all the highest regard for Joe Biden,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters on Thursday.
“There is a lot of excitement around the idea that women will be heard and be listened to,” she said, expressing “complete respect” for the #MeToo movement. “There is also due process, and the fact that Joe Biden is Joe Biden.”
Some of Mr. Biden’s potential running mates, including Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Kamala Harris of California, as well as Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia House minority leader, have also voiced support for Mr. Biden, noting his work, for instance, on the Violence Against Women Act.
Some Republicans have sought to paint Democrats as hypocrites, suggesting that they are holding Ms. Reade’s allegation to a different standard compared with the one used for accusations of sexual assault against Brett M. Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings in 2018.
“I think he should respond,” President Trump said of Mr. Biden on Thursday, as his campaign signaled this week it intended to make the allegation a campaign issue. “It could be false accusations.”
At a fund-raiser on Wednesday, Mr. Biden was asked about combating sexual assault in the military.
“Ignoring sexual assaults in the ranks goes against everything the military itself stands for,” he said. “It corrodes unit trust. It endangers everyone in the unit. It literally is a life-and-death issue if you can’t trust the person you’re standing beside, if they have your back.”
He detailed his own history of leading efforts to combat sexual violence. But he did not address the allegation he is facing now.