Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden's comments about working with two segregationist senators when he was first elected, particularly with him saying one of the senators had "never called me boy, he always called me son," were "really tone deaf," Rep. Barbara Lee said Friday.
"You don't talk about being treated like a son and not a boy, and think that is going to not be taken as very offensive," the California Democrat told MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
The former vice president's comments, during a New York fundraiser, came under fire by fellow Democratic 2020 contender Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, who demanded an apology. But Biden insisted that he meant his comments as an example of how he works with others, even if he does not agree with them.
"I listened to Sen. Booker, he and Vice President Biden," said Lee. "But I'll tell you one thing, we've got to understand that we have to move forward and that institutional, systemic racism is alive and well in America. We cannot really embrace these behaviors of the past and look at how we take on people who are racist and xenophobic."
She added that she does not think Biden's record is an issue, however, as he's supported and led on many civil rights issues through the years.
"I think the issue is being tone deaf to what is offensive, and what comes out in terms of attitudes and in terms of dialogue and in terms of making statements that really are very offensive," said Lee. "I don't think that should be connected to any record on civil rights."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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