Though Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) were willing to crucify then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh based on a 36-year-old sexual assault allegation that had zero pieces of corroborating evidence and not a single corroborating witness, the female senators, both of whom currently sit on Joe Biden’s shortlist of potential running-mates, have been mum on the recent sexual assault allegation against the former vice president, which appears to have far more corroborating evidence supporting it than the one leveled against Kavanaugh.
As of this writing, neither Harris, Klobuchar, 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, nor any of Biden’s potential VP picks have said anything untoward about him or his sexual assault allegation in recent weeks. Though some have commented on the allegation, the statements were more general and devoid of any sharp substance.
From Fox News:
Fox News on Tuesday reached out to the offices of 16 of the women who have been speculated about as possible Democratic vice presidential nominees, including Sens. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., as well as Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates and several others. None responded as of Wednesday morning.
Only three of the potential picks have commented publicly on the allegations, all this week. And they generally avoided commenting on the allegations directly.
Speaking with NPR, Sen. Klobuchar pointed to the recent “investigation” by The New York Times – a newspaper that has routinely vilified Brett Kavanaugh – as her get-out-of-jail-free card while touting Biden’s many accomplishments with women.
“[I]n this case – and your listeners should look at the story – there was a thorough review by The New York Times. And I think that’s very important to have, especially involving public figures,” she said. “But I think when I look at – when I see Vice President Biden, someone I worked with, I see him on – a leader on domestic abuse – led the bill before people were even willing to talk about those horrific crimes, and has really been a champion of abuses of power against women, and has used his voice on the domestic abuse front in such a big way.”
It should be noted that both The New York Times and The Washington Post have faced tremendous backlash for how the publications covered the Joe Biden allegation. #MeToo heroine Rose McGowan downright trashed the latter for engaging in what she called “victim shaming” by essentially smearing Biden’s accuser, Tara Reade, in ways the paper never considered during the Brett Kavanaugh circus.
Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, another potential VP pick, essentially echoed Klobuchar’s statements when speaking with NPR on Tuesday.
“Well, I think women should be able to tell their stories,” Whitmer said. “It’s hard to give you greater insight than that, not knowing more about the situation.”
Tara Reade served as a staff assistant to then-Senator Joe Biden in 1993 when she claims that he sexually assaulted her. Joe Biden and his campaign have thoroughly denied the allegation.
“Women have a right to tell their story, and reporters have an obligation to rigorously vet those claims. We encourage them to do so, because these accusations are false,” Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement.