The mainstream media can no longer ignore Tara Reade’s claim that Joe Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993 now that evidence has come forward lending some credibility to her claims. On Wednesday night, Chris Hayes of MSNBC admitted that even though people like himself might wish to dismiss such an accusation, he cannot ignore its underlying credibility.
Opening out the segment, Hayes recalled moments during the #MeToo movement when people tried to “desperately” disbelieve an allegation against an individual, an impulse, he argues, that must be fought.
“The difficult lesson of the #MeToo era is not that every accusation is true, and everything should be believed on its face, but that you do have to fight yourself when you feel that impulse,” said Hayes, as reported by Newsbusters. “You have to do that in order to take seriously what is being alleged and what the evidence is, and to evaluate it.”
In March, Tara Reade claimed that then-Senator Joe Biden sexually assaulted her while she served as an aide in his Senate offices during the Clinton administration. She has since detailed her account in multiple interviews and filed a criminal complaint against the former vice president with the Washington, D.C., police department. A former neighbor of Reade and Reade’s brother have both publicly stated that Reade told them of the assault in the 1990s. Recently surfaced evidence also suggests that Reade’s mother called into CNN’s Larry King in the 1990s to complain about a prominent senator with whom her daughter had “problems.”
Later in the segment, Hayes added that the evidence that has arisen in recent days has created a clear situation that warrants media attention.
“A piece of evidence that has risen in how I evaluate these stories is a somewhat contemporaneous disclosure to a trusted person who then tells a reporter about it,” said Hayes. “That is what has happened here. And to me, that has been, in terms of what the evidentiary record is, has raised it a bit in terms of my own view of this.”
Despite the seriousness of the allegation against Joe Biden, the former vice president continues to pick up high-profile Democratic Party support, including from women. On Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi even went so far as to say she was “satisfied” with how Biden has addressed the allegation.
“Well, I have great sympathy for any woman who brings forth an allegation; I’m a big strong supporter of the #MeToo movement. I think it’s made a great contribution to our country and I do support Joe Biden,” Pelosi said on CNN. “I’m satisfied with how he has responded, I know him, I was proud to endorse him Monday, very proud to endorse him, so I’m satisfied with that.”
Actress Alyssa Milano, a prominent #MeToo activist who condemned Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh based on uncorroborated accusations of sexual assault, explained in a lengthy op-ed that she takes the allegation against Biden seriously but still supports him for president.
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