As Sexual Assault Awareness month comes to a close and May begins, the media is taking a closer look at Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegation against Joe Biden, Former VP and presumptive Democratic nominee for President. Biden responded to the claims of sexual assault on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, claiming that the incident “Unequivocally … never happened.” He also urged the National Archives to release any forms documenting the incident, arguing that if it did happen, it would be in the archives.
Biden is sure that this assault didn’t happen, but back in 2018 when Brett Kavanaugh, now Supreme Court Judge, was accused of sexual assault by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, Biden had a slightly different outlook on accusations of sexual assault:
“For a woman to come forward in the glaring light of focus, nationally, you’ve got to start off with the presumption that at least the essence of what she’s talking about is real, whether or not she forgets the facts, whether or not it’s been made worse or better over time,” he had said.
When Mika Brezezinksi asked him if women should only be believed when the accusation is not about him, Biden responded, “Women are to be believed, given the benefit of the doubt… Then you have to look at the circumstances and the facts … The truth matters.”
But what is the truth?
Biden says accusations need to be “subject to appropriate inquiry and scrutiny,” and that that is where the truth lies: Her story has “inconsistencies” and “changes” that mark his truth — “It did not happen. Period.”
Reade, who made the sexual assault allegation this year about Biden, also spoke out about inappropriate touching during her time as a staffer, claiming that he would touch her neck and shoulders in a way that made her uncomfortable. Many other women corroborated that story, saying that Biden also made them feel uncomfortable. When asked why she didn’t bring this up earlier, Reade said that “already I was being threatened and kind of smeared, and I just I wasn’t ready.”
“News organizations that have talked with literally dozens of former staffers have not found one — not one — who corroborated her allegations in any way. Indeed, many of them spoke to the culture of an office that would not have tolerated harassment in any way — as indeed I would not have,” he continued.
This is a typical “he said, she said,” scenario — and no one knows quite who to believe, especially as both people are pretty believable. Of all the men accused of sexual assault, Biden seems to be less conceivable as a perpetrator. Biden is a White House champion for women’s rights: He helped establish the Violence Against Women Act among many others to ensure women’s safety and combat sexism in the workplace. Biden spoke publicly about sexual assault specifically, and even started “It’s on Us,” a program that brings awareness to college campuses about sexual assault. Undeniably, Biden has been an advocate for women. But Reade, tearing up on live television about the encounter with Biden that — in her words — changed the trajectory of her life and made her loose her job, is also equally as credible.
Despite this, most Democratic women are siding with Biden. Nancy Pelosi has come out and said that she still supports Biden and believes him over Tara Reade; Stacey Abrahams, contender for VP, has also said that she believes Biden; Kirsten Gillibrand, who ran a campaign with a primary message of uplifting women, says that she believes Biden; Kamala Harris, another VP contender, has also said that she believes Biden; Amy Klobuchar has said she believes Biden.
All of the women who have come forward in support of him still have one thing in common: “The Joe Biden I know” — the “champion of abuses of power against women,” the man who is always been in support of women’s rights and women’s empowerment — would never do this.
Whether this is the case or not, these Democratic women are still choosing to believe Biden over the woman. Perhaps this is because they really do believe that is the truth, or perhaps it is because they want to be Vice President. Let’s hope it is the former.
