Biden: Women ’Probably Shouldn't Vote For Me’ If They Believe Tara Reade
Former vice president says he doesn't remember Senate staffer
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Former Vice President Joe Biden has said that anyone who believes he sexually assaulted Senate staffer Tara Reade "probably shouldn't vote for" him.
Biden was asked during an interview with MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell if he remembered Reade being on his staff, an equation which he has continually dodged the past month.
"Do you remember Tara Reade, who worked there for about a year in 1992-1993?" O'Donnell asked.
"Well, to be honest with you, I don't," Biden responded.
"But let me get something clear, when a woman makes a claim that she has been harassed or abused, and this claim has changed... she should be taken seriously," Biden added.
"She should come forward, share her story, she should be taken seriously, and it should be thoroughly vetted," he continued.
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"And in every case, what matters is the truth," Biden added.
"The truth is, what matters. And the truth of the case is nothing like this ever, ever happened... I give you my word. It never ever happened."
O'Donnell then highlighted the recent New York Times op-ed titled "I Believe Tara Reade. I'm Voting for Joe Biden Anyway," asking what he would tell women who are "ready" to vote for him, but Reade's claims gives them "serious pause."
"Well, I think they should vote their heart, and if they believe Tara Reade, they probably shouldn't vote for me," Biden stated.
"I wouldn't vote for me if I believed Tara Reade," Biden told O'Donnell.
"The fact is that look at Tara Reade's story. It changes considerably. And I don't want to question her motive, I don't want to question anything other than to say the truth matters," Biden added.
"This is being vetted, it's been vetted, and people scores of my employees over my whole career.
"This is just totally, thoroughly, completely out of character. And the idea that in a public place, in a hallway, I would assault a woman?"
"I mean, it's just- I- anyway, I promise you. It never happened."
WATCH:
Joe Biden says he does not remember Tara Reade pic.twitter.com/KMq9m1ff8Q
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) May 15, 2020
Tara Reade accused Biden of attacking and sexually violated her when she worked for him in 1993.
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More evidence
Last week a local California newspaper unearthed court documents from 1996, revealing Reade told her ex-husband that she was sexually harassed while working for Biden in 1993.
According to the docs, Theodore Dronen said his ex-wife Reade's sexual assault "had a very traumatic effect" on her.
During the declaration, filed in '96, Dronen said Reade "is still sensitive and effected [sic] by it today."
Reade’s sexual assault allegations gained more traction in April when new evidence emerged to corroborate her claims further.
A 1993 video clip was unearthed by NewsBusters of Reade’s mother calling into CNN’s “Larry King Live, where her mom says that her daughter was having problems with a “prominent senator.”
Meanwhile, Democrats like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and failed presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren endorsed Biden despite growing evidence supporting Reade's claims.
