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As 2020 Democrats Court Black Voters, Biden Faces Reckoning on Race Booker and Biden Exchange Jabs on Race Ahead of Next Democratic Debate
(about 1 hour later)
Joseph R. Biden Jr. entered the 2020 presidential race with wide support from black voters and a reservoir of goodwill stemming from his eight years as an unswervingly loyal vice president to Barack Obama — a huge head start in a primary where African-Americans will play a decisive role. Joseph R. Biden Jr. entered the 2020 presidential campaign with wide support from black voters and a reservoir of good will stemming from his eight years as an unswervingly loyal vice president to Barack Obama — a huge head start in a primary where African-Americans will play a decisive role.
But as the next high-stakes televised debate rapidly approaches, the two leading black candidates in the Democratic contest, Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, have mounted a direct challenge to Mr. Biden’s decades-long record on race and inequality in hopes of undermining his standing with black voters and ultimately derailing his candidacy. But as the next high-stakes televised debate rapidly approaches, the two leading black candidates in the Democratic contest, Senators Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, have mounted a direct challenge to Mr. Biden’s decades-long record on race in hopes of undermining his standing with black voters and ultimately derailing his candidacy.
The reckoning over Mr. Biden’s record has drawn him into the most direct confrontation of the campaign yet, as Ms. Harris and Mr. Booker try to make the case to black voters that they are better suited to promote their interests than Mr. Biden. The two candidates have criticized Mr. Biden for reframing his own history on race, including his previous opposition to busing and his role in drafting the 1994 crime bill. The reckoning over Mr. Biden’s record has drawn him into the most direct confrontation of the campaign yet, as Ms. Harris and Mr. Booker try to make the case to black voters that they are better suited to promote their interests than Mr. Biden. The two candidates have criticized Mr. Biden for reframing his own history, including his previous opposition to busing and his role in drafting the 1994 crime bill.
Early polling, both nationally and in some key early states, indicates that many black voters remain unmoved. On Thursday, a Monmouth University poll from South Carolina, a key early voting state, found that 51 percent of black voters there supported Mr. Biden; 12 percent supported Ms. Harris, and just 2 percent supported Mr. Booker. Early polling, both nationally and in some key early states, indicates that many black voters remain unmoved. On Thursday, a Monmouth University poll from South Carolina, a key early voting state, found that 51 percent of black voters there supported Mr. Biden; 12 percent supported Ms. Harris, and just 2 percent supported Mr. Booker.
The searing fight over race, inequality and history has come to dominate the Democratic presidential race, with Mr. Booker now angling for an advantage against Mr. Biden after watching Ms. Harris draw attention for weeks over her criticism of the former vice president over busing. This week, Mr. Booker has attacked Mr. Biden’s new criminal justice plan, highlighting his role in championing the 1994 crime bill that experts link to mass incarceration and dubbing him “the proud architect of a failed system.” The searing fight over race, inequality and history has come to dominate the Democratic presidential contest, with Mr. Booker angling for an advantage against Mr. Biden after watching Ms. Harris draw attention for weeks over her criticism of the former vice president over busing. This week, Mr. Booker has attacked Mr. Biden’s new criminal justice plan, highlighting his link to the controversial crime bill, which experts link to mass incarceration, and dubbing him “the proud architect of a failed system.”
Speaking at the National Urban League Annual Conference on Thursday, Mr. Booker sought to frame the discussion as a referendum on past records. Speaking at the National Urban League Annual Conference on Thursday, Mr. Booker sought to frame the discussion as a referendum on Mr. Biden’s past.
“It is easy to call Donald Trump a racist now, you get no badge of courage for that,” Mr. Booker said. “The question is, what were you doing to address structural inequality and institutional racism throughout your life? Don’t just tell us what you’re going to do. Tell us what you’ve already done. Don’t just tell us you’re going to be a champion for our communities when you become president, if you haven’t been a champion already.”“It is easy to call Donald Trump a racist now, you get no badge of courage for that,” Mr. Booker said. “The question is, what were you doing to address structural inequality and institutional racism throughout your life? Don’t just tell us what you’re going to do. Tell us what you’ve already done. Don’t just tell us you’re going to be a champion for our communities when you become president, if you haven’t been a champion already.”
Mr. Biden and his campaign, meanwhile, have increasingly criticized both Mr. Booker and Ms. Harris, forcefully defending Mr. Biden’s record on race and openly drawing contrasts on issues ranging from health care to policing. Mr. Biden’s willingness to engage his rivals comes after his tepid response to Ms. Harris on the debate stage last month when she tore into his record of opposing busing initiatives, dealing him his most significant blow of the campaign to date. Mr. Biden and his campaign have increasingly criticized both Mr. Booker and Ms. Harris, forcefully defending Mr. Biden’s record and openly drawing contrasts on issues ranging from health care to policing. Mr. Biden’s willingness to engage his rivals comes after his tepid response to Ms. Harris on the debate stage last month when she tore into his past opposition to busing initiatives, dealing him his most significant blow of the campaign to date.
Virtually everyone in Mr. Biden’s campaign, from the former vice president on down, subscribes to the idea that he can no longer seek to stay above the Democratic fray on the debate stage, a posture he had tried to maintain in the early weeks of his campaign. Virtually everyone in Mr. Biden’s campaign, from the former vice president on down, subscribes to the idea that he can no longer seek to stay above the Democratic fray, a posture he tried to maintain in the early weeks of his campaign.
“I’m not going to be as polite this time,” Mr. Biden said at a fund-raiser in Detroit on Wednesday. When an attendee told him that clashing with Mr. Booker and Ms. Harris now could make him a stronger general election candidate, Mr. Biden said: “If they want to argue about the past, I can do that. I got a past I’m proud of. They got a past that’s not quite so good.”“I’m not going to be as polite this time,” Mr. Biden said at a fund-raiser in Detroit on Wednesday. When an attendee told him that clashing with Mr. Booker and Ms. Harris now could make him a stronger general election candidate, Mr. Biden said: “If they want to argue about the past, I can do that. I got a past I’m proud of. They got a past that’s not quite so good.”
Ever since Mr. Booker dispensed with the primary’s early-stage niceties and demanded Mr. Biden apologize for his warm remarks about working with segregationists in the Senate, he and Ms. Harris have gone on the offensive by aggressively denouncing Mr. Biden’s record on race. Ever since Mr. Booker dispensed with the primary’s early-stage niceties and demanded Mr. Biden apologize for his warm remarks about working with segregationists in the Senate, he and Ms. Harris have gone on the offensive, aggressively denouncing Mr. Biden’s record on race and seeking to portray him as having been on the wrong side of issues and developments affecting black Americans for decades.
By highlighting Mr. Biden’s opposition to school busing, his support for the crime bill and other aspects of his long career in Washington, Ms. Harris — who later had to clarify her current stance on busing — and Mr. Booker have sought to portray their rival as having been on the wrong side of issues and developments affecting black Americans for decades. But polls have shown Mr. Biden with consistent, and sometimes commanding, leads among African-American voters at this stage in the race.
Though Mr. Booker never mentioned Mr. Biden by name on Thursday, his speech amplified the critique, making the case that Mr. Biden’s record on issues like criminal justice could hamper his ability to energize African-American voters, whose turnout will be critical if the Democrats wish to defeat President Trump next year.Though Mr. Booker never mentioned Mr. Biden by name on Thursday, his speech amplified the critique, making the case that Mr. Biden’s record on issues like criminal justice could hamper his ability to energize African-American voters, whose turnout will be critical if the Democrats wish to defeat President Trump next year.
“I want to talk about what people often mean when they say or ask, ‘Is someone electable,’” Mr. Booker said. “Because most of the time when somebody is asking about electability, they’re not asking about the African-American voters who make up the most reliable constituency of the Democratic Party. And that’s a problem.”“I want to talk about what people often mean when they say or ask, ‘Is someone electable,’” Mr. Booker said. “Because most of the time when somebody is asking about electability, they’re not asking about the African-American voters who make up the most reliable constituency of the Democratic Party. And that’s a problem.”
A day earlier, Mr. Biden swung back at Mr. Booker’s criticisms by making his own arguments against Mr. Booker’s record while he was mayor of Newark. A day earlier, Mr. Biden swung back at Mr. Booker, criticizing his tenure as mayor of Newark.
“His police department was stopping and frisking people, mostly African-American men,” he said of the Newark Police Department’s record of conducting improper stops under Mr. Booker’s watch. “His police department was stopping and frisking people, mostly African-American men,” he said, highlighting the Newark Police Department’s record of conducting improper stops under Mr. Booker’s watch.
His campaign also sent a lengthy statement to reporters Wednesday afternoon responding to Mr. Booker’s criticisms of Mr. Biden’s record. “It is Senator Booker, in fact, who has some hard questions to answer about his role in the criminal justice system,” the statement said. His campaign also sent a lengthy statement to reporters Wednesday afternoon responding to Mr. Booker. “It is Senator Booker, in fact, who has some hard questions to answer about his role in the criminal justice system,” the statement said.
The escalating conflict between Mr. Biden and Mr. Booker worried the Rev. Al Sharpton, a key leader in the civil rights community, who said that necessary, important and candid conversations about race and inequality should not be marred by politics. The return volley from Mr. Biden’s campaign elevated Mr. Booker, a candidate who has struggled in the polls for months, as the back-and-forth created a drumbeat of media coverage. And the aggressive response from Mr. Biden further freed Mr. Booker to take more direct aim at Mr. Biden in the debate next Wednesday, when he and Ms. Harris will be standing on either side of him.
The escalating conflict worried the Rev. Al Sharpton, a key leader in the civil rights community, who said that necessary, important and candid conversations about race and inequality should not be marred by politics.
“We cannot afford cannibalism in the middle of the race that would only accrue to Trump’s benefit,” Mr. Sharpton said in an interview. “The question is whether or not both of them can concede that they’ve made mistakes, but then say this is where we need to go, rather than trading off attacks.”“We cannot afford cannibalism in the middle of the race that would only accrue to Trump’s benefit,” Mr. Sharpton said in an interview. “The question is whether or not both of them can concede that they’ve made mistakes, but then say this is where we need to go, rather than trading off attacks.”
Mr. Sharpton was also critical of Mr. Biden’s criminal justice platform, which he said did not address many of the key issues central to the national debate. Mr. Sharpton was also critical of Mr. Biden’s criminal justice platform, which he said did not address many issues that are central to the national conversation.
“I think he should have gone further,” Mr. Sharpton said. “If you are running as Joe Biden, as part of the Obama legacy, stay right where we were taking it — consent decrees, the commission on policing —- and say, this is the work that we must continue.” “I think he should have gone further,” Mr. Sharpton said. “If you are running as Joe Biden, as part of the Obama legacy, stay right where we were taking it — consent decrees, the commission on policing — and say, this is the work that we must continue.”
The return volley from Mr. Biden’s campaign elevated Mr. Booker, a candidate who has struggled in the polls for months, as the back-and-forth created a drumbeat of media coverage leading into next week’s debate. And the aggressive response from Mr. Biden further freed Mr. Booker to take more direct aim at Mr. Biden in the debate next Wednesday, when he and Ms. Harris will be standing on either side of him. Less than an hour after Mr. Booker made his comments about electability, Kate Bedingfield, the Biden campaign’s communications director, returned fire, sending a tweet with images of two polls that indicated Mr. Biden’s support among black voters far surpassed Mr. Booker’s.
Less than an hour after Mr. Booker made his comments about electability, Kate Bedingfield, the Biden campaign’s communications director, returned fire, sending a tweet with photos of two polls that indicated Mr. Biden’s support among black voters far surpassed Mr. Booker’s. While Ms. Harris also lags behind Mr. Biden in support among African-Americans , her performance in the June debate gave her a significant boost in recent polls, propelled in part by black voters.
At the same time, Ms. Harris’s decision to highlight Mr. Biden’s stance on school busing and integration at the June debates also gave her a significant boost in recent polls that was propelled in part by black voters.
Dot Scott, the president of the Charleston, S.C., branch of the N.A.A.C.P., sounded resigned when asked about the clashes between the candidates over race, and warned them not to go too far.Dot Scott, the president of the Charleston, S.C., branch of the N.A.A.C.P., sounded resigned when asked about the clashes between the candidates over race, and warned them not to go too far.
“The issues that they’re bringing up probably would never even be discussed if it wasn’t, everybody’s looking for the same job,” she said. “It’s unfortunate because I want to make sure, being the Democrat that I am, that we don’t damage one another so bad that it hurts the efforts of the Democratic Party.”“The issues that they’re bringing up probably would never even be discussed if it wasn’t, everybody’s looking for the same job,” she said. “It’s unfortunate because I want to make sure, being the Democrat that I am, that we don’t damage one another so bad that it hurts the efforts of the Democratic Party.”
Asked whether she was troubled by any aspects of Mr. Biden’s record that have come under scrutiny from his opponents, Ms. Scott, who has stayed neutral in the primary, said she was “not disturbed in the least.” Asked whether she was troubled by any aspects of Mr. Biden’s past, Ms. Scott, who has stayed neutral in the primary, said she was “not disturbed in the least.”
“The absence of a record doesn’t mean, had they had the same opportunity, that the other candidates wouldn’t have a record that people can find something wrong with,” she said.“The absence of a record doesn’t mean, had they had the same opportunity, that the other candidates wouldn’t have a record that people can find something wrong with,” she said.
Mr. Biden has said he felt blindsided by Ms. Harris’s questioning, a point he reiterated in a radio interview that aired Thursday morning on “The Tom Joyner Morning Show.”Mr. Biden has said he felt blindsided by Ms. Harris’s questioning, a point he reiterated in a radio interview that aired Thursday morning on “The Tom Joyner Morning Show.”
“I thought we were friends,” he said. “I hope we still will be.”“I thought we were friends,” he said. “I hope we still will be.”