Joe Biden’s Record on Race

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.3 • 107.7K Ratings

🗓️ 3 July 2019

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the contest to become the Democratic candidate for president, Joseph R. Biden Jr. is being asked to confront his record on race, including past positions that some in his party now see as outdated and unjust. We look at the policies Mr. Biden embraced and how they were viewed at the time. Guest: Astead W. Herndon, who covers national politics for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading:Mr. Biden’s efforts to play down his role in overhauling crime legislation with segregationist senators in the 1980s and ’90s is at odds with his actions and rhetoric back then.Though a liberal on most civil rights issues, Mr. Biden was a leading opponent of busing as a tool to integrate schools.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the New York Times, I'm Michael Ballaro.
0:02.4	This is the Daily.
0:04.0	[♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪
0:10.4	Today, in the Democratic race for president, Joe Biden is being asked to confront a record on race
0:18.9	that some in his party now see as outdated and unjust.
0:25.3	A stead-hounder on the policies Biden embraced and how they reviewed when he embraced them.
0:34.3	[♪ OUTRO MUSIC PLAYING [♪
0:37.4	It's Wednesday, July 3rd.
0:43.8	I do not believe you are a racist and I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of
0:51.3	finding common ground. But I also believe and it is personal and I was actually very hurtful.
0:59.3	To hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations
1:07.4	and career on the segregation of race in this country.
1:12.0	And it was not only that but you also worked with them to oppose busing.
1:17.6	And you know, there was a little girl in California who was part of the second class
1:24.6	to integrate her public schools and she was bused to school every day.
1:30.0	And that little girl was me.
1:33.6	So I will tell you that on this subject, it cannot be an intellectual debate among Democrats.
1:40.2	We have to take it seriously. We have to act swiftly as a turning judge.
1:48.1	A stead to the average American watching the debates last week.
1:50.5	What do you think that this now famous confrontation between Joe Biden and Kamala Harris seemed to be about?
1:57.8	On its most literal level, it was two top tier Democrats having the most confrontational direct
2:05.7	moment we've seen in the primary so far.
	...

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