Right now, you cannot talk
about the Democratic race
without talking about Joe Biden.
Not only is he the frontrunner
and former host
of The Price Is Right,
but he’s been leading
in the polls
since the day
he announced his run.
But that doesn’t mean
it’s been smooth sailing.
He took heat for flip-flopping
on a major abortion policy,
he faced questions
about his voting record,
and, of course,
we all remember
when he had to apologize for
giving people surprise massages.
Yes. Now, "surprise" being
the operative word.
Because massages are nice,
but nobody wants
a surprise massage.
Yeah. Just like a road trip
is great,
but a surprise road trip
is just kidnapping.
And this week...
(chuckles)
this week, Biden has continued
his scandal streak
with comments he made
about missing the old days.
Joe Biden is under fire
this evening
on comments he made
about working
alongside segregationist
senators in the past.
REPORTER: Biden recalling
 his early Senate career,
 bringing up
 two segregationist senators,
 Herman Talmadge
 and James Eastland,
 who called African-Americans
 an inferior race.
(reading):
Biden made the comments despite
his aides having long urged him
not to discuss his relationships
with segregationist senators.
Joe Biden, what are you doing?
You can’t come out in 2019
and say that these two senators
from back in the day
were super racist,
but at least they were civil.
Yeah, civil to you maybe.
Of course
they never called you "boy."
You’re white.
Biden’s running around like,
"I worked with these senators--
"Senator Eastland many times--
"and not once
did he call me the "N" word.
"Yeah. Oh, I mean,
there was that one time,
uh, but I had a tan,
so I understand."
(laughter)
Now, now, the reason Joe Biden
told this story--
even though
his advisors told him not to--
is because
he’s trying to set himself up
as the guy who can work
with adversaries in Congress,
even if he disagrees
with their views.
The problem is, by saying this,
he may have created
new adversaries
within his own party.
Those comments have prompted
swift criticism
from his 2020 rivals,
including Kamala Harris,
who weighed in moments ago.
To coddle the reputations
of segregationists,
of people who,
if they had their way,
I would literally
not be standing here
as a member
of the United States Senate,
is, I think, um...
It’s just...
It’s misinformed,
and it’s wrong.
Now Senator Cory Booker was
among the first candidates
to come out and-and push back
on Biden for these comments.
He said...
Yeah. I get
what these senators are saying.
You see, for many people,
it felt like
Joe Biden was saying
that being polite was more
important than not being racist,
which is not
how black people feel.
No black person’s like,
"I know they think
we’re subhuman as a species,
but at least they said,
’Go back to Africa, please.’"
(laughter)
And now I... I would believe...
I would believe it
if Biden said
that his story wasn’t meant
to offend black people,
and that his comments
were taken the wrong way,
but he definitely
didn’t help himself
when he responded
to the criticism like this.
This morning, a defiant
Joe Biden is refusing calls
to apologize for comments
that he made
about finding common ground
with a senator
who supported segregation.
I ran for the United States
Senate because I disagreed
with the views
of the segregationists.
The point I’m making is,
you don’t have to agree.
WOMAN 1:
Are you going to apologize...
WOMAN 2:
All right, thanks, guys.
-...like Cory Booker has called
for? -Apologize for what?
WOMAN 1:
Cory Booker’s called for it.
-He’s asking you.
-Cory should apologize.
He knows better.
There’s not a racist bone
in my body.
I’ve been involved
in civil rights my whole career.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, Joe.
Not a racist bone in your body?
Who said you were racist?
People said
your comments were tone deaf,
and now, you’re like, "I don’t
have a racist bone in my body.
This one was
from texting too much!"
(laughter)
Cory didn’t say he was racist.
Kamala didn’t say
he was racist.
He just comes out,
"I’m not racist!"
It’s like a cop pulls you over
and is like,
"Excuse me, sir. Do you know
how fast you were going?,"
and you’re like,
"I did not kidnap anyone!
"That was a surprise road trip,
Officer!
Maybe you should apologize!"
Because what the (bleep)
was that about?
I can’t believe Joe Biden
told Cory Booker to apologize,
which, by the way,
which, by the way,
undermines Biden’s
whole entire point.
This whole thing started
because he’s selling himself
as someone who knows how to work
in a civil way
with people he disagrees with.
Yeah, but when senators in his
own party disagree with him,
his response is basically,
"Eat shit!"
(laughter)
So a week before
the Democratic debates kick off,
clearly, the pressure
is starting to build,
and Joe Biden
is the frontrunner.
Look, man, you better get used
to criticism,
because everyone is gonna be
watching what you say.
Instead of snapping at people,
you got to learn
to keep your cool,
you got to relax.
In fact, maybe...
maybe you should give yourself
one of those surprise massages.
