 Kevin Foley |
Joe Biden has yet to say anything about the sexual misconduct accusation his former Senate aide Tara Reade made last month… and his silence is deafening.
The Biden campaign has denied the accusation, and Democrats who’ve been asked about it have dismissed it despite evidence Reade told people about the assault at the time.
It wasn’t so long ago many of those same Democrats were demanding that Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s three accusers should be heard and believed as should the dozen women who’ve accused President Trump of sexual assault, so there’s an undeniable double standard being applied where Biden is concerned.
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has made much of his image as a women’s rights crusader and loving family man, but Reade’s tawdry story about what Biden did to her 27 years ago casts a dark shadow over the candidate’s wholesome reputation.
To believe the Trump campaign won’t try to damage Biden with the Reade allegation is to be naïve. Just as Trump had Bill Clinton’s female accusers attend his televised debates with Hillary Clinton, no doubt Reade will be front and center when the campaign really gets rolling. If Biden continues to ignore her allegation, he could be in real trouble.
If it’s is false, he should say so. But if there is anything to it, anything at all, from a PR perspective it would be wise for Biden to get out in front of the story before Reade and those who say they can substantiate her allegation start appearing on network talk shows such as “The View” and news magazine programs like “60 Minutes.”
Biden might say something like, “It was a long time ago and I have a different recollection of what took place, but what I did was very wrong and I sincerely apologize for the pain I caused Ms. Reade, Jill and my family.”
Recall, Trump was forced to apologize for his “grab ‘em by the p----” comments and he still got elected.
In the age of #metoo, Democrats can ill afford to come off as hypocritical where Biden is concerned if theirs is the party promoting the rights of women, as they claim. That will do far more damage than Reade’s accusation ever would.
Kevin Foley owns KEF Media in Atlanta.
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