Joe Biden put in the hot seat on 'The View'
Joe Biden made The View his first big stop since announcing he’s running for president in 2020.
The former vice president, a Democrat, walked out to Bruce Springsteen’s “We Take Care of Our Own” and — largely forgoing hugs — sat down with co-hosts Joy Behar, Meghan McCain, Sunny Hostin, Abby Huntsman and Ana Navarro to address hot topics, including the claims of “inappropriate touching,” Anita Hill, his age and President Trump.
While Behar joked it was his “The View apology tour,” Biden — who seemed a bit nervous and at times rambled through some responses — wasn’t offering them up easily. While he talked about how he’s now more aware of the “private space” of women and men, he maintained that he always had good intentions. He pointed out that the women said they were “uncomfortable,” but nobody called it “harassment.”
When it was pointed out that the women wanted an apology, Biden — who admitted he wasn’t sure how to greet the co-hosts (and hugged only McCain, with whom he has a close friendship) — gave one with an asterisk. “I'm really sorry,” he began, before adding, “if what I did in talk to them and trying to console that they took it a different way.”
Behar then tried to get him to say, “I'm sorry that I invaded your space.” Biden replied, “I'm sorry this happened, but I'm not sorry in the sense that I think I did anything that was intentionally designed to do anything wrong or be inappropriate. It was inappropriate that ... I assumed.”
When the topic of Hill was raised — and it was noted she said her recent call with Biden left her unsatisfied — he again danced around a directly apology. He did, however, make it clear that he “believed [Hill] from the beginning” and was “against Clarence Thomas.” He also credited Hill for her early role in the #MeToo movement. When Behar gave him a chance to “clean this up now,” he said, “I'm sorry she was treated the way she was treated. I wish we could have figured out a better way to get this thing done.”
When Navarro said she wished he had called her earlier, Biden defended himself by saying that he publicly apologized for how she was treated and he didn’t think he treated her badly.
Biden was also asked about his age — and criticism that, at 76, he’s too old to be president. He replied that the “same question was asked to me — Was I old enough? — when I got elected at age 29” to serve in the Senate. He added that hopefully he can “demonstrate that with age comes wisdom and experience,” but, “that's for you all to decide, not for me.”
He also said that he’d be up for two terms should he be elected as president in 2020.
While talking about his age, he worked in a jab at President Trump — one of a few during the interview. When the co-hosts brought up Trump saying that the 2020 Democratic field of candidates makes him appear young and vibrant, Biden quipped, “Look, if he looks young and vibrant compared to me, I should probably go home.” Biden added that the “best way to judge me is watch — see if I have the energy and the capacity. It’s a ‘show-me business.’”
He also talked about the president’s failure to condemn white supremacists, saying, “I don't ever remember that happening in an administration in well over 100 years.” He went on to say that the current climate is “not who we are as a nation.” We should be about “decency” and “honor” and “leaving nobody behind.”
He also pointed out that there was "not one single whisper of scandal" during the Obama-Biden administration. "Not one." He said that is the thing he is the most proud of.
Biden also talked Obama not giving him an official endorsement. “I didn't want it to look like he was putting his thumb on the scale,” he said. And if he’s elected as president, “It’s not about “re-creating” the Obama-Biden years, it’s about “taking the same decency and political philosophy and taking it to the future. There’s so much we can do.”
One of the sweeter moments that came across as raw and real was when McCain, who has a personal relationship with Biden, asking him about moving on from grief. (In 1972, Biden’s first wife and their toddler daughter died in a car crash. In 2015, his son Beau died from the same cancer McCain had.) Biden became emotional during the conversation. When asked if he’s running for Beau — the subject of his book Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose — he said no. However, he said that every day when he wakes up, he wonders to himself whether Beau is proud of him. That brought a tear to Biden’s eye and McCain was visibly emotional as well.
Biden officially announced he was running for president on Thursday.
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