Joe Biden Called Anita Hill Before Joining 2020 Race

But accuser of Clarence Thomas says Biden never apologized
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 25, 2019 5:48 PM CDT
Biden's Expression of Regret Isn't Enough, Hill Says
Anita Hill, who said she talked to Joe Biden this month, answers questions during a forum last September.   (Elizabeth Conley /Houston Chronicle via AP)

Anita Hill says Joe Biden called her this month to express regret over "what she endured" during Senate hearings in 1991—an outreach Hill found inadequate. "I cannot be satisfied by simply saying, 'I'm sorry for what happened to you,'" she told the New York Times. "I will be satisfied when I know there is real change and real accountability and real purpose.” Biden, who launched his 2020 presidential campaign Thursday, has received fresh scrutiny over his handling of the hearings. He was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee considering Clarence Thomas' nomination to the Supreme Court; Hill testified that she'd endured sexual harassment from Thomas. Many thought Hill was badgered by senators, per USA Today, especially Republicans, during her testimony.

Hill said after their conversation she's not certain that Biden accepts the harm done to her and other women who tried to tell their stories of harassment and sexual violence. He repeatedly has spoken of the hearings as if they were something that happened to Hill, the Times points out, not something other people—including Biden—did to her. She said that she wouldn't term Biden's statements to her an apology, and that she wouldn't support him in his presidential bid until he takes responsibility for his actions. And Hill isn't satisfied with his response to women who accused him of unwanted touching, saying that behavior also warrants an apology. "There are women and men now who have just really lost confidence in our government to respond to the problem of gender violence," Hill said. (More Anita Hill stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X