Joe Biden Has an Unlikely New Ally

Anita Hill, who says she'll vote for him
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 6, 2020 8:05 AM CDT
Joe Biden Has an Unlikely New Ally
In this 1991 file photo, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Biden, D-Del., gestures during hearings on allegations of sexual harassment by Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.   (AP Photo/Greg Gibson, File)

Back in 1991, Joe Biden was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee when Anita Hill walked before his all-male panel, the star witness in the confirmation hearing of Clarence Thomas accusing the would-be Supreme Court justice of sexual harassment. The circus that followed, in which senators impugned Hill's personal life, was largely blamed on Biden. Fast forward to 2020, and CNN reports that Hill is not only voting for Biden, she's willing to work with him. "Notwithstanding all of his limitations in the past, and the mistakes that he made in the past ...between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, I think Joe Biden is the person who should be elected in November," Hill says, adding that it's "more about the survivors of gender violence."

If it's sort of a lukewarm endorsement, Biden has been slow and tempered in his apology to Hill, denying that he lost control of those hearings, and that, "when it ended, I was determined to do two things. One, make sure never again would there not be women on the committee. ... And I was determined to continue and finish writing and passing the Violence Against Women Act." He eventually did say that "I take responsibility that she did not get treated well." Say Hill now, "I want the next president to be somebody that I can go to and talk about the real issues that women, men, and non-binary people are experiencing with violence in this country, that's directed to them because of their gender. I believe that Joe Biden would be that person. I do not believe that Donald Trump would be the person who would hear me." (More Joe Biden stories.)

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