Biden and Democratic Rivals Exchange Attacks Over His Remarks on Segregationists – The New York Times

“We had to put up with the likes of like Jim Eastland and Hermy Talmadge and all those segregationists and all of that,” he said. “And the fact of the matter is that we were able to do it because we were able to win — we were able to beat them on everything they stood for.”

“We in fact detested what they stood for in terms of segregation and all the rest,” he continued.

Mr. Biden, a longtime supporter of the Voting Rights Act who has cited the civil rights movement as motivation for getting into politics, has many African-American allies, and on Wednesday a number of prominent black leaders defended him, including James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, the House Democratic whip and the highest-ranking African-American in Congress.

But for many Democrats, Mr. Biden’s decision to highlight those relationships seemed deeply misguided and out of touch with political change in America.

[18 Questions. 21 Democrats. Here’s What They Said.]

“I just really don’t understand for the life of me what the vice president could have been thinking, to bring the names of Mr. Talmadge and the others who are well-known conservative segregationists into any conversation referencing civility,” said Leah Daughtry, a veteran Democratic strategist who ran the 2008 and 2016 Democratic National Conventions and is African-American. She added, “He needs to issue an apology immediately.”

Mr. Biden, who is running for president in part on a message of national unity and reaching out to those with different viewpoints, particularly courted Mr. Eastland, in spite of his racist views and remarks.

The two men developed an “unlikely relationship,” as Mr. Biden put it in his 2007 book, as Mr. Eastland helped Mr. Biden achieve his first seat of power on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Mr. Biden and Mr. Eastland sharply disagreed on several civil rights-related matters, but they were also convenient allies, as both were vocal opponents of school integration through busing, a controversial topic at the time.