Hillary Clinton's Endorsement of Biden Met with Furious Response from Rape Accuser
Hillary Clinton is the latest Democratic heavy hitter to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden for president.
The former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee joined Biden in a women's online town hall on Tuesday.
A little hint about who the surprise guest will be for @JoeBiden's 3pm ET town hall today:
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 28, 2020
(She's excited.) pic.twitter.com/iGHo6a6G1s
Clinton also tweeted her support for Biden, saying she wishes he was in the Oval Office "right now" to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
I wish we had @JoeBiden's leadership in the Oval Office right now.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 28, 2020
Americans deserve a president who will manage the COVID-19 crisis with the compassion, competence, and respect for science we need to save lives and revive the economy.
Join us today: https://t.co/mxkpLIOEux pic.twitter.com/9TE9Lw9XBw
Clinton's endorsement comes as new testimony is surfacing, supporting an accusation of sexual assault from a woman named Tara Reade who was a former aide to Biden when he was in the Senate.
The Biden campaign has strongly denied the allegations.
But Reade is furious about Clinton's endorsement. She told Fox News, "I voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016. I voted for her in the primary. I'm a lifelong Democrat. But yet, what I see now is someone enabling a sexual predator and it was my former boss, Joe Biden, who raped me."
"Hillary Clinton has a history of enabling powerful men to cover up their sexual predatory behaviors and their inappropriate sexual misconduct. We don't need that for this country. We don't need that for our new generation coming up that wants institutional rape culture to change," Reade continued.
Last spring, eight women, including Reade, came forward with allegations that Biden made them feel uncomfortable with inappropriate displays of affection. Biden acknowledged the complaints and promised to be "more mindful about respecting personal space in the future."
MORE: Biden Offers Plan for Dealing with COVID-19 Pandemic, Remains Mute on Assault Accusation