MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski Defends Media’s Handling of Joe Biden Sexual Assault Accusations (Video)
Just moments before interviewing Joe Biden on Friday, MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski downplayed criticism of the media’s handling of Tara Reade’s sexual assault accusations against the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
“First, let’s talk about the criticism by some, particularly on the right, that the media has not applied the same standard to this allegation against Biden as it did the allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh when he was undergoing his confirmation process,” she said, referring to the newest Supreme Court justice who faced accusations of assault and misconduct ahead during his 2018 confirmation hearings. “We think that’s a good thing.”
She went on, “The media should not apply what seemed to be a ‘Kavanaugh standard’ to Joe Biden. The media should not apply the same standard most applied to Judge Kavanaugh to Donald Trump. The media should not apply a ‘Kavanaugh standard’ to any public figure. The blanket and absolute standard of simply believing all women is a notion we dismissed here on the show early on.”
Also Read: Joe Biden Responds to Tara Reade's Sexual Assault Accusation: 'This Never Happened' (Video)
That is true: The episode highlighted past instances of Brzezinski and her co-host and husband, Joe Scarborough, criticizing media coverage of Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings and the accusations against him. “The standard for the media in covering sexual assault allegations needs to be to report the facts, listen to the accuser and give the accused full due process, both men and women,” she concluded. “We were very clear about that on the show during the Kavanaugh story.”
Shortly after that, Biden appeared on “Morning Joe” and denied former senate staffer Reade’s accusation of sexual assault. “No, it is not true. I’m saying unequivocally that it never, ever happened,” the former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate told Brzezinski.
In a lengthy statement released just ahead of the interview, Biden also called on the National Archives to release any personnel records related to a complaint that Reade has said she filed in 1993 about an incident in which, she has said, Biden pushed her against a wall, reached under her skirt and penetrated her with his finger — which he flatly denied.
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