Biden claims Hillary couldn't defeat Trump due to 'sexism', assures voters 'that’s not gonna happen with me'
Even though Hillary Clinton may have failed to defeat current President Donald Trump in the last election, former vice president Joe Biden is confident that he will be able to do better. What's stirring up controversy though, is the reason he has given for why he thinks he has a better shot than Clinton.
On Thursday, January 2, a voter at a town hall in Anamosa, Iowa, asked Biden whether he was running a stronger campaign than Clinton had, the New York Times reports. The former vice president reportedly went through a list of reasons why he believed Clinton lost, including that people underestimated Trump; Clinton mishandled the response to the infamous Access Hollywood tape, and Trump effectively inflamed the controversy around her emails before adding that Clinton was the victim of “unfair” sexist attacks and that “That’s not going to happen with me.”
Biden's comments, which seem to suggest that he thinks being a man improves his chances of victory, aren't necessarily inaccurate. But that said, it has been suggested that his comments could unintentionally play into a dangerous narrative that women aren’t as electable as men.
“I hope Vice President Biden clarifies what he means here and pushes back on any hint of this false narrative. After watching women win in 2018 and 2019 in red, blue and purple states, it’s clear that women can face sexism AND get elected,” said Christina Reynolds, who served on Clinton’s presidential campaign and is now vice president of communications at EMILY’s List, which works to elect women who support abortion rights.
Meanwhile, an unnamed official attached to Biden's campaign has allegedly revealed to reporters that the former vice president was “absolutely not” making the case that women were less electable.
“He was responding to a direct, specific question about the last election and emphasizing that Sec. Clinton faced egregiously unfair attacks and media coverage that in many ways resulted from gender bias,” the official said. “Reputable studies have confirmed this. Joe Biden has proudly campaigned for Hillary Clinton and for countless women candidates across the country. He was pointing out the urgent need to change the culture in this country — which has only been worsened by Donald Trump’s poisonous sexism.”
