Friday night, ten Democratic presidential hopefuls gathered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa for an LGBTQ forum. The forum, organized by GLAAD, the Advocate, and the Cedar Rapids Gazette, is one of the few opportunities candidates have had to discuss LGBTQ issues at length. Of the major candidates, both Senator Bernie Sanders, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, and Andrew Yang were missing; Sanders had a previous commitment to visit HBCUs in North Carolina.
Former Vice President Joe Biden struggled on his background when Gazette columnist Lyz Lenz pressed him with his voting background. Biden formerly voted in favor of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, as well as the Defense of Marriage Act. His views (like many politicians) have long since changed and evolved; he later voted to repel both of those very things. There’s little argument about whether or not Biden is an ally today, though the two sparred back and forth in a tense dialogue.
His past description of current Vice President Mike Pence as a “decent man,” however, became a sticking point in his segment.
Biden’s explanation? That this is basically a means to an end; you have to engage with the other side “when you try to get things done” in a certain way to keep things moving. More so than his actual explanation about keeping the peace, however, Biden’s flub came as a quick response to Lenz’s initial framing.
To being reminded that he described Pence as “decent,” Biden replied, “You’re a lovely person.”
Yikes!
“I’m just asking the questions that people want to know,” Lenz said.
Here’s that clip:
Later, Lenz tweeted the following:
Then Lenz confirmed it to The New York Times, saying she felt it was a “little condescending.” It’s also not far off from Biden’s remark to Senator Kamala Harris earlier this summer. Before the second debate, he told her to, “go easy on me, kid,” while shaking her hand.
It’s easy to say Biden’s word choices are simply a sign of a generational divide and inability to read the room. It’s also fair to say that they are, indeed, condescending. Harris is in her 50s—far from a “kid.” Lenz is a professional, not his granddaughter.
In terms of LGBTQ rights, Biden is an ally, for sure. But he needs to keep up with the present, and that means holding people who actively aim to harm LGBTQ people—in this case, Mike Pence—accountable. LGBTQ rights didn’t begin and end with marriage equality. He also needs to drop the “grandpa” approach when it comes to dealing with women who hold him accountable.
You can check out the full forum, including Biden’s segment, below:
