WASHINGTON — A sexual assault allegation is raising Joe Biden’s first big challenge as the Democrats’ presidential nominee, fueling Republican attacks and leaving many in his own party in an uncomfortable bind.
Biden’s campaign has denied the allegation from his former Senate staffer, Tara Reade, who has said Biden assaulted her in the basement of a Capitol Hill office building in the 1990s. But the story garnered fresh attention this week after two of Reade’s associates said she previously told them about elements of her allegations.
Republicans who are worried about President Donald Trump’s increasingly precarious political standing are seizing on the allegation to portray Democrats as hypocrites who only defend women who allege wrongdoing against conservatives. Democrats, meanwhile, are in an awkward position of vigorously validating women who come forward with their stories while defending the man who will be their standard bearer in what many in the party consider the most important election of their lifetimes.
The tension is heightened because Biden himself is saying nothing about the allegation. Like many, he has spent the past several weeks at home to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. He hasn’t held a press briefing since April 2, before multiple news organizations reported Reade’s story. The public appearances he has made, such as fundraisers or events alongside prominent Democrats, have been controlled.
