Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Friday that he doesn't think he mistreated Anita Hill in 1991, though he has said publicly that he regrets how she was treated.
The former vice president was asked about Hill in his first interview to air since he declared he was running for president on Thursday. Also Friday, his campaign announced that Biden had raised $6.3 million in its first 24 hours, the most of any of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates in their first days.
The announcement came after Biden's appearance on ABC's "The View." During a discussion about his role as Senate Judiciary chairman during the contentious confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Biden said about Hill, "I don't think I treated her badly."
Biden has apologized for Hill's treatment by others, a point he made again Friday, wondering aloud, "How you stop people from asking inflammatory questions?"
Biden's campaign has said the former vice president spoke to Hill in the days preceding his presidential campaign announcement Thursday. But Hill told The New York Times this week that she was not satisfied by their discussion and faulted Biden for having failed to call other corroborating witnesses at the Thomas confirmation hearing.
"I cannot be satisfied by simply saying, 'I'm sorry for what happened to you,'" she said. "I will be satisfied when I know there is real change and real accountability and real purpose."
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Still, Hill said she did not think Biden's actions should disqualify him from running for president.
Who’s Running for President in 2020?
The race for the 2020 presidential election is underway, and the field of Democratic candidates is packed. Those who have announced presidential bids include a vice president, senators, House members and three mayors. As for the GOP, a single Republican has announced his bid to challenge President Donald Trump for the party nomination: former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who ran for vice president (and lost) in 2016 on the Libertarian party ticket.
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Updated May 14, 2019
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Biden's $6.3 million fundraising haul came from nearly
97,000 individuals across all 50 states, including 65,000 who weren't solicited by email, the campaign said in a news release.
Biden edged former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke's first-day total of $6.1 million and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' sum of slightly less than $6 million. Biden attended a fundraiser in Philadelphia on Thursday evening aimed at raising $500,000. Hosts said Friday raised substantially more.
Biden entered the race Thursday, declaring the "soul of this nation" at stake under President Donald Trump's administration.
The 76-year-old would be the oldest president in American history, though not the oldest Democratic candidate — Sanders is 77, the same age as Ronald Reagan when the 40th president left office at the end of two terms.
Trump is 72, and said Friday at the White House that he feels "young" and "vibrant" and thinks he can beat Biden easily.
On "The View," Biden said he has no plans to limit himself to one term if he's elected but called his age a "legitimate question" and said voters can decide whether he is up to the demands of the presidency. He hopes to show that age has brought "wisdom and experience that can make things a lot better."
