Biden Declines to Directly Apologize to Anita Hill for His Handling of 1991 Hearing

20:43 - 26 April 2019

In his first sit-down interview of his presidential campaign, Joe Biden on Friday repeatedly declined to directly apologize to Anita Hill for his handling of the 1991 Clarence Thomas hearings, instead delivering a broad statement of remorse for how she was treated during the combative questioning she faced from an all-male Senate committee that he led.

Appearing on ABC’s “The View,” Biden was asked by one of its hosts, Joy Behar, about his reluctance in recent months to offer a straightforward apology to Hill for his own judgment and leadership during the hearings. Behar suggested Biden should say, “I’m sorry for the way I treated you, not for the way you were treated.”

Biden responded, “I’m sorry for the way she got treated. If you go back to what I said, I never treated her badly.”

The former vice president also spoke about his relationship with former President Barack Obama and addressed his past treatment of women who have said his touching and his conduct made them uncomfortable.

The appearance on “The View” came after a Biden spokeswoman said the former vice president had called Hill a few weeks ago and expressed “his regret for what she endured” 28 years ago. At that time Biden, who was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, presided over confirmation hearings in which Hill accused Justice Thomas, President George Bush’s nominee to the Supreme Court, of sexual harassment and faced aggressive and misogynistic questioning. Hill has said she was deeply unsatisfied by the phone call.

Describing his phone call with Hill, Biden said, “I said privately what I’ve said publicly. I’m sorry she was treated the way she was treated. I wish we could have figured out a better way to get this done. I did everything in my power to do what I thought was within the rules to be able to stop things.”

Asked if he would say he was sorry to the women who have complained he touched them inappropriately over the years, Biden repeatedly refused to give a direct apology.

In a telephone interview earlier this week, Hill told The Times that the call from Biden had left her feeling deeply unsatisfied. She declined to characterize Biden’s words to her as an apology and said she was not convinced that he has taken full responsibility for his conduct at the hearings.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.