Stacey Abrams has apparently not only confronted those contradictions in herself, but she has also shared them with the world during an interview with CNN.
On April 28, Stacey sat down for an on-air interview with CNN’s Don Lemon and Tara’s allegation came up.
Normally, I’d argue that putting a woman on the spot like this is dirty, but Stacey has made it clear that she’d like to run as Biden’s VP (if he’s the Dem nominee), so this is a fair question to ask. Stacey could have used this as an opportunity to stand firm in supporting victims, but instead, she undermined them.
She said,
“I believe that women deserve to be heard and I believe they need to be listened to, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources.”
Stacey believes this allegation was investigated by “credible sources.” And, no, she’s not referring to law enforcement but rather to journalists behind a story in The New York Times.
She continued,
“I believe Joe Biden. I believe that he is a person who has demonstrated that his love of family, his love of our community, has been made perfectly clear through his work as a congressional leader and as an American leader. I know Joe Biden and I think he’s telling the truth and that this did not happen.”
In all fairness, politicians typically tip-toe around hot-button topics so as not to lose voters, so it could be argued that Stacey “at least took a stand.” But that argument supports Stacey in vehemently believing the assault “did not happen,” which is rather bold when there has been no formal legal investigation into the allegation.
Stacey’s support of Biden might be a little easier to swallow if it seemed like it was truly based on her interactions and relationship with him, but that’s hard to believe. Her declaration looks more like one woman stepping on another in order to further her career — either that, or she doesn’t actually believe women deserve to be heard.
It’s hard to decide which is worse.
In addition to Clémence Michallon’s own poignant remark on confronting contradictions, she also shared a tweet from Sara Ann Masse, which, in part, said,
“#BelieveSurvivors isn’t about politics or convenience. Sexual violence isn’t a partisan issue. I think Biden is the better choice & I still #BelieveTaraReade.”
If only Stacey Abrams had said the same thing.
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Aside from being a writer, Ashley is a mom of two girls and a wife to a passionate public school administrator. When she does have free time (cue laughter from working moms everywhere) she loves going to hot yoga classes, watching anything on Netflix that isn’t a cartoon, and weaving her way through every aisle of Target while listening to one of her favorite podcasts.
