Joe Biden Ducks NY Times 18 Question Survey, Only 2020 Dem Who Refused to Participate
Joe Biden left the Gray Lady out in the cold.
On Wednesday, The New York Times posted videos of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates responding to an 18 question survey — including queries on a wide range of issues. Twenty-one candidates in the field participated in the questionnaire — taking time out during a period from late March through early June to respond. The former vice president, however, was the only candidate who spurned the paper of record’s attempts to go on the record.
“Joseph R. Biden Jr. declined to participate despite repeated requests since late April,” the Times noted at the bottom of its story. No specific reason was given. Mediaite has reached out to the Biden campaign, and will update this post with their comment, should they provide a statement.
The questionnaire, according to the Times, was designed to serve as something of a job interview.
“[The Times] spent three months tracking down 21 of the candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for president and asked them the same 18 questions,” the paper’s communications department tweeted. “It was like a job interview — on camera — to learn why they believe they should lead the United States.”
.@nytimes spent three months tracking down 21 of the candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for president and asked them the same 18 questions. It was like a job interview — on camera — to learn why they believe they should lead the United States. https://t.co/7vbU8NQqbJ pic.twitter.com/9oFfP2Twot
— NYTimes Communications (@NYTimesPR) June 19, 2019
Political observers on Twitter took note of Biden’s absence:
21 out of 22 Democratic presidential candidates answering the same set of questions on video. “Joseph R. Biden Jr. declined to participate despite repeated requests since late April.” https://t.co/a9CDZeb8hT
— Sudeep Reddy (@Reddy) June 19, 2019
Also @JoeBiden notably absent:
“Joseph R. Biden Jr. declined to participate despite repeated requests since late April.” https://t.co/vl70LW2nbm
— Will Steakin (@wsteaks) June 19, 2019
Does Biden not have answers to these questions? Would love to know the reason why he declined to participate. https://t.co/meuxWS4Peg
— Jackie Alemany (@JaxAlemany) June 19, 2019
This terrific @nytimes feature — 21 of the Democratic candidates answering a bunch of smart questions on camera — is worth your time. It was apparently not worth Joe Biden’s — he’s the only major candidate who declined multiple requests to participate ??♂️ https://t.co/dTFoFOuEf9
— Dan Saltzstein (@dansaltzstein) June 19, 2019
“The @nytimes reached out to 22 Democratic presidential candidates to ask them the same set of questions on video. Twenty-one accepted the invitation. @JoeBiden declined to participate despite repeated requests since late April.”https://t.co/a2WmIl8mcJ via @NYTimes
— Bryan Llenas (@BryanLlenas) June 19, 2019
Also: “The New York Times reached out to 22 Democratic presidential candidates to ask them the same set of questions on video. Twenty-one accepted the invitation.
Joseph R. Biden Jr. declined to participate despite repeated requests since late April.” https://t.co/ykfriDgerz
— Lisa Lerer (@llerer) June 19, 2019
a great effort from @alexburnsNYT @melbournecoal @tannercurtis @haeyoun to get almost every Dem candidate — major and minor — on video on these questions and more (Biden declined). Worth your timehttps://t.co/cQyQKy814m pic.twitter.com/VocXvdxVoC
— Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) June 19, 2019
This is genuinely fascinating. Biden did not take the time to answer these questions, but you should watch what everyone else says. Super thorough and interesting. https://t.co/mfUPQYUHwQ
— Grace Segers (@Grace_Segers) June 19, 2019
[featured photo via by Scott Eisen/Getty Images]
