Biden Holds Event with Virginia Gov. Northam, Two Years After Saying He Should ‘Resign Immediately’
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President Joe Biden appeared in Virginia on Friday for an event with Gov. Ralph Northam, just two years after Biden’s pronouncement that the Democrat should “resign immediately.”
“There is no place for racism in America,” Biden said in a statement in February of that year. “Governor Northam has lost all moral authority and should resign immediately, Justin Fairfax is the leader Virginia needs now.”
Biden made the statement shortly after the revelation that Northam appeared in a 1984 medical school yearbook photo as one of two men, donning either a KKK outfit or blackface. Northam never confirmed which outfit was his, initially saying it “didn’t happen” and that he could not remember. He later issued a public apology and said the issue had been educational for him and for members of the public, saying, “There’s been an awakening of really what black oppression is. A lot of people that look like me have learned a lot, have listened, have seen the pain that is in this country, that is in Virginia.”
There is no place for racism in America. Governor Northam has lost all moral authority and should resign immediately, Justin Fairfax is the leader Virginia needs now.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) February 2, 2019
Then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) echoed Biden’s sentiment in a message of her own at the time, writing, “United States government official Leaders are called to a higher standard, and the stain of racism should have no place in the halls of government. The Governor of Virginia should step aside so the public can heal and move forward together.”
Biden struck a different tone at Friday’s event, calling Northam “one of the best governors in the country” for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and telling him, “You’ve done one hell of a job, doc.”
