Washington, DC – Tara Reade, who accused presumptive Democratic US Presidential nominee Joe Biden of sexually assaulting her 27 years ago, called on him to quit the presidential race, according to clips of an interview released today (May 7).
In her maiden on-camera appearance since she came forward with her allegation that former Vice President Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993, Reade told Megyn Kelly that she believed Biden should drop out.
“If he’s watching this, what do you want to say to him?” Kelly asked in a FOX News interview for which a couple of clips have been released.
Reade 56, responded: “I want to say, ‘You and I were there, Joe Biden. Please step forward and be held accountable. You should not be running on character for the president of the United States.”
Citing quotes from Biden, Kelly asked: “He (Biden) did say in his view, accusers ‘should start off with the presumption that they’re telling the truth.’ Do you think he has afforded you that presumption?”
“No,” Reade responded. “I mean, it’s been stunning, actually, how some of his surrogates with the blue checks, you know… his surrogates have been saying really horrible things about me and to me on social media. He hasn’t himself, but there’s a measure of hypocrisy with the campaign saying it’s safe. It has not been safe. All of my social media has been hacked, all of my personal information has been dragged through, every person that maybe has a, you know, gripe against me — an ex-boyfriend or an ex-landlord, whatever it is — has been able to have a platform rather than me, talking about things that have nothing to do with 1993.”
Reade further explained, “Even with the whole thing with being called a Russian agent, that in particular, that incites these people. I got a death threat from that because they thought I was being a traitor to America. I mean, these are serious things. And, his campaign has taken this position that they all want women to be able to speak safely. I have not experienced that.”
Biden, who is set to challenge President Donald Trump in November, has denied Reade’s allegations of “Me Too.”
Reade, who worked as a staff assistant to Biden from 1992-93 when he was a senator for the US state of Delaware, doesn’t seem to be going away anywhere so soon.
Tejinder Singh, Editor, India America Today & White House Correspondent