Khanna: I ‘didn’t appreciate’ Castro’s attack on Biden

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) chastised Julián Castro on Friday following the former Housing and Urban Development secretary’s attacks on Joe Biden at Thursday’s Democratic presidential primary debate.

Speaking on CNN, Khanna, one of the leading supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) presidential campaign, said that it was possible to make the case that Biden should not lead the Democratic Party or the nation going forward without showing disrespect for the former vice president’s “lifetime of public service.”

{mosads}”I don’t think he has the vision to take us to the future, but as a person he has an admirable story,” Khanna said Friday.

“I think we have to respect his service, and so I didn’t appreciate the way Castro attacked him. But I think the argument needs to be about the future, and he is not the change agent for the future in leading the party. You can say that while still respecting his lifetime of public service.”

Rep. Ro Khanna says he “didn’t appreciate” fellow Democrat Julian Castro going after Joe Biden: “(Biden) is not the change agent for the future in leading the party, you can say that while still respecting his lifetime of public service” https://t.co/6wOtdViE1V pic.twitter.com/09oOmcox2f

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) September 13, 2019

“Are you forgetting what you said two minutes ago?” Castro asked Biden on the issue of auto-enrollment in health care plans. “I can’t believe that you said, two minutes ago, that they had to buy in and now you’re forgetting that. We need a health care system where you’re automatically enrolled.”

Castro, however, appears to be the one who misspoke, as Biden did not specifically say that consumers would have to buy-in to his plan.

Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) both rebuked Castro over the remarks, comparing them to the style employed by President Trump.

Castro later defended his comments in the post-debate spin room as well as in a fundraising email to supporters Friday.

“I had a critical choice to make on the debate stage last night,” he wrote in an email to supporters. “I could either play it safe and give Vice President Biden a free pass like everyone else. Or I could speak up, challenge the conversation, and demand answers for you and your family.”