Biden to join MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ to discuss Reade sexual assault allegations

Former Vice President Joe Biden will appear on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Friday morning, where for the first time he will address allegations from a former staffer named Tara Reade who says he sexually assaulted her in 1993.

“Morning Joe” booker Michael Del Moro said the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee would be responding to the allegations during an appearance on the show.

The appearance from his home studio in Wilmington, Del., would allow Biden to deal with the issue in what could be a more favorable setting given the criticisms the show’s hosts have regularly launched against President Trump. 

Tomorrow: Joe Biden joins @Morning_Joe to respond for the first time to the recent allegation of sexual assault

— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) April 30, 2020

Tomorrow in a @Morning_Joe exclusive, former Vice President @JoeBiden joins @JoeNBC, @morningmika & @WillieGeist to respond for the first time to the recent allegation of sexual assault.

— MSNBC Public Relations (@MSNBCPR) April 30, 2020

Biden is conducting the interview on his own and will not be joined by his wife Jill Biden.

Reade is one of several women who came forward last year to say that Biden’s public touching had made her uncomfortable.

In March, she said that Biden sexually assaulted her in a secluded part of the Capitol in 1993.

Biden’s campaign has vehemently denied the allegations while calling for the media to investigate them.

But Biden himself has not addressed the issue.

Reade’s story has received even more attention this week after Business Insider published a story in which a former neighbor of Reade’s said Reade had told her she was assaulted by Biden.

Several Democratic politicians have since been asked about the allegations, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Sen. Kristen Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Stacey Abrams, who is seen as a possible vice presidential candidate to Biden.  

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) this week criticized a double standard in how the media has treated the Biden allegations compared to accusations made against Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings. 

Biden has conducted a string of interviews since the allegations were first raised, but those interviews did not address Reade’s story.