Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) on Monday came to the defense of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D), saying he shouldn’t yet resign despite the revelation that his medical school yearbook page included a racist photo.
Lieberman said during an interview on CNN that there has been “a rush to judgment that is unfair to” Northam.
{mosads}”One, he says he wasn’t in that picture. Two, I think we ought to fairly ask him, did he know the picture was on his page of the yearbook? And three, he ought to be judged in the context of his whole life,” Lieberman said.
“I pray every day that God is merciful with me because I know how imperfect I am and I always feel that I have to show the same kind of mercy to other people in judgment until they’re actually proven guilty,” Lieberman added.
In saying Northam should not step down, Lieberman became one of the few public figures to show support to the governor in the days since it was revealed that his yearbook page included a photo featuring a man in blackface and another in a Ku Klux Klan robe.
Former Virginia congressman Jim Moran (D) has also said Northam should not resign, saying “redemption is a very powerful factor.”
Northam, who on Saturday denied being in the photo, over the weekend faced near-universal calls from Democrats in Virginia and across the country to step down as governor. Northam has so far refused to resign.