COLUMBIA, S.C. — Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Saturday sought to tamp down anger over his praise for the bygone civility of a Senate that included notorious segregationists, stopping just short of an apology while asserting that his reference to never being called “boy” by one of the senators was not racial in nature. Appearing on the Rev. Mr. Biden recalled of Mr. Eastland, “He never called me ‘boy,’ he always called me ‘son.’”[We tracked down the 2020 Democrats and asked them the same set of questions. Watch them answer.] But in his interview with Mr. Sharpton, with whom he has a warm relationship, Mr. Biden explained that the term was meant as a pejorative against him because he was only in his 30s when he served with Mr. Eastland, the longtime chair of the Judiciary Committee.

Source: New York Times June 22, 2019 22:14 UTC