Civil-Rights Icon John Lewis Defends Biden’s Segregationist Comments
- Powerful elected black voice says remarks weren’t ‘offensive’
- Lewis joins Clyburn in seeking to help presidential hopeful
This article is for subscribers only.
Civil rights icon John Lewis weighed in to defend Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden, who is mired in a controversy involving comments he made about working cooperatively with segregationist senators in the 1970s.
Lewis, a House Democrat from Georgia and a sought-after endorsement in the race for the 2020 nomination, told reporters Friday that he was not offended by Biden’s remarks about the “civility” he was able to maintain with southern Democrats who backed segregation.