Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden on Thursday said he won’t discourage his supporters from donating to a newly organized super PAC designed to boost his presidential campaign.
“Look, what’s happened is Donald Trump has come forward and is getting special interest money to go out and tell lies about me that you are reporting regularly,” Mr. Biden told reporters in Iowa.
“I believe if that was happening to any other candidate, there’d be Democrats who are responding the same way Democrats are responding to take on Trump because of what’s happening,” he said. “It’s not about me — they have a right to do this. I have done nothing — nothing — to cooperate with them.”
Super PACs can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose political candidates.
They are not allowed to coordinate with campaigns, but Mr. Biden said he’d encourage the outside group not to attack other Democrats in the presidential primary contest.
Some of Mr. Biden’s presidential rivals such as Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont have criticized Mr. Biden for dropping his opposition to the outside help.
In 2018, Mr. Biden had said he was the one who urged Mr. Sanders not to accept outside help from super PACs.
“I’m the guy that told him, you shouldn’t accept any money from a super PAC, because people can’t possibly trust you,” Mr. Biden said in an interview with PBS.
Asked on Thursday to respond to the notion that the new attitude shows Mr. Biden doesn’t have sufficient grassroots support, Mr. Biden said: “Watch.”
Mr. Biden said if he’s elected president, he’d try to change the system to limit the influence of private money in political campaigns.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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