Jill Biden Thinks It's Time to Stop Talking About Anita Hill

Dr. Jill Biden is having a busy spring. On top of her husband’s announcement that he’s running for president, Biden has a new book out, which she spoke to NPR about today. One thing she doesn’t seem to want to talk about, however: her husband’s piss-poor treatment of Anita Hill.

Joe Biden, who was the Senate Judiciary Committee chair at the time of Clarence Thomas’s confirmation hearing in 1991, has repeatedly stuck his foot directly into his mouth in recent weeks regarding his role in the process, during which Hill testified that Thomas had sexually harassed her. After nearly 30 years, Biden recently apologized to Hill for “how she was treated”—an apology which Hill didn’t accept. Biden later explained on The View that he doesn’t think he personally treated Hill badly, and that it took him nearly three decades and two presidential campaigns to even make the half-assed apology he did because, as he put it, “I didn’t want to, quote, ‘invade her space.’” (Yes, he said “quote.”)

In her NPR interview, Jill Biden went one step further. Per NPR (emphasis mine):

Dr. Jill Biden: I watched the hearings like most other Americans, and so I mean Joe said, as I did, we believed Anita Hill. He voted against Clarence Thomas. And as he has said, I mean he’s called Anita Hill, they’ve talked, they’ve spoken, and he said, you know, he feels badly. He apologized for the way the hearings were run. And so now it’s kind of — it’s time to move on.

Rachel Martin, NPR: Why did he wait until [just before] he was running for president to call her?

Biden: Well, I guess it was just not the right time maybe. So, he wanted to call her. I think he didn’t know whether she would take his call, and he was so happy that he she did take his call, and they spoke. And I think he was, you know, I think they came to an agreement.

Martin: Did you encourage him to make that overture?

Biden: No, that was his decision.

It’s understandable that Biden would be annoyed at being forced to answer for her husband’s actions. With that said, I’m not really sure it’s her place to determine whether or not it’s “time to move on.” Especially considering Hill has obviously not moved on—she told the New York Times that she still isn’t “satisfied” with Joe Biden’s apology or actions to prove he’s changed, particularly for his failure to call corroborating witnesses to testify—and especially considering Brett Kavanaugh’s place on the Supreme Court right now.

Dr. Biden also tackled allegations against her husband of unwanted contact, which resurfaced last month after former congressional candidate Lucy Flores accused Biden of touching her, smelling her hair, and kissing the back of her hair.

“As I write in my book…I talked about when I met the Biden family and they were different,” Biden said. “They were a very affectionate family. My family wasn’t that affectionate. So that took me a little while to get used to that, but then I saw how Joe connected with people.

“And now these are different times. Joe realizes these are different times,” she added. “And believe me—he’s very conscious of, you know, how he interacts with men and women today.”

In fact, as Politico reported earlier this week, making sure the former vice president keeps his hands to himself is now a bonafide campaign strategy in Bidenworld. You know you’re in good shape when Colin fucking Jost is essentially doing unpaid strategy for your campaign.