On Friday, May 1, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, who is set to face Trump directly in the November presidential election now that Bernie Sanders has lost the race and Biden is the last man standing, responded to sexual assault allegations (opens in new tab) by former Senate aide Tara Reid The report was published in the New York Times. Reid claims that she was assaulted by Biden in 1993, and also claims that Biden touched her inappropriately on the shoulder and neck on numerous occasions. Biden, who denies all of Reed's claims, has positioned himself as an advocate for sexual assault victims and famously spearheaded the Obama administration's "It's On Us" initiative aimed at curbing sexual violence on college campuses.

Biden wrote on Medium (open in new tab):

In the post, Biden asked the National Archives to find out if Reed had filed a complaint about the alleged incident, writing: "If there was such a complaint, the records are there They should be.

In an interview with Morning Joe shortly after Medium's post was published, Biden stated: "I'm clearly saying that never happened. When asked about Christine Blasey Ford, who accused Brett Kavanaugh of assault, Biden responded: "I've said from the beginning that believing women means taking their claims seriously.

It is clear that Biden is trying to appear accountable and transparent about the claims against him. Trump has been accused of sexual assault and harassment (opens in new tab) numerous times (he has strenuously denied the claims), but has never given an interview addressing any of them. Concerns about Reid's claims have reached a fever pitch (opens in new tab) in the weeks since Sanders dropped out of the race and Biden became the nominee.