>>> WELCOME BACK TO "VELSHI & RUHLE."
RUHLE." JUST A FEW HOURS, JOE BIDEN WILL
HOLD HIS FIRST OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN
RALLY SINCE ANNOUNCING HIS 2020
CANDIDACY FOR PRESIDENT IN
PENNSYLVANIA.
PENNSYLVANIA. THIS COMES AFTER A SURPRISING
"NEW YORK TIMES" REPORT OVER THE
WEEKEND THAT SAID IN 2015, THEN
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA ADVISED
BIDEN NOT TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT.
THE PAPER QUOTED BIDEN AS
ACKNOWLEDGING THE PRESIDENT WAS
NOT ENCOURAGING.
NOT ENCOURAGING. >> BIDEN LAUNCHED HIS 2020
CAMPAIGN ANYWAY EVEN AFTER
SEVERAL WOMEN CAME FORWARD WITH
SEVERAL CONDUCT ALLEGATIONS
AGAINST HIM.
AGAINST HIM. HE’S APOLOGIZED AND PROMISED TO
BE MORE MINDFUL AND RESPECTFUL.
>> WE DON’T KNOW WHY PRESIDENT
OBAMA SAID HE SHOULDN’T RUN.
>> WE DON’T KNOW THERE’S ANY
CONNECTION.
CONNECTION. >> HE MAY HAVE SAID, YOU KNOW --
>> YOU MIGHT NOT WIN.
>> THE SHOWERS AREN’T HOT ENOUGH
IN THE WHITE HOUSE.
WE DON’T KNOW WHY.
>> BIDEN SAT DOWN WITH AN
INTERVIEW WITH ALYSSA MILANO AND
SPOKE ABOUT HIS WORK ADDRESSING
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN.
THE INTERVIEW WAS RECORDED
BEFORE THE NEW ALLEGATIONS WERE
MADE.
MADE. >> IN 1991 WHEN I WROTE THE
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ACT, VAULT WAS
SWEPT UNDER THE RUG.
IT WAS A FAMILY MATTER.
THAT’S WHY I HATE THE FREEZE
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE. IT’S THE UGLIEST FORM OF
VIOLENCE THERE IS.
THOUSANDS HOURS OF TESTIMONY
FROM WOMEN WHO HAD BEEN ABUSED
BY THEIR HUSBANDS OR BOYFRIENDS
OR ACQUAINTANCES AND WE GOT TO
SEE IT FIRSTHAND IN A WAY THAT
THE NATION HAD SEEN IT BEFORE
WHEN ANITA HILL BRAVELY DECIDED
TO TESTIFY AGAINST CLARENCE
THOMAS AND WE SAW THIS ISSUE
COME STRAIGHT INTO EVERYONE’S
LIVING ROOM.
LIVING ROOM. WE SAW HOW SHE WAS TREATED AND
HOW -- IT WAS A REALIZATION IN
ME THAT WE HAD TO CHANGE THE
CULTURE AROUND SEXUAL HARASSMENT
AND ASSAULT.
AND ASSAULT. I STARTED TO WRITE THE ACT
ALREADY, BUT THIS JUST REIGNITED
BY DETERMINATION TO SEE TO IT
THAT WE PUSH FORWARD AND GET
SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT DOWN.
81% OF THE WOMEN WHO ARE RAINED
OR SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, REPORTED
SHORT TIME OR LONG TERM
PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS AND ALMOST
ONE IN EVERY THREE RAPE VICTIMS
DEVELOP PTSD JUST LIKE THE
MILITARY DOES SOMETIME DURING
THEIR LIVES.
THEIR LIVES. IT’S UNCONSCIONABLE THAT WOMEN
HAVE TO CARRY THIS BURDEN.
IT AFFECTS THEIR DAILY LIVES.
I’M DEVOTED AND WILL CONTINUE TO
DEVOTE MY LIFE TO THIS ISSUE AND
I’M NOT STOPPING NOW.
>> JOINING US NOW IS ALYSSA
MILANO, ONE OF THE FIRST TO USE
THE ME TOO HASHTAG FROM WHICH
THIS MOVEMENT HAS GROWN.
GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US.
>> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE
OPPORTUNITY.
OPPORTUNITY. >> THIS INTERVIEW TOOK PLACE
BEFORE THERE WERE RECENT
QUESTIONS ABOUT JOE BIDEN AND
HIS CONDUCT.
HIS CONDUCT. HAD YOU KNOWN THAT OR HAD THAT
HAPPENED AFTERWARDS, WOULD YOU
HAVE TALKED TO HIM ABOUT THAT?
>> OF COURSE.
ABSOLUTELY.
ABSOLUTELY. AND I HAVE SPOKEN TO HIM ON --
ABOUT THAT, JUST NOT ON THE
RECORD, ON THE INTERVIEW.
AND I CAN TELL YOU WHAT HE SAID
TO ME PRIVATELY WHICH I THINK
FOR ME I WISH MORE MEN IN
POSITIONS OF POWER WOULD SAY OUT
LOUD.
LOUD. HE SAID TO ME I’M WILLING TO
LEARN, I’M WILLING TO LISTEN.
I DIDN’T REALIZE THAT I WAS TOO
AFFECTIONATE.
AFFECTIONATE. AND I THINK THAT THIS BRINGS UP
A REALLY IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
THAT WE HAVEN’T REALLY TOUCHED
ON ON ME TOO AND OFTEN IN THESE
MOMENTS WHEN WE’RE HEARING THESE
STORIES, I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT
TO EMPHASIZE THE DIFFERENCE IN
THESE STORIES.
THESE STORIES. FOR ME THE THING THAT SET THIS
STORY APART FROM ALL THE OTHER
STORIES, TO JOE, THIS WAS A
CULTURAL DIFFERENCE.
CULTURAL DIFFERENCE. HE WAS RAISED IN A FAMILY THAT
WAS SUPERAFFECTIONATE.
WAS SUPERAFFECTIONATE. FOR HIM, THIS WAS A REALIZATION
OF, WELL, EVERYONE SORT OF GROWS
UP IN A DIFFERENT HOUSEHOLD AND
MAYBE MY ACTIONS MAKE OTHER
PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE AND IT WAS
AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.
AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. SO I THINK IT WAS IMPORTANT THAT
IT CAME OUT.
AND I THINK THAT IT IS IMPORTANT
TO HAVE MEN SUPPORT WOMEN AND
SAY, I HEAR YOU, AND I WANT TO
LEARN AND MAKE, YOU KNOW, A
CHANGE.
CHANGE. >> YOU AND I HAVE HAD THIS
CONVERSATION BEFORE.
CONVERSATION BEFORE. IF THERE’S ANYTHING THAT MANY
MEN HAVE LEARNED IN THE LAST FEW
YEARS, WE HAVE TO BE WILLING TO
LEARN, WE HAVE TO BE WILLING TO
CHANGE.
CHANGE. >> AND THAT’S WHAT WE --
>> I’M SORRY.
IT CHANGES MY INTERACTIONS AS
WELL.
WELL. I’M A VERY AFFECTIONATE PERSON.
I WALKED ONTO SET A FEW WEEKS
AGO AND I KISSED OUR PROP GUY ON
THE ARM.
THE ARM. AND I HAD THIS MOMENT OF, LIKE,
MAYBE THAT MADE HIM
UNCOMFORTABLE WHEREAS THAT WOULD
HAVE NEVER CROSSED MY MIND
BEFORE ME TOO.
I THINK WE ALL HAVE TO LOOK AT
OUR INTERACTIONS AND PROCEED
CAUTIOUSLY.
CAUTIOUSLY. >> JOE BIDEN IS SAYING HE’S
WILLING TO LEARN, IT’S A
CULTURAL THING, LET’S GET
SMARTER AND BETTER.
BUT FOR MANY DEMOCRATS, THEY’RE
SAYING THIS IS NOT ENOUGH.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, AND YOU’VE
SHOWN YOUR SUPPORT FOR JOE
BIDEN, YOU TOOK SOME CRITICISM,
DID DEMOCRATS BELIEVE THAT JOE
BIDEN STANDS UP AGAINST
PRESIDENT TRUMP.
PRESIDENT TRUMP. WHEN YOU SAY MORALLY VERSUS
MORALITY, I CAN’T IMAGINE IF JOE
BIDEN MADE IT TO A GENERAL
ELECTION, ANY REPUBLICAN OUT
THERE WOULD START TO PUSH THIS
NARRATIVE GIVEN THE PROFILE THAT
THE PRESIDENT HAS AND THE MANY
WOMEN WHO HAVE ACCUSED HIM OF
INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR.
INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR. AND HE’S NOT SAID HE’LL GET
SMARTER AND BETTER.
IN MANY CASES HE SAID SHE WAS
TOO UGLY FOR ME TO HIT ON HER.
>> I THINK THERE’S A DISTINCT
LINE BETWEEN THE INDISCRETIONS
OF PRESIDENT TRUMP WHICH GO
BEYOND JUST HIS ACCUSATIONS OF
SEXUAL ASSAULT AND OBVIOUSLY OF
JOE BIDEN MAKES IT ON THE
TICKET, JOE BIDEN’S
INDISCRETIONS OF BEING OVERLY
AFFECTIONATE.
AFFECTIONATE. BUT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT ANITA
HILL AND REALLY JUST SAY THAT I
KNOW THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT HAS
COME UP FOR DEMOCRATS HOW VICE
PRESIDENT HAD MAYBE HANDLED THAT
SITUATION AND I CAN ALSO TELL
YOU FROM MY CONVERSATIONS WITH
HIM, HE DEEPLY REGRETS WHAT
HAPPENED.
HAPPENED. HE HAS DEDICATED MUCH OF HIS
CAREER, AND I THINK WE CAN’T
LOOK AT HIS PAST MIE ONICALLY,
WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE BIG
PICTURE WITH CO-AUTHORING THE
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN’S ACTS,
ALWAYS BEING A SUPPORTER OF THE
WOMEN’S RIGHT TO CHOOSE AND
FIGHTING FOR WOMEN TO BE ON THE
JUDICIARY COMMITTEE AFTER ANITA
HILL.
HILL. THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT ARE
INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT TO VICE
PRESIDENT BIDEN AND I THINK IT’S
IMPORTANT THAT WE DISCUSS IT AND
GET IT OUT ON THE TABLE.
BUT NONE OF THIS I THINK IF THE
COUNTRY CHOOSES THAT JOE BIDEN
SHOULD BE THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE
SHOULD STOP JOE BIDEN FROM BEING
THAT NOMINEE.
THAT NOMINEE. >> AND STILL, THERE ARE MANY
PROGRESSIVES OR SOME
PROGRESSIVES WHO SAY THIS IS NOT
ENOUGH.
ENOUGH. IS THAT A MISTAKE?
ARE THEY NOT FOCUSED ON THE
OVERALL MISSION FOR DEMOCRATS
WHICH IS TO DEFEAT DONALD TRUMP.
MICHAEL STEEL SAID DEMOCRATS
HAVE A CHOICE, YOU WANT TO BE
WOKE OR YOU WANT TO WIN.
DO YOU AGREE WITH HIM?
>> I THINK IT’S A GREAT POINT.
THERE’S NOBODY IN THE WORLD THAT
WANTS PROGRESSIVE POLICY TO BE
SET IN PLACE MORE THAN I DO.
BUT THIS PRIMARY TO ME IS NOT
ABOUT POLICY.
ABOUT POLICY. IT’S ABOUT BEATING TRUMP,
PERIOD, THAT’S IT, END OF STORY.
WE NEED TO NOMINEE SOMEONE THAT
IS GOING TO BEAT TRUMP AND BRING
HONESTY AND INTEGRITY AND
DIGNITY AND TRUTH BACK TO THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
EMPATHY, COMPASSION, ALL THESE
THINGS THAT I WANT TO TEACH MY
CHILDREN GROWING UP IN THIS
GREAT COUNTRY.
GREAT COUNTRY. WE NEED SOMEONE THAT’S GOING TO
REPRESENT THAT TO THE BEST OF
THEIR ABILITY AND FIGHT TRUMP.
AND, YOU KNOW, I CAN’T -- IT’S
NOT ABOUT WHO’S GOING TO MAKE