Speaker 1: All right. So Tara Reid, who accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, claiming the incident
took place in 1993, tried to derail his 2020 presidential campaign. She has defected to Russia.
What the hell is going on here? The Guardian reporting former Senate staffer who made claim in
2020 appears on Russian media alongside convicted Russian agent in the United States, Maria Butina.
I'm still kind of in a daze, but I feel very good, Reid told Sputnik, the Russian press outlet that
supports Putin while sitting with Maria Butina, a convicted Russian agent jailed in the U.S.,
but now a member of parliament in Russia. I feel very surrounded by protection and safety. Now,
59, Reade was a staffer for Biden when he was a senator from Delaware in 2020. She said that
back in 93, in a Senate hallway, he pushed her against the wall and assaulted her. Biden denied
it. At her press appearance, Reid was described as a writer and publicist, former aide to Joe
Biden. Butina sitting next to Butina, Reid said, I just really so appreciate Maria and everyone who's
been giving me protection at a time when it's been very difficult to know if I'm safe or not.
I just didn't want to walk home and walk into a cage or be killed, which is basically my two
choices. So she has indeed defected to Russia. She says it was difficult. She's not impulsive.
She takes her time. And what she could see was that, I guess with the 24 election gearing up,
she's better off in Russia being safe. She wants to live in both places, but she may
only live in Russia and that's okay. So I want to talk about this for a very specific reason.
Some on the right back when Tara Reid made these allegations against Joe Biden,
some on the right called the left out as hypocrites. And what those on the right
said to those on the left was, Listen. On the one hand, you leftists say we should believe
all women and then Tara Reid comes forward and forward and says, Biden assaulted me and you
don't believe Tara Reid. And so it's important to understand that believe all women in principle
doesn't mean you blindly, indefinitely believe every single allegation. And this has always
been the case. This was what I said when Justice Kavanaugh was accused. This was what I've always
said. The right wing wants to use Tara Reid's allegations to say that Democrats and leftists
actually have a double standard on me to and that it's actually just a political tool me to believe
all women if the accused is a Republican. But if it's Joe Biden, suddenly you don't believe
all women. And this couldn't be further from reality. Believe all women has always meant
if an alleged victim comes forward, you take that seriously. You understand that any time a victim
comes forward to say I was victimized, there is risk to them and that they could be pushed one way
or the other or stigmatized all these different things. And regardless of political affiliation,
you investigate. That doesn't mean that every allegation is automatically true or that the
allegations are free from scrutiny. It means every accuser should be heard and respected and
held accountable for the truth and consistency of their claims. Tara Reid's claims were not
consistent and they did not appear to be true. After significant investigation, believe all
women. Isn't the slogan that says you must have unending blind faith? Period. It is a call to
deal with systemic sexism and misogyny, the sort of stigma and circumstances that historically have
silenced and dismissed women who have experienced sexual violence. It means we want justice. We
want accountability for the perpetrators of such crimes, including those who have often escaped
punishment because they were in positions of power or privilege. We recognize women are more likely
to be victims than they are liars when it comes to sexual assault. False claims of sexual assault and
rape are quite rare, and when they happen, they should be dealt with seriously. None of this is
new. Go back two years. Go back five years. Go back ten years. This is what I have been saying.
And when you looked at the Tara Reid situation, she made an allegation. And as far as I recall,
certainly we took it very seriously. Okay. Joe Biden denied it. Fine. Many times perpetrators
deny things. Joe Biden also has a long record of supporting women's rights and combatting sexual
violence. In contrast to Trump with his dozens of accusations against him, who doesn't have that
record? Joe Biden said, I will cooperate with any investigation. I will release all relevant records
related to Tara Reade. Donald Trump did not do that, and the contrast couldn't be more glaring.
So what we need to understand is that these right wingers are desperate to call the Tara Reid story.
A story of hypocrisy, because on some level they must realize that when we say believe all women,
we're not saying unquestionably accept all allegations with no scrutiny. It's a reminder
that we take allegations seriously. We support the survivors. We conduct thorough investigations. We
ascertain the truth. And I can't think of any case that better encapsulates that than the Tara Reid
situation. And now that she has been praising Putin and has defected to Russia. In my mind,
it only raises even more doubts about her motivations and her agenda and her allegiances.
So there it is, sort of like the cherry on top. Tara Reid has now defected to Russia.