Whoopi Goldberg defended former vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden over his controversial comments regarding working with segregationists on Thursday.
"The View" co-host referenced her experience growing up during segregation and said that sometimes "you have to work with people you don't like."
“A lot of these guys voted no on the Civil Rights Act,” she said. “Some of them were former klansmen. This is the world as it was. This is the world as it was, and that’s why L.B.J. had to beat up people to get them to notice us enough to give us the right to vote, okay?” (The Hill)
Goldberg's comments come after Biden has become embroiled in a feud with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) after he received backlash for saying that he worked with two segregationist senators to pass legislation.
Booker immediately called for Biden to apologize for his comments and the pain they caused to many Americans.
Biden shot back and said that Booker should be the one to apologize because "he knows better."
"There’s not a racist bone in my body," he declared. "I’ve been involved in civil rights my whole career. Period. Period. Period."
Goldberg seemed to agree, saying that you can't call Biden a racist, and that candidates who are calling for Biden to apologize should try to beat him in the debates instead.
“Beat him... beat Biden in the debates, you know,” she said. “If you can beat him, beat him. Don’t try to make him out a racist. You don’t like some of the stuff he has done, say that, but you can’t call the dude a racist.”
Watch Goldberg's Comments Here:
BIDEN DEFENDS WORKING WITH SEGREGATIONISTS: Former VP Joe Biden is under fire about finding consensus as he worked as a senator alongside Southern Democrats with opposing views, including those who supported segregation – the co-hosts weigh in. https://t.co/nYSOAof10m pic.twitter.com/kYi6fjNNzf
— The View (@TheView) June 20, 2019