Presumptive Democratic White House nominee Joe Biden weighed in on the national debate over the removal of Confederate statues in the wake of George Floyd's death while in Minneapolis police custody.
In his first press briefing in months, the former vice president reportedly said the federal government has an obligation to protect monuments that serve as “remembrances of history,” such as “Christopher Columbus statues or George Washington statues.”
Biden also said the government should protect the Jefferson Memorial from vandalism or destruction, despite the fact Jefferson owned slaves. Monuments to Confederate military or political officials, however, should not be displayed publicly, he added.
"The idea of comparing whether or not George Washington owned slaves or Thomas Jefferson owned slaves, and somebody who was in rebellion and committed treason trying to take down a union to keep slavery, I think there's a distinction," Biden said, according to The Washington Examiner.
"And so I think the idea of bringing down I think all those Confederate monuments to Confederate soldiers and generals, et cetera, who strongly supported secession and the maintenance of slavery, and going to war to do it, I think those statues belong in a museum," Biden said, according to Mediaite. "They don't belong in public places."
But on other monuments, “like the Jefferson Memorial,” Biden said, “there is an obligation that the government protect those monuments because they’re different than ... That’s a remembrance, it is not dealing with revering somebody who had that view.
“They had much broader views, they may have things in their past that are now and then distasteful, but that is a judgment,” he said. “For example, taking down, toppling Christopher Columbus statues or George Washington statues, et cetera, I think that is something that the government has an opportunity and responsibility to protect from happening.”
President Donald Trump called Tuesday for two “anarchists” to turn themselves in on federal charges for vandalizing statues of George Washington in New York City.
New York City police released surveillance footage showing two unidentified men early Monday throwing balloons filled with red paint at the statues in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park.
Trump tweeted last week he had “authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the U.S.”
Trump also signed an executive order saying his administration would “not allow violent mobs incited by a radical fringe to become the arbiters of the aspects of our history that can be celebrated in public spaces.” The order called for the government to prosecute such vandals “to the fullest extent permitted under federal law.”
Also Tuesday, Biden said he would name his much-speculated-about running mate in early August. The candidate also said he would not hold any campaign rallies during the coronavirus pandemic.
Trump has made campaign appearances in Oklahoma and Arizona.
About the Author
