Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (N.J.) said on Sunday that former Vice President Joe Biden is causing "a lot of frustration" and pain with his refusal to apologize for his past comments and votes on race.
"Right now, the vice president to me is not doing a good job of bringing folks together," Booker said, adding that he's heard this from people around around the country. "In fact, he's causing a lot of frustration and even a lot of pain with his words."
He made the comments on Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, where Todd asked the presidential hopeful whether Biden's past stances, specifically the 1994 Crime Bill, were disqualifying.
"A lot of Democrats who were involved in the 1994 crime bill have spoken very openly and with vulnerability, talking about their mistakes," Booker said. "That doesn't disqualify you."
He added that Biden has not been as open about his past mistakes.
"But what we've seen from the vice president over the last month is an inability to talk candidly about the mistakes he made, about things he could have done better, about how some of the decisions he made at the time in difficult contexts actually have resulted in really bad outcomes," Booker said.
Fellow presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) pounced on Biden during Thursday's debate when she confronted the former vice president on his stance on the policy of busing. The clash was the latest of blunders for Biden when it comes to the issue of race. Prior to the debates, Booker slammed Biden when he highlighted his work with segregationist.
"When it comes to difficult issues with race, if you can't talk openly and honestly about your own development on these issues, I think it's very hard to lead our country forward so that we can actually deal with our past and rise to a better common cause and common future," Booker said.