Five of Joe Biden's new Democratic endorsers had sharp words for him when they were mounting their own presidential bids, attacking him on race, his record, and even his cognitive functioning.
Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed Biden on Wednesday after saying Biden had no managerial experience to equip him for the Oval Office, adding the presidency shouldn't be a "training job."
Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) quipped that Biden was "high" when he decided to oppose marijuana legalization, and he called him an architect of mass incarceration. He also said sometimes "you just wonder" about Biden's cognitive abilities after Julián Castro dinged him for forgetfulness during a debate. Booker endorsed Biden on Monday.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) eviscerated Biden for opposing federal busing in the 1970s and for his laudatory remarks about segregationist Dixiecrats from his Senate days. She endorsed Biden on Sunday.
Beto O'Rourke, who endorsed Biden on March 2, said Biden was a "return to the past" in an interview on Morning Joe, saying, "that cannot be who we are going forward."
After Biden said former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg was not Barack Obama, Buttigieg fired back, saying neither was Biden and that the 2020 election was about moving forward. He backed the former vice president on March 2 as well.
Biden, after poor finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire, has become the frontrunner in the race due to his strong performance on Super Tuesday. He rolled up lopsided wins in the south, as well as surprising victories in Texas, Massachusetts, and Minnesota, and the party establishment has rallied around him against Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.).