In a defense of Joe Biden's recent controversial comments, former senator Claire McCaskill compared current Republican senators to segregationists Thursday.
During an appearance on MSNBC, McCaskill was asked about a spat between Biden and Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.). Booker has asked Biden to apologize for comments in which the leading 2020 Democratic candidate reminisced about the "civility" of his relationships with segregationist Democratic senators.
McCaskill argued that Biden's remarks were not being given context by his critics in the media and Democratic Party, and said that issues important to the party cannot be achieved in the Senate without collaborating with lawmakers with problematic views.
"Biden is trying to convey that he can work with really creepy, stinky people," McCaskill said.
"And by the way, Cory Booker worked with Jeff Sessions. And AOC is working with Ted Cruz. I mean these are pretty stinky, creepy people themselves, right?" she continued, implying an equivalency between them and segregationists.
McCaskill went on to concede that Biden should not have referenced segregationists to make his point, but defended him by saying that he "fought them and won on civil rights issues."
McCaskill is not the only Democrat to stand up for Biden after his comments. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) says she has "no criticism" of the remarks.