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Ocasio-Cortez's Chief of Staff: Biden's Praise of Dick Cheney is a 'Dangerously Radical View'

Joe Biden / Getty Images
May 3, 2019

Saikat Chakrabarti, the chief of staff for freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.), slammed former Vice President and 2020 candidate Joe Biden on Thursday night for his past praise of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Back in 2015, Biden complimented Cheney, who served two terms as George W. Bush's vice president, during an event at George Washington University. He called him a "decent man" and talked about how he was "extremely helpful" in teaching him about the requirements of the office during the transition period after the 2008 election.

Biden's praise of Cheney resurfaced this week, prompting Chakrabarti to criticize him on Twitter, saying Cheney represents the "depravity of evil."

"Washington is full of "decent men" doing evil. Joe Biden's take here is a predominant sentiment in DC. People here prioritize the appearance of decency over the depravity of evil. This is not how the rest of America thinks. And that's why this is a dangerously radical view," Chakrabarti tweeted.

Chakrabarti wasn't the only Democrat to attack Biden over his praise of Cheney. Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas, former Hillary Clinton adviser Zac Petkanas, and Black Live Matter activist Shaun King all tweeted their outrage over the old footage.

https://twitter.com/shaunking/status/1124064553409687553

https://twitter.com/Zac_Petkanas/status/1124023119537111040

This isn't the first time that Biden has been criticized for praising a vice president. Back in February, Biden said Vice President Mike Pence is a "decent guy," prompting him to receive backlash from several progressives, including failed New York gubernatorial candidate and actress Cynthia Nixon, who told him to "consider how this falls on the ears of the [LGBT] community."

"You’re right, Cynthia. I was making a point in a foreign policy context, that under normal circumstances a Vice President wouldn’t be given a silent reaction on the world stage," Biden tweeted. "But there is nothing decent about being anti-LGBTQ rights, and that includes the Vice President."