Joe Biden warned Wednesday that he’s prepared to go after his Democratic rivals during the third debate scheduled next week, specifically saying he would not be “as polite this time” when it comes to Sen. Kamala Harris, Fox News reports.
Speaking to thousands of African-American voters at the NAACP convention in Los Angeles, Biden defended himself against recent attacks from Harris and another 2020 rival, Sen. Cory Booker, regarding his civil rights record, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“I’m not going to be as polite this time,” Biden said, referring to Harris, the California Democrat who during a pivotal moment in the second Democratic debate in June challenged the former vice president over his opposition decades ago to federally mandated school busing.
“If they want to argue about the past, I can do that,” Biden said. “I got a past I’m proud of. They got a past that’s not quite so good.”
Biden also highlighted his new, wide-ranging plan to reduce the country’s prison population, reform the nation’s criminal justice system and eliminate racial and income disparities in sentencing.
Biden, Harris and Booker were among 10 presidential candidates to attend the NAACP convention. President Trump’s Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, also addressed the convention. Trump declined his invitation, citing scheduling issues, the newspaper reported.
Twenty Democratic candidates will face off over two nights at the Fox Theater in Detroit in the next round of the party's debates next Tuesday and Wednesday. Biden, Harris and Booker will each participate in the Wednesday debate.