11:19 p.m. ET, October 22, 2019
Biden apologizes for calling Bill Clinton's impeachment a “partisan lynching” in 1998
Former vice president and 2020 candidate Joe Biden tweeted an apology for
saying in 1998 that the Bill Clinton impeachment could be seen as "partisan lynching."
“This wasn’t the right word to use and I’m sorry about that.” Biden wrote. “Trump on the other hand chose his words deliberately today in his use of the word lynching and continues to stoke racial divides in this country daily.”
His 1998 comments: Biden spoke on CNN in October 1998, as impeachment proceedings were impending against then-President Bill Clinton.
"Even if the President should be impeached, history is going to question whether or not this was just a partisan lynching or whether or not it was something that in fact met the standard, the very high bar, that was set by the founders as to what constituted an impeachable offense," Biden said.
Some context: The term "lynching" is associated with the extrajudicial killings of African Americans, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th century when it was used to terrorize black Americans and to maintain white political supremacy.