Joe Biden’s presidential campaign signaled Thursday that it would accept the support of outside super PACs, a significant reversal for the former vice president, who said in 2018 that Americans can’t trust politicians who accept such support.
“I sat with Bernie [Sanders]. I’m the guy that told him, you shouldn’t accept any money from a super PAC, because people can’t possibly trust you,” Biden told “PBS NewsHour” in January 2018 about a conversation he had with the Vermont senator during the 2016 Democratic primary.
“How will a middle-class guy accept [you] if you accept money?” Biden said.
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As recently as April, Biden said his campaign would reject support from super PACs, entities that can raise unlimited sums of money to support politicians as long as they don’t coordinate with candidates.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. To speak to the middle class, we need to reject the super PAC system. That’s exactly what this campaign is doing. https://t.co/Jc46rdBbsh https://t.co/SeEfkmkSyx
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 28, 2019
But now that Biden is facing a fundraising shortfall in comparison to other top-tier candidates in the Democratic primary, his campaign is signaling it will take all the outside support it can get. (RELATED: Biden’s Campaign Strikes Optimistic Tone Despite Lagging In Cash: Report)
“In this time of crisis in our politics, it is not surprising that those who are dedicated to defeating Donald Trump are organizing in every way permitted by current law to bring an end to his disastrous presidency,” Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield said in a statement Thursday. “Nothing changes unless we defeat Donald Trump.”
Bedingfield’s statement came after CNN reported that Democratic operatives loyal to Biden were in talks to set up a super PAC to support his campaign from the outside, conversations that intensified after the former vice president reported earlier in October having only $9 million cash on hand in his campaign war chest.
In comparison, Sanders reported having $33.7 million on hand last week, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren reported having $25.7 million.
Sanders Campaign Manager Faiz Shakir excoriated Biden for his apparent openness to accepting support from super PACs in a statement Thursday.
“The former Vice President has been unable to generate grassroots support, and now his campaign is endorsing an effort to buy the primary through a super PAC that can rake in unlimited cash,” Shakir said.
Biden’s campaign did not return the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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