CNN Analyst Blasts Kirsten Gillibrand’s ‘Craven’ and ‘Unfair’ Attack on Joe Biden During Debate

CNN political analyst Kirsten Powers took aim at Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) late Wednesday for criticizing former Vice President Joe Biden over a position he held in the early 1980s during the latest Democratic presidential primary debate, calling the New York senator’s attacks “craven.”

Asked about the gender pay gap, Gillibrand had pivoted to Biden and suggested the former vice president believes women shouldn’t work outside the home by bringing up an op-ed he wrote in 1981 explaining his vote against a childcare tax credit. Biden, meanwhile, noted both his deceased first wife and current wife worked throughout their marriages while defending his vote. 

During CNN’s post-game coverage, CNN anchor Chris Cuomo said he felt Gillibrand’s attack missed its mark, questioning if she honestly believed that Biden “doesn’t want women to work.”

“The attack seemed craven,” Powers declared. “It was unfair. The idea, first of all, 1981? What did any of us think in 1981? Is that what we’re really going back to. What’s important is what does Joe Biden think today.”

She went on to say that we know what Biden currently thinks about women in the workforce because his wife has a PhD and works outside the home.

“To me, I felt like it was a swing and a miss,” she stated, adding: “I feel like a lot of people are going to look at this and think, there are problems with Joe Biden, but like, this isn’t fair.”

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Justin BaragonaSenior Media Reporter

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