(Bloomberg) -- Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Monday declined to say whether he’d add seats to the Supreme Court if elected, arguing that his answer would be a distraction from the current fight over the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s replacement.
“It’s a legitimate question, but let me tell you why I’m not going answer that question. Because it will shift the focus, that’s what he wants, he never wants to talk about the issue at hand and he always tries to change the subject,” Biden said, referring to President Donald Trump. Biden made the comments in an interview with WBAY, a TV station in Green Bay, Wisconsin, near where he campaigned on Monday.
If he were to answer the question, Biden said, Trump would make the debate “about what Biden said or didn’t say, Biden said he would or wouldn’t.” Instead, he said the discussion should be about why Trump “is moving in a direction that’s totally inconsistent with what founders wanted.”
Biden said during a Democratic debate last year that he opposed adding seats, something some progressives support to rebalance a court that has leaned to the right.
That push has gained intensity since Ginsburg’s death Friday as some progressives argue the change would be a way to counter what would be a 6-3 majority of Republican appointees if Trump’s nominee is confirmed, Biden wins the November election and the Democrats regain control of the Senate.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
POPULAR