Scarborough: Biden accusations ‘got more press coverage’ than Trump allegations

MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough accused media outlets of focusing more on the criticisms of unwelcome touching by former Vice President Joe Biden than E. Jean Carroll’s accusation that President Trump sexually assaulted her in the 1990s. 

“There are a lot of Democrats out there that are saying ‘Wait a second. Joe Biden placed his hands on a woman’s shoulders, and that got more press coverage on every Sunday show than [Carroll’s accusations],'” the “Morning Joe” host said Tuesday. “The question is: why?” 

.@joenbc: Joe Biden placed his hand on a woman’s shoulders… Biden making someone uncomfortable, got far more press coverage than a credible allegation of rape [against Donald Trump]. The question is… why? pic.twitter.com/LQhXQaONMQ

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 25, 2019

Biden, the front-runner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, has been accused by multiple women of inappropriately touching them on the campaign trail and during his time as vice president. Former Nevada state lawmaker Lucy Flores accused Biden of touching and kissing her head during a Nevada campaign event.

Carroll accused Trump of raping her in 1995 or 1996 in a dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store in an essay in New York magazine. Trump has denied the allegations.

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“Let’s just put Candidate A and Candidate B, take it away from Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Why is it that Candidate A, people are saying he is going to have to be driven from the race? He may not survive this because there is somebody who said he placed his hands on their shoulder,” Scarborough said. “It made her uncomfortable, versus Candidate B, who has credible rape allegations against him.” 

Biden has defended his conduct and said he will be “more mindful about respecting personal space.”

None of the traditional Sunday morning news shows on channels including ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC asked their guests about Carroll’s accusations Sunday, HuffPost reported. Carroll appeared on MSNBC during “AM Joy” with Joy Reid, and CNN’s Brian Stelter discussed how media outlets addressed the allegations and Trump’s response on “Reliable Sources” at 11 a.m. Sunday. She also appeared on “Anderson Cooper 360” Monday night.

Media Matters reported Saturday that The Washington Post was the only major American newspaper to publish the allegations on its front page. The New York Times drew ire for publishing the story about the allegations in its book section, and the paper’s executive editor, Dean Baquet, has since said they were “overly cautious” in reporting the story.