Responding to our members’ concerns about our endorsement of Joe Biden for President

"Last week, our organization released an official endorsement statement of Joe Biden for President of the United States, and we committed ourselves to defeating Donald Trump at the polls this November. Since this statement was posted, we have heard the concerns and grievances of our general body in response to the Biden endorsement, and we would like to address them, as well discuss what we should have done differently and what we plan to do going forward.

"GW College Democrats in no way condones Joe Biden’s alleged sexual misconduct towards Tara Reade. We believe all women and believe in the importance of seeking justice for survivors of sexual assault. We joined D.C. College Democrats in a May 6th statement calling for “​Mr. Biden to open all of his Senate files, including those housed at the University of Delaware, to an investigation. No individual of any political party seeking public office, especially the office of President of the United States, should be above scrutiny, particularly with an issue as serious as sexual assault.”​ ​We reiterate this call for transparency and accountability.​ Part of our opposition to Donald Trump stems from his many instances of sexual assault and harassment and unless proven otherwise, Biden should not – and will not – be spared from our criticism either. To anyone and everyone offended by our endorsement, we hear you, and we are deeply sorry for the insensitivity of the endorsement.

"Furthermore, we understand that the timing of our endorsement seemed random and inconsiderate, given the ongoing protests demanding long-overdue racial justice. We should have been more clear that the statement was tied to Biden having officially earned enough delegates to be the nominee two days prior.

"As well as this, we apologize for any malfeasance towards the Black community that occurred when we decided to endorse Joe Biden. We recognize that the Democratic Party can do so much more in supporting marginalized communities, and Biden has much to do in order to gain their trust and respect. At the time of a civil revolution, we understand that Biden is not doing nearly as much as he should be in supporting Black people and their fight to dismantle the systemic principles that support countrywide racism. We remain steadfast in our promise to hold him accountable, while simultaneously doing our own work to better our country. We stand with protesters across the country in the fight to end systemic racism and gain justice for the many Black lives lost at the hands of the police state.

"We do not completely agree with Joe Biden on policy. The Biden platform needs to become more progressive in order to achieve justice and move the country forward. This spans many fields, including criminal justice, environmental justice, foreign policy, and more. In the coming weeks, we will be outlining specific policies which we believe Joe Biden needs to enact ​to represent our party and the progressive movement.

"Our top priority as the GW College Democrats is to uplift students’ voices and support a progressive agenda. We have absolutely no tolerance for the sexism, racism, homophobia, and ignorance that Donald Trump has fueled during his time in office. We are dedicated to fighting hatred and intolerance – that starts with defeating Trump but absolutely does not end there. We will not hesitate to demand more of Joe Biden and the Democratic Party in our advocacy for a progressive future."

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