S.E. Cupp: Let's talk about Joe Biden and Tara Reade

Despite an obstacle- strewn ascension similar to a “Game of Thrones” episode, former Vice President Joe Biden managed to slay every metaphorical dragon he faced in becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, from old policy specters to campaign trail gaffes to a primary opponent who was stubborn to concede.

But there are more gauntlets to run. Biden wants to defeat President Trump by drawing strong contrasts on competence and character.

Before that fight, though, Biden will have to contend with another pressing matter that has been bubbling up for months. Her name is Tara Reade.

She alleges that while working for the then-senator in the early 1990s, she was sexually assaulted by Biden and then retaliated against professionally for complaining to his staff. These claims are beginning to get the traction they deserve, with recent stories in mainstream outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, CNN and Politico joining the rash of coverage by conservative and alternative press.

But overall, the media coverage of Reade’s allegations has been noticeably muted compared to its handling of claims against other high-profile political figures, from Brett Kavanaugh to Donald Trump. Even former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, who succumbed to pressure to resign in 2018 for multiple allegations of groping women, got exponentially more media attention.

Undoubtedly, there is some politics and bias at work in the lack of interest in this story from Democrats and many in the media. It’s hard to account for the deafening silence about Reade on MSNBC, for example, with any other explanation.

But reporters, editors, producers and commentators may be loath to give oxygen to such claims against Biden, when Trump has many more similar allegations that have been lodged against him.

But another plausible reason is that the covid-19 pandemic has taken up nearly all of the media oxygen. In my case, I’ve been unable to write about much else. As Washington Free Beacon Editor Matt Continetti told Fox’s Brett Baier, “As long as the attention of the nation is on the pandemic, I think he may be able to skirt some of these questions for a little while longer.”

And skirted he has. No one has directly asked Biden about the allegations yet. No one.

We’ll see how long Biden can avoid this topic. But one thing is certain: Doing so benefits almost no one, least of all Biden himself.

For starters, there are obvious political dangers. Even if Democrats won’t touch the Reade story, Trump and his allies certainly will. Biden has the opportunity now to try to get it behind him, instead of confronting it over and over and over as the general election heats up.

But Democrats should also want to know as early as possible whether her allegations will hurt Biden. If voters find her credible and Biden consequently loses support, there’s little the party can do after he’s officially their nominee.

There are credibility concerns too — for Biden, Democrats, the media. And most acutely, for Biden’s Democratic women supporters. Huffington Post asked nine potential VP picks about the allegations, and only one — Stacey Abrams — responded. After defending Biden’s character, she went on CNN, where Don Lemon asked her directly about the allegations, and Abrams dutifully repeated the Biden talking point: “I know Joe Biden and I think that he is telling the truth, and that this did not happen.”

Against the #MeToo backdrop of “believe all women,” this is, needless to say, a very precarious position for a progressive Democrat to take. And for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Kamala Harris, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Michelle Obama and the women who have either defended Biden or remained silent about the allegations, they, too, risk their own credibility with women.

It’s possible Biden’s assuming that voters’ antipathy for Trump will supersede any qualms they may have with his behavior, regarding Reade or any of the other women who have complained about unwanted touching. He may be right; plenty chose not to care about the multiple allegations against Trump in 2016.

But that’s even more reason for Biden, Democrats and the media to address the accusation fully and head on and let voters decide what to believe. This story likely isn’t going away, and pretending it isn’t real is just ignoring a ticking time bomb.