Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) is picking up another high-profile endorsement in his presidential bid.
In an interview with The Washington Post on Tuesday, former Attorney General Eric Holder endorsed Biden, who served within former President Barack Obama’s administration.
Holder said, “I think [Biden] understands the magnitude of the moment, where the nation is going to be in terms of the pandemic and the economic issues that have generated as a result of the pandemic.”
“He won’t be afraid to make tough choices. He will stand at the podium and tell governors that it’s wrong to reopen, and use the power of the presidency for a national response to the crisis as opposed to shirking responsibility,” he added.
In terms of key issues for a potential Biden presidency, Holder said he believes Biden would focus on criminal justice reform.
“I think you will see him deal with the whole problem of mass incarceration and continuing the work that we did during the Obama-Biden years to ask questions about the ways in which we have dealt with criminal justice issues in the nation,” he said.
Biden has been criticized for his work helping to craft and pass a 1994 crime bill as some have pointed to the bill as the reason for a spike in mass incarcerations — although it is not entirely clear that the bill is responsible the increase.
Last year, Biden called his support of a bill that made drug offenders have a harsher penalty a “big mistake” and said that during his time in Congress he “may not have always gotten things right.”
Holder says he believes that as president Biden would be “forward-leaning” when it comes to criminal justice.
He added, “He’ll also recognize that there are disparities in our criminal justice system, and he’ll work to deal with those disparities in terms of incarceration and deal with the underlying problems that tend to breed crime.”
Holder said that Biden has “the capacity to be what is demanded” to be president and handle the economic and health issues caused by the coronavirus. He explained, “And that is to unify the nation but also to be bold.”
“We need someone who is a Roosevelt opposed to a Hoover. We need a Biden opposed to a Trump.”
While Biden has been sequestered to his basement where he holds virtual campaign events, he has struggled to break through the news cycle.
But since Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) suspended his presidential campaign on April 8, Biden has seen weekly endorsements from high profile Democrats and former competitors as he tries to rally the Democratic Party around him.