Former Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) defended Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam against calls for his resignation — after Northam admitted he wore blackface in college — telling CNN there’s been a “rush to judgment” that’s “unfair” to the governor.
“Not today, I think there is a rush of judgment that is unfair to him,” he told CNN Monday when asked whether Northam should resign. “One, he says he wasn’t in that picture. Two, I think we ought to fairly ask him, did he know the picture was on his page of the yearbook? And three, he ought to be judged in the context of his whole life.”
“I pray every day that God is merciful with me because I know how imperfect I am and I always feel that I have got to show the same kind of mercy to other people in judgment until they’re actually proven guilty,” he continued, “and I think he deserves a chance to prove what really is his essence, not to rush him out of office unfortunately for political reasons.”
Fmr. Independent Sen. @JoeLieberman tells @jimsciutto "there's a rush to judgement" around Gov. Northam, adding that he needs to explain if he knew about the picture and "be judged in the context of his whole life" https://t.co/QIVfUHvDRl pic.twitter.com/VpWIVUuyJT
— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) February 4, 2019
Northam is reportedly still weighing whether he should step aside or stay in his post after his botched handling of reports that he wore blackface to a costume party in college. After a photo surfaced that purportedly showed Northam wearing blackface, the governor apologized. He later claimed it wasn’t him in the college yearbook photograph, while simultaneously admitting he wore blackface to dress up as Michael Jackson at one point in college.
Since then, top Democratic officials, including the Democratic Governor’s Association have called on Northam to resign.
