WASHINGTON — You can now add U.S. Sens. Mazie Hirono and Brian Schatz to the list of politicians who have officially endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden.
On Friday, both of Hawaii’s senators announced they backed Biden, the presumed Democratic nominee, who will take on President Donald Trump in the November 2020 general election.
Former Vice President Joe Biden, seen here in 2015, has the support of Hawaii’s federal delegation.
Cory Lum/Civil Beat
Schatz said on Twitter that Biden, who was vice president to Hawaii’s own Barack Obama, would “unite the country and “do the right thing.” Schatz also took some jabs at Trump and the Republican Party as a whole.
“We’ve seen how low they will go — to take away our health care, to deny the climate crisis, to ignore experts and put us in danger,” Schatz said. “Today, I’m proud to endorse Joe Biden. Joe is the antidote our country needs. He will bring strong, steady leadership to the White House.”
Hirono similarly praised Biden as someone who could “bring our divided country together.”
She then went on to criticize Trump’s fumbling of the federal government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic that so far has killed more than 32,000 in the U.S. while also calling out the president’s bigotry.
“So many of us have watched in horror as Donald Trump refuses to take responsibility to keep Americans safe or provide necessary leadership during this pandemic,” Hirono said in a press release.
“Donald Trump and members of his administration have incited hatred of Asian Americans by calling the COVID-19 the ‘Chinese Virus’ or ‘Kung Flu.’ These racist comments, amplified by the President’s allies on Fox News and the right-wing media, have contributed to an explosion of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans in this country.”
Hawaii’s two U.S. representatives, Ed Case and Tulsi Gabbard, have also endorsed Biden.
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Nick Grube is a reporter for Civil Beat. You can reach him by email at nick@civilbeat.org or follow him on Twitter at @nickgrube. You can also reach him by phone at 808-377-0246.