Biden: I didn’t apologize
Vice President Biden on Monday contradicted the White House and said he hasn’t apologized to Turkey’s president for suggesting the U.S. ally had allowed foreign fighters to cross its border to join the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
“No, I haven’t apologized,” the vice president told CNN in an interview airing Monday.
{mosads}Biden said he only told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the reports quoting him were inaccurate.
“What I have done is where — if there’s been a general — genuine misunderstanding — let’s take the comment, you know — I’m told I — I apologized to President Erdogan,” said Biden. “I never apologized to him. I know him well. I’ve dealt with him. I called him and said, ‘Look, what was reported was not accurate to what I said. Here’s what I said.’ ”
Biden made the original remarks during a speech at Harvard University last month.
The comments created a political firestorm for the Obama administration amid a campaign to get Ankara to provide more support for the coalition fight against ISIS.
Biden subsequently reached out to Erdogan, and the White House described the conversation as an apology.
“What the Vice President conveyed was an apology for — as it relates to President Erdogan — mischaracterizing the president’s views in a private conversation,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said. “And that ultimately was the reason for the call.”
“I think the vice president was pretty candid about why he owed President Erdogan an apology, because he had mischaracterized his private remarks,” Earnest said later.
The contradictory accounts raise more questions about what was conveyed in the conversation and what Biden believes was misconstrued by the media.
But the vice president also seemed unapologetic about his off-the-cuff style that can sometimes generate headlines — and headaches for the White House.
“Look, what I learned is, I’m not changing my brand,” Biden said. “There’s nothing I’ve said that I haven’t said that was truthful. And so sometimes — you know, everybody says they’re looking for authenticity.”
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