But Biden was not there to denounce Upton. Instead, he was collecting $200,000 from the Economic Club of Southwestern Michigan to address a Republican-leaning audience, according to a speaking contract obtained by The New York Times and interviews with organizers. The group, a business-minded civic organization, is supported in part by an Upton family foundation.
Biden stunned Democrats and elated Republicans by praising Upton while the lawmaker looked on from the audience. Alluding to Uptonās support for a landmark medical-research law, Biden called him a champion in the fight against cancer ā and āone of the finest guys Iāve ever worked with.ā
The remarks quickly appeared in Republican advertising. The local Democratic Party pleaded with Biden to repair what it saw as a damaging error, to no avail. On Nov. 6, Upton defeated his Democratic challenger by 4 1/2 percentage points.
As Biden considers a bid for the presidency in 2020, the episode underscores his potential vulnerabilities in a fight for the Democratic nomination and raises questions about his judgment as a party leader. Biden has attempted to strike a balance since leaving office, presenting himself as a unifying statesman who could unseat President Donald Trump while also working to amass a modest fortune of several million dollars.
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But Bidenās appearance in Michigan plainly set his lucrative personal activities at odds with what some Democrats saw as his duty to the party, linking him with a civic group seen as tilting to the right and undermining Democratsā effort to defeat Upton, a powerful lawmaker who in 2017 helped craft a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
Eric Lester, a retired physician who chaired the Democratic Party in Berrien County, Michigan, during the midterms, said he viewed Bidenās supportive remarks about Upton as a betrayal. Lester, who attended the speech, said he had confronted an aide to Biden in the hallway, telling him the former vice president had badly damaged the Democratic cause.
āIt just gives Fred Upton cover and makes it possible for him to continue to pretend to be a useful, bipartisan fellow,ā Lester recalled saying, adding, āI entered the hall with positive feelings about Mr. Biden and felt very frustrated.ā
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.