Nikki Fried takes Biden "at his word" over sexual assault accusation

By taking vice president Joe Biden “at his word” in his denial of the sexual assault allegation made against him, is Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried calling his accuser  Tara Reade a liar?

Miami Herald political reporter David Smiley tweeted that he spoke to Commissioner Fried about the allegation, and according to Smiley’s tweet,  Fried gives Biden her full-throated support and reiterated that the former vice president has “vehemently denied the allegations.”

"I don’t take accusations like this lightly. It’s always important for women to be heard and tell their story,” stated Fried “ I’m a firm believer in Joe Biden. He has fought for women his whole career, he has vehemently denied the allegations, and I take him at his word.”

Again, if Fried takes Biden “at his word,” does that mean that she believes Reade has fabricated her allegation?

But what is "his word?" Biden has yet to personally address the issue, having left that task to the campaign.

We reached out to Fried’s legislative office for comment, but we have yet to receive a response.

Fried does deserve credit for actually addressing the allegation. It took days after she endorsed him for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to say that Biden she was “satisfied” with his denial, but did agree that he had to deal with it himself.

“It’s a matter that he has to deal with,” said Pelosi on CNN.

Other House Democrats in Florida have also been silent about the accusation.

The Floridian has reached out to several of these Florida Democrats for a response to the allegation made against vice president Biden.

Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Debbie Mucarsel-Powel, Al Lawson, Jr., Lois Frankel, and Darren Soto, still have not responded to our request for comment.

Republicans, as you can imagine, are seizing this opportunity to try to score political points against Biden and the Democratic Party.

Florida Republicans have been questioning why these members of Florida’s congressional caucus are still silent on the matter.