Tapper presses 2020 Democrat Seth Moulton over 'cop out' on Biden's Iraq War vote

CNN host Jake TapperJacob (Jake) Paul TapperCarson says issues over systemic racism are ‘very uncommon now’ Congressional Black Caucus chair says ‘a lot of’ House GOP interest in police reform bill National security adviser blames ‘a few bad apples,’ says there’s not systemic racism in law enforcement MORE pressed Rep. Seth MoultonSeth MoultonEx-CBO director calls for more than trillion in coronavirus stimulus spending Overnight Defense: Trump’s move to use military in US sparks backlash | Defense officials take heat | Air Force head calls Floyd’s death ‘a national tragedy’ Democrats blast Trump’s use of military against protests MORE (D-Mass.), a 2020 White House hopeful, on Sunday on whether he thought then-Sen. Joe BidenJoe BidenHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Trump finalizing executive order calling on police to use ‘force with compassion’ The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook MORE’s vote for the Iraq War was good or not, calling Moulton’s response a “cop out.”

“You fought in Iraq even though intellectually you opposed the war. Joe Biden was in the Senate at the time, he voted to go to war in Iraq, was that a mistake?” Tapper asked during the network’s “State of the Union,” referring to the former vice president who is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.

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“I have a lot of respect for Joe Biden, he’s a mentor and a friend, but I do think that it’s time for the generation that fought in Iraq and Afghanistan to step in,” Moulton initially responded.

“But was it a mistake for him to vote to go to war in Iraq?” Tapper asked again.

“Well, I wasn’t in the Senate at the time so I’m not going to say that, but,” Moulton began to answer before Tapper cut him off.

“I’m sorry, but that’s a cop out. You were in the front lines, you have more of a right to make a judgement about that vote than anyone I’ve interviewed who is running for president,” Tapper said.

“OK, fair,” Moulton relented, “It was a mistake, because we should have been a lot more careful about going into Iraq, we should have questioned the intelligence.”

Some Democrats have pointed to Biden’s vote for the Iraq War in 2002 as a reason he may not be liberal enough to win the primary, given the party’s leftward shift since then.

Biden is leading the Democratic field, averaging 35 percent support in recent polling, according to RealClearPolitics. Moulton averages 0.2 percent support.