Sen. Chris Coons Christopher (Chris) Andrew CoonsMurkowski: Supreme Court nominee should not be taken up before election Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight Sunday shows - Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death dominates MORE (D-Del.) on Sunday defended former Vice President Joe Biden Joe BidenPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Hillicon Valley: Subpoenas for Facebook, Google and Twitter on the cards | Wray rebuffs mail-in voting conspiracies | Reps. raise mass surveillance concerns Fox News poll: Biden ahead of Trump in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio MORE’s record on civil rights after Biden said last week that he was “wrong” for speaking fondly of his working relationship with segregationists in the Senate.

“His lifelong record of standing up and fighting for civil rights is what he should be judged on,” Coons said of Biden, who caused controversy in recent weeks after speaking of the “civility” of his work in the Senate with Sens. James Eastland (D-Miss.) and Herman Talmadge (D-Ga.).

Coons also defended Biden’s failure to apologize when confronted on the issue in the first June Democratic primary debate, saying “one of the challenges of the debate stage is everybody’s got 60 seconds to address very complex issues.”

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“It’s important that he gave a speech in which he acknowledged” the harm caused by the remarks, Coons added.

“Folks, now was I wrong a few weeks ago to somehow give the impression to people that I was praising those men who I successfully opposed time and again? Yes, I was. I regret it and I’m sorry for any of the pain or misconception I may have caused anybody,” Biden said in a South Carolina speech Saturday.

Biden has also been under increased scrutiny in recent weeks over his past opposition to desegregation busing, which resulted in a viral moment when his fellow presidential candidate, Sen. Kamala Harris Kamala HarrisHundreds of lawyers from nation's oldest African American sorority join effort to fight voter suppression Biden picks up endorsement from progressive climate group 350 Action 3 reasons why Biden is misreading the politics of court packing MORE (D-Calif.), highlighted both his past opposition and his praise for Eastland and Talmadge.

“I do not believe you are a racist and I agree with you when you commit yourself to the importance of finding common ground,” Harris said. “But I also believe, and it’s personal and I was actually very — it was hurtful to hear you talk about the reputations of two United States senators who built their reputations and career on the segregation of race in this country.”