Joseph R. Biden Jr. said this week that he takes “responsibility” for the way Anita Hill was treated when she testified in the 1991 confirmation hearings for Justice Clarence Thomas, the latest attempt by Mr. Biden to quell Democratic resentment over his handling of the hearings and his refusal to directly apologize to Ms. Hill.

The remarks, which aired on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Tuesday, came just days after Mr. Biden opened his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president.

As decades-old questions about his oversight of the hearings continue to swirl, fresh concerns have arisen about Mr. Biden’s attempt to mitigate a political vulnerability by calling Ms. Hill shortly before his entrance into the race. His camp has said the former vice president sought to express “his regret for what she endured,” but in an interview with The New York Times last week, Ms. Hill said the call had left her feeling deeply unsatisfied.

Mr. Biden’s comments on Tuesday were the latest in a recent series of incremental concessions, as he has seemed to move closer to unconditional contrition for the aggressive questioning Ms. Hill faced from an all-male, all-white Senate Judiciary Committee about claims that Justice Thomas had sexually harassed her.